Clothes Washer

2510Paul

Well-known Member
Our 13 yr. old Maytag Neptune front loader is dying from a bad main bearing.

We ordered an LG Front Loader today. Consumer Reports rates many LG Models at the top of the list.

I am curious, does anyone have a any experience with Clothes Washers and what might you recommmmend.


Oh, our washer gets my "tractor" clothes clean. :)


Thanks,

Paul
 
. We preferred the washing power of the front loader , we went back to a top loader . Our’s went though Bearings and leaked every 3-4 years .
In hind sight we should have bought a front loader commercial washer .
 
Commercial variety with little electronics. Top or front either work well, Main bearings in front loaders can be made correctly, they put them in commercial units. I am partial to Bosch Jim
 

Front loaders have 3x the agitation and use 1/3 the water of a top loader. To get as long a life as possible you need to avoid light loads because they don't balance well. A light load is hard on the main shaft seal and a leaking main shaft seal is hard on the main bearing. There is a huge spread in quality amongst commercial washers.
 
No front loader for me, I will stick with a top loader as long as posible. Did not like the front loader Dad had but at that time all he could use was the stackable type and that is all it came as.
 
We bought a front Loader 4 or 5 years ago . Hated it from day one. Didnt get my cloths clean enough. Finally give it away 2 months ago and bought a top loader with the agitator and actually im not so impressed with this one either. I'm beginning to think i just need 2 big rocks to scrub against. The front loader just tumbles the cloths so how does that scrub them clean. Now this top loader which does have a agitator but i haven't opened it while its working to actually see how this agitator works. I just know neither one cleans like the old top loaders did. But i choose a top loader with a agitator.
 
(quoted from post at 19:01:44 10/18/18) We bought a front Loader 4 or 5 years ago . Hated it from day one. Didnt get my cloths clean enough. Finally give it away 2 months ago and bought a top loader with the agitator and actually im not so impressed with this one either. I'm beginning to think i just need 2 big rocks to scrub against. The front loader just tumbles the cloths so how does that scrub them clean. Now this top loader which does have a agitator but i haven't opened it while its working to actually see how this agitator works. I just know neither one cleans like the old top loaders did. But i choose a top loader with a agitator.


We are on our 2nd front load set. First set lasted 11 years and did a fantastic job. And yea the owners manual recommends full loads only.

Anyway we remodeled the bathroom this spring and I decided that we'd put a new washer and dryer in. Buy the highest quality that you can afford.

Rick
 
I think I heard somewhere that Speed Queen
"redesigned" their washers. They cheapened
them up so they aren't half as good as they
were. Just something I heard, I'm not
saying it's true.
 
(quoted from post at 18:52:02 10/18/18) Speed Queen Speed Queen Speed Queen!

Yeah, not so much anymore. Seems Speed Queen made some changes and their ratings have taken a bit of a dive. Now everyone is wanting the older Speed Queen machines. If I could find a decent used one, I'd get it in a heartbeat!
 
I have an 11 year old Frigidaire front loader that hasn't caused trouble. It replaced a 31 year old Speed Queen top loader.

The drum runs horizontal and I think that helps keep water from running down the shaft like I have seen on angled ones.

RT
 
We have a LG front loader. About 5 years old. Front seal leaked after 1-1/2 years. I thought it was the door but actually a tear in the big seal to the drum.

I tried to order parts and do it myself. I bought the washer from Home Depot. They don't sell parts.
LG only allows approved appliance repair centres to sell parts. And they don't sell parts. They require the approved repair place to instal the parts. It was out of warentee so it cost a bit.

It actually washes pretty good. Don't put too much soap in and only the proper detergent.

Would I buy another LG. Probably not. I've heard of worse stories with them. ... but they all have their problems I'm sure.
 
Sales rep told me they had to make them energy efficient - gubbermint mandate.

I nearly bought their last one of the old style last year - but I didn't really want a floor model.

Sooooo, I bought an energy efficient Maytag that LOOKED like a regular washer with an agitator - EXCEPT is super-whimpy and barely agitates. The darn machine decides how much water is needed. Can't get any truly dirty clothes trul clean. It is a darn joke... sad thing is - the joke's on me!

Sure kicking myself for not buying that SpeedQueen older-style floor model. :(
 
Sweety,
I heard the same story, Sales rep told me they had to make them energy efficient - gubbermint mandate.

I found GE makes a top loading washer the old school way. Lid doesn't lock, takes half the time to run a cycle. You adjust water temp, water level, old school mechanical timer that we can stop and allow my dirty bibs to soak overnight.

Many washing machines are made by the same company and are junk. Can't rely on an old brand name being good.

I buy Lowes 5 year extended warranty. All it takes is one service call and warranty is more than paid for. I purchased a Whirlpool washer. 3 service calls later and Lowes gave me a full refund.

Bought the GE washer and a few months after factory warranty ran out, had a simple switch go out, extended warranty paid for itself.

I'm no fan of extended warranties, but when we are buying cheap washers, for me it's a good investment, $20/year.
 
I've spoken with "The Appliance Doctor", who has a radio show and is a lifelong appliance repairman and lives around here, Joe Gagnon. He said Bosch dishwashers are the only way to go. I found a used one on Craigslist, and it is great! Super quiet and uses much less soap. He said the best clothes washer to buy is a 2017 or older Speed Queen top loader which has electric controls. The 2018's look similar, but have electronic controls which are way less dependable, according to him. There is a dealer in Chelsea, MI that did still have some 2017's, Heydloff Appliance.
 
I think 10-12 years is about the life of a modern washing machine. Naturally there will be some variance between, how many loads you do and years of washer life. My son picks up scrap Saturday mornings, front load washers are his most common item. I buy top loads, not front loads. Never could see the advantage of having to bend down to load and unload the washer, and the obvious risk of the door leaking
 
Our Neptune quit for the same reason, we got a new washer and hated it. Got rid of it and got another that is better. After we junked the Neptune (which we liked) someone on here posted a cheap easy way to get the bearing and repair the Neptune. I don't know if you could find it if you searched this site.
 
(quoted from post at 19:01:44 10/18/18) We bought a front Loader 4 or 5 years ago . Hated it from day one. Didnt get my cloths clean enough. Finally give it away 2 months ago and bought a top loader with the agitator and actually im not so impressed with this one either. I'm beginning to think i just need 2 big rocks to scrub against. The front loader just tumbles the cloths so how does that scrub them clean. Now this top loader which does have a agitator but i haven't opened it while its working to actually see how this agitator works. I just know neither one cleans like the old top loaders did. But i choose a top loader with a agitator.

Ditchwitch, the tumbling action of a front loader causes the fabric to constantly flex and rub against other fabric surfaces for an aggressive action. This is part of why there is no such thing as a top loader industrial washer. Another reason is water usage. Most municipal water supply could not handle supplying front loading industrial washers if there was such a thing. They are ALL front loaders. We are on our third front loader in thirty years. The first two each lasted 12-14 years.
 
Our base-level Maytag washing machine is going on 30 years and not an issue so far believe it or not. Mind you, it is a real Maytag which are no longer is made. Maytags now are just generic machines with a Maytag badge on them I believe. And my wife would agree with the comment made by someone regarding Bosch dishwashers.
 
Wee had a Bendix front loader when I was a kid......never again. After getting on my own Whirlpool served me well. Last year I replaced my Whirlpool washer and dryer with new equipment. Dryer is pretty much the same running on LP but the washer is ultrasonic, unlike the previous agitator.

The wash room is along the hall between 2 living areas and before the change, I had to keep the door closed to keep the noise and fumes from the washer out of the rest of the house. With the new design, I can leave the door open, no fumes, little noise (different since it's ultrasonic) clean clothes with cold water only (took my dedicated hot water heater out when it started leaking...age related) and Dollar General elcheapo soap.

I don't have any dried drywall paste to get out but on greasy soil, a shot with "Shout" spray prior to washing takes care of that.

I think one of the illusions of the current "front load fad" is that you can stack washer and dryer in limited space applications like in small "mini" houses. and still access both from the front.
 
I am in the same boat as you. I cant believe this brand new machine machine cant get my cloths clean.
I have a problem putting on dirty cloths or look like dirty cloths that just came out of a washing machine. Ill be honest i dont always wash the cloths my wife does. But i have had this conversation with her before. Thats why we bought the brand new top loader with the agitator like i said earlier just a couple months ago. And its no better than what we got rid of. Other than trying to find a washer thats 40 years old i dont know what the heck to do. Other than washing them in the creek :)
 
I am kind of surprised to hear that your washer does get really dirty clothes clean - especially a front loader. The latest and greatest thing is for the machines to use less water. My brother who manages a huge hog farm ended up using the old wringer washer in the basement to get his cloths "clean" and would run them while still wet through their Neptune washer. When they first bought the Neptune it didn't use enough water to get the stink out of clothes and would make anything else in the washer stink too, let alone get real ground in **** out of denim.
 
Yeah, it's really absurd. I have literally pulled dirty laundry out of the washer!
So what do I do then? I run it through a second time... that's energy efficient, right?

I hate everything about it.
 
George,

Does it actually have "for real" agitation? Mine just has the whimpiest-ever agitation. I don't think it could even get clean clothes clean. :(

One sales rep had told me that we need to get past the old-fashioned idea of "washing" our clothes. That now days we "refresh" our clothes.
So I guess we are to just forget about removing grease, grime, manure, ground-in dirt, etc. - and walk around looking like a bunch of bums.
 
The "Dependable Care" line of Maytag top-load washers (pre-Whirlpool ownership) cannot be beat for reliability and EASE of servicing. No electronics to mess with, and parts are readily available. If you have any mechanical aptitude, you can do your own repairs. Check out your local buy-sell-trade sites or Craigslist, those washers can be picked up for cheap, like $50 to $100 (or less, I grabbed a like-new w/d set for $45). People seem to put them out for sale as they either 1) don't know how (or want) to do simple repairs or 2) want modern with "bells and whistles"

As several have pointed out, new is not always better.
 
Speed queen pulled the franchise from their number 1 dealer by volume because he put a video on youtube, after 5 or 6 cycles he said something similar to "this thing isn't washing a f*****g thing"

I use the front loaders at the laundromat. The top loaders don't really have a rinse cycle.

And none of the "high inefficiency" washers completely drain the drum. Wash with dirty water, that'll work!
 
I won?t have anything but a Speed Queen. I had nightmares with other brands. Never again. My Bosch dishwasher is the best thing I bought for the house. It could clean the cement off a shovel and do it silently.
 
Thanks everyone for your comments. Here's a couple of comments we got from Sales and Service people in our search:

1. One dealer has GE but will only sell them if you specifically want GE. Reliability issues were noted.
2. Samsung has some specific issues they are correcting. They tend to be lighter built. Our Daughter and Son have Samsung. Our Daughter has had one service call in the first 2-3 years. The issue was minor but the Serviceman had to come some distance driving up the bill.
3. Amana, Whirlpool, and Maytag are all the same company. "Maytag's are not what they used to be." Overall reliability comments have been mixed.
4. Electrolux got a good report from one Serviceman that had worked for a Store selling Electrolux.
5. I have heard before Bosch makes a good dishwasher.
6. Speed Queen got very good comments. The factory is so busy building Top Loaders they have suspended building Front Loaders for now. You cannot order a Speed Queen Front Loader right now. The Store we ordered our LG from mostly sells Top Loader Speed Queens. "People just want a basic reliable machine", to them that translates to Top Loader.

Of course the above comments were based on limited samples. Thanks everyone for your input.

Paul
 
Having raised a few (Duroc) porkies over the years.......hats off to his wife. I don't blame her for wanting him to do his clothes away from everything else.....that stink you just can't get out.
 

As others have stated , the “low energy consumption” has made everything from dishwashers , clothes washing machines and toilets problematic .
Our Whirlpool top loader will fill the wash drum with water on only one of the wash selector positions plus having the load size button pushes to max at the same time .
Mrs B&D’s new Maytag dishwasher uses only a gallon of so of water per cycle . Not enough for decent cleaning . One of these days I am going to add some weight to the float switch to force it to load more water into the machine .
 
I really like my front load LG.My only complaint is that it gets noisy on the high speed spin and vibrates the floor if I run a heavy load. It uses very little water and the clothes come out half dried from the fast spin.My wife is bed ridden and I end up doing 3 or 4 loads a week to keep up with her bedding. It is at least 5 years old and when I got it we still had a son and his wife and baby living with us. If it died tomorrow I would have got my money out of it.
 

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