Need info on Top Loading washing machine.

[Traildust]

Our love/hate relationship with out front loading washer has come to an end. It died a squealing / smoking death. We are done with the front loaders and are looking for a top loading set. I've read reviews for the last hour....seems like all brands have a 50/50 love-hate following as well.

Looking at around the $500 ea. range. Any brands or models to stay away from?

[BigWes]

We went though the same thing a couple years ago. Wound up with a GE something or another (maybe the Profile model) with a matching dryer. The dryer is fine, but the washing machine sounds like the bearings may be going out. When it spins to wring the water out of the clothes, it's loud as h&ll. This just started about a week ago, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to fix it.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd just buy one of the old non-high efficiency washing machines that's been refurbished from one of those appliance repair places. My wife has hated these HE washers since the first one.

Edit. It's a Whirlpool Cabrio. Not a GE.

[curtintex]

I don't know.....I could ask my wife for you though.

[2B4Him]

Quality changes over time, so I'm not sure about today's models. However, our Maytag top loading washing machine is still doing great after 31 years.
My wife keeps hoping it will die so she can get one of the more modern looking, prettier ones. But, it keeps chugging along.

[-HIC-]

We are going through this now. We bought a top loader but it does not have the traditional agitator. My wife hates it and it will be going back to Lowe's. We have been on every site we can think of and have come to the conclusion that all HE models suck. They either tear up the clothes, don't wash them, fail prematurely, or all of the above. Funny thing, I signed up for consumer reports in a last ditch effort to get some input. They rate something very high and then you scroll down to see all the user reviews saying the machine has one of the above problems. Typically I would not give this two thoughts but this is cutting into her sandwich making time.

We still have our old washing machine (30ish years old) and I am just going to rebuild that one for her. I should have got that project done for Valentines day just to see the reaction!

Word of caution - look at return polices. Home Depot gives you about three days. Lowe's you get roughly a month.

[Traildust]

I don't know.....I could ask my wife for you though.

Please do, seems she knows your limited on mechanical knowledge

[Txhuntr2]

A front loader was included by the builder when we built our house. Only lasted 3 years. We had nothing but problems. It had small capacity, was loud, and the clothes, especially towels, never seemed clean. It finally burned up a bearing.

We bought a GE top load from Lowe’s that had really good reviews online. MSRP around $700 but was on sale for $550 or something. We bought the 3 year warranty for something like $100 and glad we did. The washer wasn’t in stock and delivery date was unknown. Lowes sent us a loaner washer for free until ours was in stock. They also took a couple hundred dollars off due to inconvenience and after my veteran discount it came in under $400 after tax for the washer and warranty. I’m not sure how long this machine will last but after this ordeal I know lowes will make it right if it fails. I’d definitely recommend lowes.

As for the washer, it’s much bigger than the front loader and now our clothes are clean. Towels no longer smell musty after a shower.

[darralld]

We are in the process of doing the same thing. Our front loader is starting to act up. I never really cared for the front loader anyhow. We are looking at the LG & will probably pick one up in the next month.

[Traildust]

We are going through this now. We bought a top loader but it does not have the traditional agitator. My wife hates it and it will be going back to Lowe's. We have been on every site we can think of and have come to the conclusion that all HE models suck. They either tear up the clothes, don't wash them, fail prematurely, or all of the above. Funny thing, I signed up for consumer reports in a last ditch effort to get some input. They rate something very high and then you scroll down to see all the user reviews saying the machine has one of the above problems. Typically I would not give this two thoughts but this is cutting into her sandwich making time.

We still have our old washing machine (30ish years old) and I am just going to rebuild that one for her. I should have got that project done for Valentines day just to see the reaction!

Word of caution - look at return polices. Home Depot gives you about three days. Lowe's you get roughly a month.

LOL....Consumer Reports is always gonna list the most expensive item as #1 rated, but the reviews match bottom tier pricing too. It'd stupid!

Thats a good reminder on the return policy.

[texan4ut]

I have a Whirlpool about 15 years old now no problems. My utility is in the garage so it endures hot summers and cold winters.

[Texastaxi]

We recently went back to an old school Maytag, non-electronic washer and dryer.
They do as good a job as the fancy ones we had before, and the set was under $1,000.

[abilliott]

Check out the reviews on the maytag bravos line, seems to have an abundance of high reviews (something like 5700 4.5 star reviews). So far has been great for us. It does a great cleaning job. We will never have another front loader.

[Chief Big Toe]

Looks like I am not alone. the wife hates the Front loader, the socks or anything white just ain't white enough, leaks a bit around the door, bought it off another TBHer, but now going to start looking for a top loader as well. definitely following this post

[-HIC-]

Check out the reviews on the maytag bravos line, seems to have an abundance of high reviews (something like 5700 4.5 star reviews). So far has been great for us. It does a great cleaning job. We will never have another front loader.

This is the latest one we are trying - Maytag Bravos XL. My wife is mixed on it so far but it does at least clean our clothes. She is also happy that drying times are cut down, the trade off seems to be heavily twisted items coming out -this seems to be a feature of all low water HE machines. The only thing I have noticed is when it spins out the water the thing vibrates so much I am not sure how it could last. I will re-level it and try again. She wishes we would have went with the model with steam and still may swap this one for the Bravos with steam.

[BrianL]

Get one with an agitator.