I need to get a front loading washer for my home and have decided I
want a commercial quality unit. These are better made, have better
warranties and will no doubt last longer for my needs. Can anyone
recommend a brand? I know of Ipso. Do the usual suspects like
Whirlpool, etc. make good commercial machines?

Thanks very much.

On Feb 3, 10:23 pm, wrote:
I need to get a front loading washer for my home and have decided I
want a commercial quality unit. These are better made, have better
warranties and will no doubt last longer for my needs. Can anyone
recommend a brand? I know of Ipso. Do the usual suspects like
Whirlpool, etc. make good commercial machines?

Thanks very much.



I can't really recommend a particular brand but I can tell you with
some confidence to stay away from Maytag front loaders.
They have had some real problems with their machines over the last
several years.

I would check Consumer Reports.

wrote:
I need to get a front loading washer for my home and have decided I
want a commercial quality unit. These are better made, have better
warranties and will no doubt last longer for my needs. Can anyone
recommend a brand? I know of Ipso. Do the usual suspects like
Whirlpool, etc. make good commercial machines?

Thanks very much.

I buy the Speed Queen Commercial machines. You have to go to a
laundry-mat supply house to buy them.

Alliance Laundry Systems makes the Ipso and the Speed Queen. See
"http://www.comlaundry.com/"

For a commercial front loader that would be suitable for home use, look at:
"http://www.speedqueen.com/route/products/prod_fl_washer.htm"
"http://www.speedqueen.com/route/adv_pdf/am06-201.pdf"

The warranties are different, not necessarily better. They usually are
parts only, because laundry-mat owners do their own repairs.

The reality is that a commercial machine used in a home environment is
_extremely unlikely_ to require any repairs for a far longer time than
any warranty will cover. I speak from experience. I put commercial
quality machines in a rental unit, and it's been over 10 years with no
repairs. I have a commercial washer at my house, and there have been no
repairs for six years, though this would easily be possible with a
consumer grade machine as well.

The front load consumer machines are so overpriced that the front load
commercial machines are only about 1.25 to 1.5x the price of the front
load consumer machines, and are of far, far better quality. To me, it's
not just the money spent on repairs of the consumer machines, it's the
hassle of dealing with the downtime, of running around buying parts, and
of finding time to do the repair.

wrote in message
oups.com...
On Feb 3, 10:23 pm, wrote:
I need to get a front loading washer for my home and have decided I
want a commercial quality unit.

I can't really recommend a particular brand but I can tell you with
some confidence to stay away from Maytag front loaders.
They have had some real problems with their machines over the last
several years.

I would check Consumer Reports.

CR does not test commercial equipment. The Maytag front loader problems were
with consumer products, not commercial. Huge difference.

By front load do you mean low water use Energy Star, any real commercial
unit is better our Maytags lasted 30+ and had commercial use.

On 3 Feb 2007 19:23:12 -0800, wrote:

I need to get a front loading washer for my home and have decided I
want a commercial quality unit. These are better made, have better
warranties and will no doubt last longer for my needs. Can anyone
recommend a brand? I know of Ipso. Do the usual suspects like
Whirlpool, etc. make good commercial machines?

Thanks very much.

The commercial ones that have impressed me the most were made by Speen
Queen. They were/are the standard of the industy for laundromats.
However, they don't sell to individuals unless you can find a friendly
distributer who will make an exception.

Doug

Charlie Morgan wrote:
On 3 Feb 2007 19:23:12 -0800, wrote:

I need to get a front loading washer for my home and have decided I
want a commercial quality unit.

What makes you think you need a front loading machine... ?

Can't speak for the OP, but a front loader uses less water, and it
doesn't have an agitator, which tends to damage clothes.

I second the vote for the F&P. I've had mine 5 years (it's my 2nd one, sold
the first with the first home) and it's great. Less wear & tear and a very
smart washer. It holds a lot of clothes, too. The top load makes it very
easy to use. I was ready to get a front loader when I got my first one.
I'm glad I didn't. Energy Star compliant, too.

PoD



"Charlie Morgan" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Feb 2007 16:27:10 GMT, mtco wrote:

Charlie Morgan wrote:
On 3 Feb 2007 19:23:12 -0800, wrote:

I need to get a front loading washer for my home and have decided I
want a commercial quality unit.

What makes you think you need a front loading machine... ?

Can't speak for the OP, but a front loader uses less water, and it
doesn't have an agitator, which tends to damage clothes.

There are good alternatives for about half the cost, and they don't
require any
special (expensive) detergents, either.

I was about to buy a traditional washer a few years ago and someone told
me to
check out Fisher & Paykel. I bought one and it has been terrific. Does
everything a front loader does, and uses a direct drive, so there isn't
even a
transmission to fail. Spin dry cycle is at 1100 rpm so the clothes are
almost
dry before you put them in the dryer. That means I run the dryer for a
much
shorter period. Saves a lot of energy there, too. I paid about $600.

http://www.us-appliance.com/fisherpaykel1.html

CWM

Doug wrote:

The commercial ones that have impressed me the most were made by Speen
Queen. They were/are the standard of the industy for laundromats.
However, they don't sell to individuals unless you can find a friendly
distributer who will make an exception.

I've had no problem buying Speed Queen commercial machines from the
distributor. Drive up, pay with a credit card, take the machine with
you. A lot easier than buying from Sears or other big box retailer where
they usually don't stock anything.

"http://www.pwslaundry.com/" is where I get mine from. They never asked
me why I wanted them, and they don't care. I could have truthfully told
them that they were for a rental property, at least the first time I
bought some.

http://www.us-appliance.com/lgalwaco.html

I wonder how well the combo units work, no moving stuff from washer to
dryer

wrote:
http://www.us-appliance.com/lgalwaco.html

I wonder how well the combo units work, no moving stuff from washer to
dryer

Not all that well. Look at the specs on the XL model. You can't dry
(11#) as much as you can wash (22#).

Since you typically will do loads serially, with one load washing and
the previous load drying, it'll take about twice as long to do multiple
loads. And of course these units cost much more than a separate washer
and dryer.