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(MSN)   So which washing machines are better, front loaders or top loaders?   (msn.com) divider line
49
    More: Interesting, Laundry, Washing machine, Top loader, front loader, warm water, home use, Clothes dryer, washing machine debate  
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366 clicks; posted to Discussion » on 18 Nov 2022 at 8:05 AM (17 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



49 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
Warthog [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 7:39:06 AM  
Top loaders rule, front loaders drool.
 
optikeye [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 7:40:35 AM  
Front loaders use less water....and leak that on the floor.
 
optikeye [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 7:56:35 AM  
I recently got these 'power damper' thingys.

We have very frequent power outages in the winter and spring time. Sometimes just 2 mins or so until the substation re-boots.
The constant on/off/on/off wrecks havoc with appliances new digital controls...and the window units for AC, freezer, 'fridges..things with start up motors or even TVs and audio amps that don't take well to off/on/off/on/off/on.

These detect an outage and give a 2-3 min 'time out' delay before allowing power to flow again.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Petit_Merdeux [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:00:44 AM  
I have a side loader.
 
gaslight [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:01:21 AM  
Front loaders are more energy efficient.
 
grokca [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 8:07:52 AM  
My wife prefers to lean on the front loader.
 
GardenWeasel [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 8:10:14 AM  
Neither. When she bends over, you load her from the rear.

/*smokebomb*
 
SpectroBoy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:11:19 AM  

Petit_Merdeux: I have a side loader.



I have a back loader.
It's not very convenient but I got a REALLY good deal on it.
 
OldRod [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:13:34 AM  
Had a front load Samsung for close to 10 years.  Never leaked, works great.
 
edmo [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:15:59 AM  
I've bought two front loaders. The first failed in just a few years. The second sucks, too. No more for me.
 
LewDux [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:16:24 AM  
Front

BREAKCORE Washing Machine Self-Destruction : WTF ?!?
Youtube 9nm0fDG-f3k
 
SurfaceTension [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:16:59 AM  
I've had both, and both work great. Kinda prefer front loader, but the in-laws bought us a w/d set with top-load washer. Not going to argue with "free."
 
LewDux [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:20:09 AM  
Mrs. Bartolozzi -- Kate Bush
Youtube qiSbf6BW2aA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lub2sWBmF8&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBPu6MDhC-U
 
markie_farkie [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:30:23 AM  
Samsung front loader since 2012, zero issues at all.

Gotta keep the gunk trap on the lower left front cleaned out, and make sure the door stays open between uses so dampness doesn't set in.

Also check the door gasket (look in the crevice between the drum and seal too) and glass after every use to make sure pet hair and other debris don't build up.  That's the #1 reason why they leak.

Once a month I'll dump a cup of bleach in the soap dispenser and run it on the hottest water setting self-clean cycle just to nuke any lingering funk that might be in the plumbing.

And as pointed out above, front loaders generally use 1/3 the water a top loader needs to wash a load.

Plus, with no agitator taking up space and stressing fabric fibers, you can load them up completely full and they still do a decent job, since gravity is doing most of the cleaning as the drum rotates.
 
Marcus Aurelius [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:36:50 AM  
Speed Queen top loading commercial heavy duty takes no prisoners.
 
Cafe Threads [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:41:40 AM  
Whichever one is empty and available for loading at the laundromat.
 
SuperChuck
2022-11-18 8:46:20 AM  

SpectroBoy: Petit_Merdeux: I have a side loader.


I have a back loader.
It's not very convenient but I got a REALLY good deal on it.


Dude, turn it around
 
drewogatory
2022-11-18 8:46:59 AM  
I bought brand new old school Speed Queens a couple years ago. I'm pushing 60. Sorted.
 
Driedsponge [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 8:56:02 AM  
Front loaders are more efficient, can get your clothes a bit cleaner, but need much more maintenance (cleaning), hold standing water, have a higher rate of failure, and are harder on the fabrics.

Top loaders use more water, don't get clothes quite as clean, but are much more bullet proof, gentler on fabrics, and usually a bit cheaper.
 
Ethertap [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 8:57:14 AM  
They're all pretty bad once you run a load of bricks through them.
 
Warthog [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 9:00:41 AM  

markie_farkie: Samsung front loader since 2012, zero issues at all.

Gotta keep the gunk trap on the lower left front cleaned out, and make sure the door stays open between uses so dampness doesn't set in.

Also check the door gasket (look in the crevice between the drum and seal too) and glass after every use to make sure pet hair and other debris don't build up.  That's the #1 reason why they leak.

Once a month I'll dump a cup of bleach in the soap dispenser and run it on the hottest water setting self-clean cycle just to nuke any lingering funk that might be in the plumbing.

And as pointed out above, front loaders generally use 1/3 the water a top loader needs to wash a load.

Plus, with no agitator taking up space and stressing fabric fibers, you can load them up completely full and they still do a decent job, since gravity is doing most of the cleaning as the drum rotates.


We have a top loader of similar vintage.   The regular maintenance to keep it running right involves... nothing other than loading clothes, adding detergent, and unloading clothes.
 
kdawg7736 [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 9:05:27 AM  
Hard to decide. My parents let me go to their house to do laundry and they have a front loader that is only a year or two old. It is high tech and I think it is an upgrade compared to the top loaders they had and the newer one uses a lot less water as it is meant to be environmentally funny.

Bottom line, depends on the features the washer has.
 
drewogatory
2022-11-18 9:05:57 AM  

Marcus Aurelius: Speed Queen top loading commercial heavy duty takes no prisoners.


And easy to fix if they do break, which is infrequently with residential use. It's $30ish for a belt and pump, which is the only thing that really breaks. Takes a long time to wear out the timers.
 
debug
2022-11-18 9:17:52 AM  
A Top Loader Is Better If You...
Like to presoak. Top-loading machines let you fill the washer and give your dirty clothes a good soak.  Fair enough

Have difficulty bending and reaching into the drum of a front-loading machine, which is much lower to the ground. Not if you have a pedestal base.  Also, if you have trouble bending to reach into a front loader, you're probably going to have trouble bending to reach down into the bottom of a top loader.

Are a traditionalist. Many people like top loaders because that's what they've always used. This is not a reason why they would be better.

Don't want to worry about mold. Mold can grow in any washer, but it's less likely with a top loader. Maybe.
A Front Loader is Better If You...
Wash a lot of large items. Front loaders can handle bulky things like comforters with ease because there's no central agitator.  Many top loaders have a removable agitator or no agitator at all.  This is a nonsense reason

Have accessibility needs. Front-loading machines give wheelchair users and smaller people easier access to the door, drum and controls. Fair enough

Are motivated by climate concerns. Front loaders use much less water and receive better Energy Star ratings. Fair enough

Live in an apartment. While top loaders come in small sizes, front loaders can be stacked without sacrificing capacity. Maybe.  They make stacked top load/dryer units, but yeah they're smaller.
 
markie_farkie [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 9:26:52 AM  
live.staticflickr.comView Full Size


My grandmother used one of these up into the late 1990s when she was still able to care for herself.  She did all the church's sacramental linens, and spent countless hours using boiling water to remove candle wax stains from various items.

After she passed, the priest made a point of calling her out that she didn't regularly attend church in her later years, but never bothered to mention all the work she did for them, or never even bothered to visit her. Some church admin would drop off and pick up the laundry.

And they wonder why nobody wants to be a Catholic any more.
 
crzybtch [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 9:27:26 AM  
Up until 1973 when I was 13, my Mom had a wringer washer and no dryer.  Then my Grandma put her hand through the wringer, my mother panicked and instead of hitting the emergency button, she reversed the wringer and put her hand back through.  Her hand looked like someone blew up a rubber glove with brown/green/blue/yellow bruises all over.

I think of my Mom in the 60's with three kids in cloth diapers, wringer washer, no dryer hanging everything up in the basement in Michigan winters.

I appreciate any kind of washer or dryer that works.  I especially love the really big washers at the laundromat.  Throw all my color clothes, sheets, socks, etc in one load.  Worth the trip.
 
SpectroBoy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 9:30:36 AM  

Marcus Aurelius: Speed Queen top loading commercial heavy duty takes no prisoners.


Buy one of those bad boys and you can use it to clean bricks.
 
Nick Nostril
2022-11-18 9:48:44 AM  
As simple a top loader as possible. Nobody makes the mechanical timer types any more, so I bought a commercial Maytag. Cost aboot as much as a mid-fancy front loader with the computer screens, internet access, and satellite communications, none of which I need. I require my clothes to be cleaned, not be entertained by my laundry equipment.
 
Nick Nostril
2022-11-18 9:50:44 AM  

markie_farkie: [live.staticflickr.com image 687x1023]

My grandmother used one of these up into the late 1990s when she was still able to care for herself.  She did all the church's sacramental linens, and spent countless hours using boiling water to remove candle wax stains from various items.


Mine did too. I remember it well. Thing looked like it was made on the same assembly line as WW2 tanks.
 
tsjonesosu
2022-11-18 10:03:03 AM  
I had a front loader for 3 years and HATED it. I sold it and switched back to a top loadercommercial sized Maytag to. Here's the truth about "high efficiency appliances and toilets". My Maytag has cut our loads of laundry by more than half. There is no way doing 4 or 5 extra loads of laundry in a HE front loader every week is going to be efficient than my commercial Maytag. Same with lo-flo toilets. If it can't choke down your beefs in a single flush, you end up using more water in the long run. I can't recall where I read it, but there is some pretty strong evidence that claims of efficiency are BS unless you strictly follow the usage guidelines which generally not practical.
 
DON.MAC [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 10:07:28 AM  
Front loaders are far more complicated.  When they have problems, they are a real pain like water on the floor and moldy clothes.  Top loaders are more likely to have nasty vibrations that break their hoses causing major flooding.

I want a machine like on the Jetsons where the clothes come out properly folded.
 
drewogatory
2022-11-18 10:08:44 AM  

tsjonesosu: I had a front loader for 3 years and HATED it. I sold it and switched back to a top loadercommercial sized Maytag to. Here's the truth about "high efficiency appliances and toilets". My Maytag has cut our loads of laundry by more than half. There is no way doing 4 or 5 extra loads of laundry in a HE front loader every week is going to be efficient than my commercial Maytag. Same with lo-flo toilets. If it can't choke down your beefs in a single flush, you end up using more water in the long run. I can't recall where I read it, but there is some pretty strong evidence that claims of efficiency are BS unless you strictly follow the usage guidelines which generally not practical.


For 2 working adults we run 3.5 loads a week . 1 bedding, 2 clothes, then the rags/towels/napkins/pet stuff every other week. Our washer can do all our bedding (minus the plush mattress pad) in one shot.
 
RolandTGunner [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 10:26:31 AM  
My top loading Kenmore 80 series contains no microchips and in twenty years of service has only needed the lid switch adjusted.
 
Needlessly Complicated [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 10:31:44 AM  
Which one do you put the pineapple Chicago-style pizza in?
 
Uchiha_Cycliste [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 11:00:55 AM  
The best washer and dryer are the one(s) that fit the tiny available space.
 
Snaps [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 11:02:45 AM  
I have a stacked front load setup because that's all I can fit in the garage and everything is fine so far. It's 10000x better than the shared laundry room at my old apartment.
 
Meat's dream [OhFark]
2022-11-18 11:11:00 AM  
Top loader is faster, and I think does a better job, but they agitate so much your clothes wear out faster.

Front loader is gentler on clothes, and uses less water.  Also, they spin much faster so the clothes are easier to dry.  So they are doubly efficient.  But they take quite a bit longer, at least the ones I've seen, and are more likely to get stinky.
 
Timmy the Tumor
2022-11-18 11:15:00 AM  
The gasket on front loaders is VERY vulnerable to any objects in the wash.  A pen, hair clip, or even a stick from outside can slice that gasket all the way around.  Replacement gaskets can be $200+, and it's a multi-hour job to replace.  Don't ask me how I know.

our top-loader is also "HE" rated, so the argument of "get a front loader to save energy" isn't really valid
 
wooden_badger [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 11:44:30 AM  
It's so much fun when the bearing in a front loader lets go (probably during high-speed spin).  The thing will make noise like the world's about to end.
 
Gleeman [BareFark]
2022-11-18 11:57:54 AM  
There aren't dozens of videos on YouTube showing how to stop a top loader from stinking.
 
ReapTheChaos
2022-11-18 12:01:56 PM  

Timmy the Tumor: The gasket on front loaders is VERY vulnerable to any objects in the wash.  A pen, hair clip, or even a stick from outside can slice that gasket all the way around.  Replacement gaskets can be $200+, and it's a multi-hour job to replace.  Don't ask me how I know.

our top-loader is also "HE" rated, so the argument of "get a front loader to save energy" isn't really valid


This.

Every washer sold these days is energy star or "high efficiency" qualified. Claiming that front loaders are more energy efficient, while technically correct, is highly misleading. If you compare two like model machines, the difference in energy usage is about 75 kWh per year, or about 10 bucks worth of electricity. This is based on an average of 6 loads per week AND includes the cost of a standard electric water heater.

Energy guides:
Top loader
Front loader
 
cherryl taggart [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 12:31:15 PM  
Speed Queen all the way.  Longest warranty and made in America.  My only complaint is the washer finishes the second load faster than my dryer can finish the first load.

If Speed Queen could just get the laundry to fold itself and put itself away, I'd die happy.
 
bingethinker [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 12:37:16 PM  
My apartment building switched from top loaders to front loaders a couple of years ago. The front loaders are 35-40 minutes per load, while the top loaders were 30 minutes. The way some of my clothes look, I would say that the front loaders are much rougher on clothes than the top loaders.
 
Diagonal [TotalFark]
2022-11-18 3:00:52 PM  

optikeye: Front loaders use less water....and leak that on the floor.



We've had LG front-loaders for almost 20 years now... not a problem at all. The current future ex-wife finally learned how to clean out the lint trap recently. So it's all good.
 
Snotty1
2022-11-18 4:32:25 PM  
What are we washing ?
 
dailygrinds
2022-11-18 5:41:56 PM  
According to my research, front loaders are very dangerous. Step-sisters are always getting stuck in them.
cdn-img2.iporntv.netView Full Size
 
tsjonesosu
2022-11-18 9:16:32 PM  

drewogatory: tsjonesosu: I had a front loader for 3 years and HATED it. I sold it and switched back to a top loadercommercial sized Maytag to. Here's the truth about "high efficiency appliances and toilets". My Maytag has cut our loads of laundry by more than half. There is no way doing 4 or 5 extra loads of laundry in a HE front loader every week is going to be efficient than my commercial Maytag. Same with lo-flo toilets. If it can't choke down your beefs in a single flush, you end up using more water in the long run. I can't recall where I read it, but there is some pretty strong evidence that claims of efficiency are BS unless you strictly follow the usage guidelines which generally not practical.

For 2 working adults we run 3.5 loads a week . 1 bedding, 2 clothes, then the rags/towels/napkins/pet stuff every other week. Our washer can do all our bedding (minus the plush mattress pad) in one shot.


We have 2 additional adults in our house and frequently 2 or 3 grandchildren from our other grown kids. HE appliances just can't get it done.
 
brigid_fitch
2022-11-18 9:19:23 PM  
If you forgot to throw something in the wash after you started it, you're screwed with a front-loader. A top loader, you can just toss it in if you're really enough in the cycle.
 
Jesus McSordid [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-18 10:53:05 PM  
My bottom loader is great when it comes to getting the laundry out, but a little tricky to load.
 
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