I am thinking of buying a front load washer.

[AirBaud]

I would appreciate any DU experiences, good or bad, with them.

[ogneopasno]

1. I love mine. It uses much less water and detergent, and is much easier on the clothes.

Totally worth it.

[SacredCow]

2. Sister has one and loves it....

The only thing she's ever mentioned negative is that you really should leave the door open when not in use, or the seal can mildew. On edit: That might not be the case with all models, though....

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. DO IT

We love ours. We used to watch it spin when we first got it.

[AirBaud]

4. Another question.

Does anyone have pets with one of these? Is it worse with pet hair than a top loader? Problem with hair in the filters or gaskets? Thanks in advance.

[jobycom]

5. We have tons of pets, and have had no problems with it.

We bought one of the early Maytag Neptune washers. It's lasted ten years, although right now I have to replace a circuit board on it. Cleans clothes better than top loaders (except the old Whirlpool Calypso models, which were basically front-loaders that loaded from the top), uses less water and detergent.

They are a bit pricier, and some models have had problems, since there is more circuitry than top loaders. But ours has been great.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

6. Two Border Collies and two cats (all shedding machines)

No problems with the pet hair. It ends up in the bottom front of the gasket and you can just take it out by hand. Really easy to clean.

[ogneopasno]

8. We've got a rough collie and a hound, no problem with fur. It wads up in the front and you can just

take it right out.

[leftyclimber]

13. The first time I used mine after years at doing laundry in coin-ops

about 5 gajillion tons of cat hair ended up in the lint trap. I was floored to see how not-clean my clothes had been prior.

If anything, they're more effective than top-loaders at removing pet hair, and they don't seem to have any problems related to it.

I'm thrilled with my front-loading washer-dryer. Easy on water, electricity, soap, and clothes.

[LostinVA]

7. We LOVE ours -- clotehs are cleaner, uses way less water, drying times are much shorter

There was a thread in the Lounge two weeks about this very thing, btw.

[marzipanni]

9. I think it's only an LG that has a filter accessible from the front

I was asking a salesman at Best Buy about that. I like the filter basket on top of the agitator my old GE has because it catches dog hair and lint.

This is from this DU thread on March 5 about front load washers-
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8578217

"Here's a reason why I HATE my front loader
You can't soak your clothes. I really liked soaking my whites before running the cycle. I miss it terribly. My front loader has been a PITA and we frequently have to open up the entire front to clean out the little tray underneath because god forbid a few pine needles go through the wash and get stuck in there. We learned how to do it ourselves after a 100 dollar visit from the repair guy."

[hedgehog]

10. We've had a Sear's Kenmore for a couple years now.

Pluses: it's smaller than a lot of other front loaders, more the size of a standard top loader than a commercial front loader. This means it's cheaper and matched to our dryer. It practically spins the clothes dry, which saves on the gas in the dryer. Less water per load is easier on the septic system, too.

Minuses: the only problem we've had is that occasionally the pump that empties the machine gets jammed if I leave hair pins in my pockets and they get loose in the washer. There's no easy way to access this pump without a lot of tear down. Maybe the design has been changed since we got ours.

[yellowdogintexas]

11. I have the same model, going on 5 years old and still a workhorse. I LOVE THAT

washing machine.

[Midlodemocrat]

12. Don't get one if you are putting it on any floor other than the first or basement.

The vibrations will rattle the nails loose. I got rid of mine because my laundry room is on the second floor.