Steve writes:

Looks like I'm gonna want a stacking washer/dryer. The dealers seem
to be pushing front-loaders everywhere now. Near as I can tell, the
front-load options allow for fullsize units, as opposed to the smaller
stackable top-loaders. Do you use a front-load washer? Happy with
it? More bending over to load and unload? Consumer Reports said
sumpthin about greater difficulty loading, not sure what they meant...


We have a front-load washer, which we bought a few years ago. Seems to
do fine washing the clothes, and uses a lot less water and detergent.

No more bending over to load and unload than the front-load dryer
beside it (which is 20 years old).... The trip from the washer to the
dryer is shorter - I just get down on my knees and move it from one to the
other in handfulls until it's all done. Then I stand up. I lose socks in
the washer at about the same rate as in the dryer - you do need to "get
down" to fish out the ones stuck to the top of the drum.