Need Washing Machine Advice

[charmed one]

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Have you had any trouble with your clothes getting caught? I have been reading reports about the washers without agitators snagging clothing.

 

[charmed one]

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I have a TON of laundry. It used to be 5 loads a week and then we bought the Whirlpool Cabrio. Now it's two loads. I LOVE that washer. It used mostly steam to clean and is energy efficient, uses less soap, etc. I would TOTALLY recommend it if you need a quality high capacity washer.

Do you have to use special detergent with yours?

 

[charmed one]

I decided against a front loader because I read that they lock once you start them and also the issues with the seals. I am always adding to the wash after I start it. Knuckleheaded me....gotta buy something that will work well with my flaws! Lol!

Edited to add....My machine had been leaking tranny oil for almost a year now. I was really suprised it lasted this long. We knew it was going to seize up at any time. It is sooo small! I got it from my middle DD when she moved and my old one conked out. I really wanted a big capacity machine so I wasn't in a hurry to fix this one. Just in a hurry for it to quit! Lol!!

 

[debilorrah]

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I have a TON of laundry. It used to be 5 loads a week and then we bought the Whirlpool Cabrio. Now it's two loads. I LOVE that washer. It used mostly steam to clean and is energy efficient, uses less soap, etc. I would TOTALLY recommend it if you need a quality high capacity washer.

Do you have to use special detergent with yours?

Yep, but it is easy to find and no more expensive than the regular stuff. AND I used to have to use one entire scoop for each of 5 loads, now I use 1/2 scoop for each of two loads. Same amount of clothes, but more efficient machine.

 

[orionburn]

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Have you had any trouble with your clothes getting caught? I have been reading reports about the washers without agitators snagging clothing.

No, never any issues here. We had a concern because we read where people left stuff in their pockets and it got down below and screwed things up. Again, no problems here despite two children who don't understand what "empty your pockets" means.

The only downside we've really had is that you have to load non-agitator washers a bit differently. If it gets unbalanced it beeps at you and tells you to readjust the clothes. The problem is that for whatever reason it wastes the soap that you just put in, so you have to add it back in. Nothing big, and it rarely happens. It does have a ton of different settings for wash options. On the "bulky" setting we've never had any issues with rugs or comforters.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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I think that a lot of the seal issues have been resolved. Yes, you cannot immediately open the washer at any point in time--if you did you might soak the floor--but I can press a pause button which stops the movement, allowing the water to level off, then unlocks the door so that I can add things.

 

[silkiechicken]

Parents have the sears kenmore washer and dryers. The first set from like the 70's lasted till the 90's. and the second set in the 90's is still kicking today. Granted, the heater coil broke once on the newer kenmore a few years in, but my dad just bought a new coil and popped it in himself, and the washer broke once in the past 10 years because of some motor issue. But that was also an easy fix that my dad did himself. Not sure what kinds of repairs were ever done on the first set, but that's because my earliest memory was getting on the school bus in 91 for the first time.

I don't think I'll ever get a front loader even if it does save water... water is still cheaper in my mind than replacing flooring due to a leak of a door seal.

 

[darkmatter]

I will never buy another product with the "Maytag" label. I inherited an old whirlpool top loader that was 20 years old and still worked fine, I had to repair it a couple times, then the Missus wanted a "new" one. We shopped around and believed the hype about how long the front loader Magtag would last and how it would save us money in the long run. It cost three times as much as a base model top loader.------It worked fine for about three years, til just after the warrenty ended, the next four years repair visits cost as much as the washer did new, and with the electronic board, I was unable to fix it like I could the old mechanical belt and switches washer. I tossed that POS in the trash and bought a store brand base model top loader, the cheapest they had------it's still working after 10 years now.

 

[charmed one]

I may be better off buying a used one.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

also, be careful to read if a washer will need a pump because you have it in a basement where the drain is higher up than the top of the washer. my mom bought a Maytag a few years ago and had issues that the repair guy said she needed to buy a special pump just to get all the water fully out of the basin. needless to say she went back to a Kenmore that works the way it is supposed to regardless of where it is in the house!