lg or bosch front-load washer owners?

[PJF1313]

We bought a Bosch (Nexxt 500) about 6 or 7 years ago.

No mold problems, but I can see where they might be if you didn't wipe the seal
between the door and the machine. It has drain holes that go back into the drum,
but if some hair, or a forgotten tissue lands there, it could hold water.

This machine made the move with us, about 4 years ago. It is one heavy thing!
In the first house, it was on a tile over wood floor. It would shake-rattle-and-roll when it
went into the final spin cycle. In the new house, it's on a cement slab, and we don't hear a
thing.

If you decide to get one, invest in the pedestals to raise it up a foot or so - it helps the back.

F.Y.I. - Bosch and Siemens are the same company (Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler; Chevy/GMC; Ford/Mercury).
Both are/where made in North Carolina.

 

[firefighterjake]

As long as the door is not latched the washer stays fresh

We also don't use any bleach 99% of the time so that may be a factor

If you do regular loads in hot or use bleach, that may be the difference (well you may not but the wife may....)

Aaron

Just had an eye exam - typing blind (dilated pupils) is fun :coolhmm:

Cool . . . betcha look like either a) you're really surprised or b) you're on some illicit drug.

 

[richg]

I have the Bosch and have decidedly mixed feelings about it. It does use a lot less water and the clothes come out very clean. However, the damn thing is incredibly loud on spin cycle and it walks all over the laundry room. I'm looking at a set of padded "feet" which are supposed to help with noise, vibration and walking. Relative to mold and stink, we leave the door open and have never had an issue.

 

[ewdudley]

Well kept secret:

Fisher & Paykel 4.2 Cu. Ft. Top Load Washer

Best of both worlds. Direct ECM armature agitator drive. Low water and detergent use, very high speed spin. No huge footprint.

A neighbor has been using one for 7 years trouble free, ours is 5 years old and running strong.

 

[PJF1313]

I have the Bosch and have decidedly mixed feelings about it. It does use a lot less water and the clothes come out very clean. However, the damn thing is incredibly loud on spin cycle and it walks all over the laundry room. I'm looking at a set of padded "feet" which are supposed to help with noise, vibration and walking. Relative to mold and stink, we leave the door open and have never had an issue.

richg -

I contemplated on lag bolting washer to the floor joists in the old house, but we where planning on moving anyhow. I think that the bounce in the joists gets amplified as the washer spins faster, and making it walk or jump around the floor. In the new house, they made a laundry area on a cement slab, and it hasn't moved an inch.

 

[btuser]

About 4 years ago I bought a Samsung set. I've had top loaders before and these are the best, although they have the same issues as everyone describes with the occasional musty smell. Every few months (During the heat of Summer) I run some bleach through it which we don't usually use because we have a septic. We leave the door cracked and it helps a lot.

What I will say about this front loader is I've never had a problem with noise. They're incredibly quiet. I even like the corney chime. I was sceptical because we only paid $1000 for the set but they've been flawless. The dryer is actually louder than the washer.

 

[cottonwoodsteve]

We looked at new washers a year ago. I noticed in two different models in two stores they had water stuck in the door seals.
If you pry back the obvious seal lip you see another one. Where the total seal appears to attach to the front of the machine is really a third lip where water is stuck. This takes some careful pulling to get through these layers.
They appear to be tested with water at the factory or the water is used as a lube to put the gasket in.
Anyway, the water that was put in many months before, in China, was still there. This water holding could be the source of the mold causing moisture.
Leaving the side loader door open is not an option if your narrow laundry area is also a pass through for the back door or bathroom. A top loader you can leave wide open without getting in the was of you pass through path.
Another problem is the cycle time. I don't remember the exact numbers, but a top loader would do a normal cycle in 30 minutes and a new side loader took almost an hour. Manuals warn about needing a sturdy floor, preferably a cement slab. Not a good sign.

After analyzing all of this we bought an old fashion top loader washer.

 

[jebatty]

It's only two months, but so far wife, who does most of the washing, is very satisfied with the LG, a model highly rated by CR, bought from HD, which delivered it from 45 miles away and hauled away the old one. We have a septic system, and the very low use of water now allows multiple loads of wash per day with no more water use than 1 load in the old top loader. Also, high speed spins means clothes are much dryer than before, and electric dryer use is down considerably. We're aware of a possible mold issue, and my wife dries the inner door seal and leaves the door open for a few hours, as the manual recommends. Always cold water wash. Really like the automatic water level setting based on the amount of clothes in the washer, very conservative on use of water, no guessing.

 

[semipro]

Well kept secret:

Fisher & Paykel 4.2 Cu. Ft. Top Load Washer

Best of both worlds. Direct ECM armature agitator drive. Low water and detergent use, very high speed spin. No huge footprint.

A neighbor has been using one for 7 years trouble free, ours is 5 years old and running strong.

These are very cool, made in New Zealand I think. We almost bought one instead of our Bosch but it the FP was more expensive.

I've been wanting to find a discarded one to mess with the motor. Apparently, they're great for use in a wind generator.

 

[dvellone]

The washer will eventually go the second floor of the new house we're starting this Spring and currently the laundry room is on pretty substantial joists with two subfloors and a full 4/4 finished pine floor. I can feel the top loader vibrate a bit throughout the house a bit though ( the house is tiny.)

Is the "walking" issue avoided by leveling the machine well? My top loader also walked a bit until I tweaked it's level.

 

[dave11]

My father's owned an appliance repair business for 30 years, and he does not recommend front loaders. There's not enough savings in normal use to justify the higher cost, plus the mold issue, plus both the higher costs when they need service, and the relative scarcity of parts. Stick with the standard top loaders, from the higher end companies, that are US-based.

 

[begreen]

No offense, but your dad should see our water bills. We love our front loader.

 

[Mcbride]

I have an LG front load that collects dust now, and we instead got another top load hybrid.
Its about 4 or 5 years old, but we got tired of the front load BS after a couple years, and replaced it with a top loader again.
Our new top load is a kenmore brand, without the tall agitator like the old washers.
it has just a small one, and it washes very well, and can hold a huge comforter, or do just a small load of delicates if we like.

The front load had to be a big load every time or it vibrated so bad it would move around to the end of the hoses.
It did not wash stuff to well if apcked to full, and the door must be left open all the time, or it stinks.

So it got pushed to a corner of the garage, and sits there still.

 

[firefighterjake]

Darn thread . . . posted just a few days ago about having few issues . . . only to do a load the other day and find a bunch of plastic pieces in the laundry . . . turns out it is part of the outer drum that grenaded . . . that's the bad news . . . the good news is that it appears to not have affected the machine's operation (although I suspect I will repair it anyways) and the part should only be about $50 . . . vs. $450 if the bearing in the other half of the drum had gone.

 

[moosetrek]

Just went through this search after the 1.5 year old Fisher and Paykel washer had its second set of probs, water pump went out, fried the computer. Cost would be $350 for parts and an hour of my time, was awesome when it worked but wasn't worth it to keep having it break so after a huge amount of research I ended up with a Samsung front load, pretty much on par with the LG; but it was cheaper - only a bit more than a decent old-fashioned top loader. So far no probs but only 3 weeks old, I leave the door and the soap drawer open after every wash.

 

[Swedishchef]

There are some interesting comments on this forum.

First of all, I have to agree with Dave11. The cost of some front loading washers/dryers does NOT outweigh their energy savings. I paid $700 for a set of old school appliances: top loading washer and front loading dryer. They are basic. My wife wanted a set that was front loading and cost $1500. First of all, at $1500 a set I don't want to bend over every time I need to load/unload them (nor did I wanna spend another $300 on stands) Here is my justification on WHY we didn't get them:

Where I live I pay about 7.3 cents per KWh on average. My dryer has a 4400 watt element. I run it for 1 hr every time I do a load. I do 5-6 loads a week (lets say 6): 7.3 cents * 4.4 KW * .75 hrs *6 loads = $10.50 a week.

On those front loading sets, the heating element is just as big. The washer simply uses less water. So you run the dryer for about 1/2 the time. So I would pay $5.25 a week.

Since I am on a well, I don't pay for water.

Saving $5/week would take me at LEAST 3-4 years before getting my money out of a front loading unit. And as Dave said (a repairman friend of mine said the same thing about repairs), they break relatively easily.

All that to say, we all like fancy things but I decided to keep my washer/dryer old school.

However, I did almost buy a Whirlpool Cabrio Energy efficient TOP loading washer.
http://www.whirlpoolappliances.ca/en/Products/WTW7800XL.html

Andrew

 

[firefighterjake]

RE: Stands . . . I was cheap . . . I spent an hour and built my own out of some left over wood I had in my garage.