Thinking of purchasing a new front load washer. Which one would you buy and
why? Thanks Terry

"terry cooper" writes:

Thinking of purchasing a new front load washer. Which one would you buy and
why? Thanks Terry

I got a Kenmore HE2 4646 (similar to 4647) because it was rated a
Consumer Reports Best Buy in the front load category, and was above
average on all categories except water consumption where it scored
average. Very sturdily constructed, and is quite a treat to watch
operate the first few times. Seriously--you may find yourself pulling
up a chair.

It's very quiet, washes quite well, and washes a ****load of stuff.
I've only had it a few months, so I can't speak to its durability, but
it certainly had far beefier hinges and look than some of the
competing frontloaders.

You will need to use HE detergent--it was the only surprise I had in
my initiation into fron loader land. Enjoy!


--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

I wouldn't waste my money on a washer. If the old one you have is not
working use a bath tub and use cold power detergent and soak clothes
overnight. Also try wearing clothes for 2 days instead of one, will cut
your washing in half.

terry cooper wrote:
Thinking of purchasing a new front load washer. Which one would you buy and
why? Thanks Terry

LG...solid record so far....google it

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 01:00:03 GMT, "terry cooper"
wrote:

Thinking of purchasing a new front load washer. Which one would you buy and
why? Thanks Terry


We bought a Maytag Neptune. I checked consumer reports and it had one
of the better scores at getting clothes clean, which is why we bought
it. They had some problems in the past, but I figured they've likely
had time to get them owrked out, and after almost two months we are
still happy.

" wrote:

The one thing I don't like is the HE detergents
rarely go on sale when other products in the manufacturer's line do,
and are not available in the jumbo economy sizes (at least where I
live).


Which is pretty funny. IIRC 'HE' detergents are nothing more than low sudsing
ones. Those used to be available all the time. Slap a new label on them and jack
up the price!

And since commercial front loaders work just fine with dry detergent, you might
want to look around for a good low sudsing dry detergent. Bonus - it weighs less
than the liquids when you drag it home.

writes:

I wouldn't waste my money on a washer. If the old one you have is not
working use a bath tub and use cold power detergent and soak clothes
overnight. Also try wearing clothes for 2 days instead of one, will cut
your washing in half.

How's that workin out for ya?


--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

writes:

The washing machine here is still working after 10 years, but when it
breaks, I will not be forking over cash for another one. I will do
without.

Cool. Saves money, and is energy efficient.

But don't expect everyone will have sufficient free time to go back to
washboards and wash basins with ya though. Replying thusly to
someone's inquiry about a front load washer is akin to telling someone
on a car newsgroup that they really should be shopping for a good
quarter horse and a buggy....

Interesting, but not likely useful to the original poster. But hey,
it's usenet, we get what we pay for right?

--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

We've always bought huge buckets of HE detergent at Sears when it's been
on a half-off sale.

I've also seen large packs of HE Tide at either Sam's or Costco.

Perce


On 06/21/06 09:20 am wrote:

I, too, have the Kenmore, and love it. It has been absolutely
problem-free and as the other poster noted, holds an unbelievable
amount of laundry. With a front loader, you'll find yourself going
around the house trying to find MORE things to put in the wash "just to
finish off this load." The one thing I don't like is the HE detergents
rarely go on sale when other products in the manufacturer's line do,
and are not available in the jumbo economy sizes (at least where I
live).

wrote:

The washing machine here is still working after 10 years, but when it
breaks, I will not be forking over cash for another one. I will do
without.

How come?

What is you overall plan?

Serious question

wrote:
The washing machine here is still working after 10 years, but when it
breaks, I will not be forking over cash for another one. I will do
without.


You may want to try this for a month or two. One immigrant from China
(well, sort of, he was the son of an American missionary born and raised
in China) said that the best thing about moving to the US was not
handwashing clothes.

I've done the washboard thing (spent a year in, yep, China) and all I
had to wash were my own clothes (no towels, no bed linen, etc) and
discovered that man was right. Washing one pair of jeans by washboard
wasn't too much fun. Neither was rinsing and wringing.


Todd H. wrote:

writes:


I wouldn't waste my money on a washer. If the old one you have is not
working use a bath tub and use cold power detergent and soak clothes
overnight. Also try wearing clothes for 2 days instead of one, will cut
your washing in half.

How's that workin out for ya?


--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

Jeanne wrote:

I've done the washboard thing (spent a year in, yep, China) and all I
had to wash were my own clothes (no towels, no bed linen, etc) and
discovered that man was right. Washing one pair of jeans by washboard
wasn't too much fun. Neither was rinsing and wringing.

Understood

But what if you owned clothes that were easy to wash
and care for up front?

What if the materials in the clothes were strong yet
quick drying and light?

IOW.... maybe we own a lot of clothes that by there
very nature make life more complicated cause they
require more care and attention.

wrote:
Jeanne wrote:


I've done the washboard thing (spent a year in, yep, China) and all I
had to wash were my own clothes (no towels, no bed linen, etc) and
discovered that man was right. Washing one pair of jeans by washboard
wasn't too much fun. Neither was rinsing and wringing.


Understood

But what if you owned clothes that were easy to wash
and care for up front?


Oh, I had silk and cotton clothing which were easy to wash and I
probably had what is considered a *very* limited wardrobe (5 days worth
of clothing) but it's hard to get around either 1) the frequency of
doing the wash or 2) just how much time you spend wringing water from
these garments. Also, the dorm had *wonderful* 6-7 feet long
trough-like sinks so I had LOTS of room to wash, rinse, and place wet
clothes (waiting to be hung up for drying). I'd hate to think about
handwashing 3 days worth of clothes in the sinks one finds in US laundry
rooms (deep but relatively small).


What if the materials in the clothes were strong yet
quick drying and light?


It was the rinsing and wringing that was the problem not the drying.

IOW.... maybe we own a lot of clothes that by there
very nature make life more complicated cause they
require more care and attention.

Yep. It's amazing how few clothes you want when you need to hand wash.

Jeanne

Jo Ann wrote:
I like this idea! Any suggestions (other than "read the box") as to
brand?

Jo Ann



I just buy regular detergent, such as Tide powder. It is cheaper than
liquid and those with all the additives such as febreze. I use Downy
anyway, so who needs the extra stuff. I use less than half of what I
used to use for a load and the load is twice as big.

These are all powders, Other people seem to be assuming that the only HE
detergents are liquids.

Perce


On 06/21/06 12:32 pm I wrote:

We've always bought huge buckets of HE detergent at Sears when it's been
on a half-off sale.

I've also seen large packs of HE Tide at either Sam's or Costco.

Jeanne wrote:

It was the rinsing and wringing that was the problem not the drying.

Hmm... I see

I wouldn't have thought that the wringing part would
bee that hard since most of your clothes were silk and
such

Jeanne wrote:

Yep. It's amazing how few clothes you want when you need to hand wash.

Agree

The reason I'm thinking on the subject is that I may be
living on the road for extended period of time such as
RV

wrote:
The reason I'm thinking on the subject is that I may be
living on the road for extended period of time such as
RV

Laundromats. Every town even really little ones have them.

On 21 Jun 2006 22:33:33 -0700, "USA1st"
wrote:
Jo Ann wrote:
I like this idea! Any suggestions (other than "read the box") as to
brand?

I just buy regular detergent, such as Tide powder. It is cheaper than
liquid and those with all the additives such as febreze. I use Downy
anyway, so who needs the extra stuff. I use less than half of what I
used to use for a load and the load is twice as big.

I do this as well (and I know Percival Cassidy disagrees with this
approach). I use less than half of the "small" load amount, which is
probably a tablespoon or so, of the dry powdered detergent. Works
great, no problems after 3 years with my Frigidaire Gallery front
loader (and the detergent of the month (oops, of the year!) is Arm &
Hammer, which succeeded Gain).

KLS wrote:


I do this as well (and I know Percival Cassidy disagrees with this
approach). I use less than half of the "small" load amount, which is
probably a tablespoon or so, of the dry powdered detergent. Works
great, no problems after 3 years with my Frigidaire Gallery front
loader (and the detergent of the month (oops, of the year!) is Arm &
Hammer, which succeeded Gain).

Tide used to be considered a high sudsing detergent, so its not surprising that
you have to cut that far back. Can't recall which are the lower sudsing ones,
but I suspect a quick pass by the vending machine at the local laundromat would
provide some good ideas...

On 06/22/06 05:55 pm KLS wrote:

I just buy regular detergent, such as Tide powder. It is cheaper than
liquid and those with all the additives such as febreze. I use Downy
anyway, so who needs the extra stuff. I use less than half of what I
used to use for a load and the load is twice as big.

I do this as well (and I know Percival Cassidy disagrees with this
approach). I use less than half of the "small" load amount, which is
probably a tablespoon or so, of the dry powdered detergent. Works
great, no problems after 3 years with my Frigidaire Gallery front
loader (and the detergent of the month (oops, of the year!) is Arm &
Hammer, which succeeded Gain).

After our previous "discussion" of this issue I cast my mind back to my
chemistry classes and recalled more clearly why I don't think simply
using less of the ordinary detergent really does the job.

I agree that suds/lather are/is not necessary for effective cleaning.
But detergent manufacturers add foaming agents to satisfy consumers'
expectation of suds/lather. Therefore if so little of a "foaming"
detergent is used that it doesn't foam, there's likely not enough of it
to overcome the hardness of the water and get whatever-it-is clean.
(BTW, since that last discussion we've installed a water softener and
now are using even less detergent -- half-price Sears HE powder bought
by the huge bucketful.)

Perce

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:


I agree that suds/lather are/is not necessary for effective cleaning.
But detergent manufacturers add foaming agents to satisfy consumers'
expectation of suds/lather. Therefore if so little of a "foaming"
detergent is used that it doesn't foam, there's likely not enough of it
to overcome the hardness of the water and get whatever-it-is clean.

I agree. There's a fair amount of sophisticated chemestry involved - and not
just surfacants (water softeners). Detergent isn't just "soap" and the motion of
the washer only goes so far...

This has actually been my experience when trying to get by using less
of a regular detergent. Cleaning is not nearly as good as it is with
the HE products. I do it occasionally to get by on the cheap, either
for things that aren't very dirty (e.g., bath towels used once) or
things I don't really care about getting spotless (e.g., towels used
for the dogs).

Jo Ann

Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote:
"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:


I agree that suds/lather are/is not necessary for effective cleaning.
But detergent manufacturers add foaming agents to satisfy consumers'
expectation of suds/lather. Therefore if so little of a "foaming"
detergent is used that it doesn't foam, there's likely not enough of it
to overcome the hardness of the water and get whatever-it-is clean.

I agree. There's a fair amount of sophisticated chemestry involved - and not
just surfacants (water softeners). Detergent isn't just "soap" and the motion of
the washer only goes so far...