How many people are you washing for?
I find that a laundromat is the most affordable and efficient system for a single guy. For about $200/year (all in quarters) I can haul all of my clothes in every 2-3 weeks and be done in 2 hours. Washing clothes at my parent's house was an all day event.
It's different when you get married for some reason. Once upon a time I would bring a bag of clothes to the laundrymat. The next day I would pick up a bag of neatly fold clothes and a bunch of shirts on hangers. Total time invested, about 15min if I walked. Then I got married. There is something in a womans DNA that won't sleep if they know that you took the lazy way out of a chore. We didn't have a washer or dryer so we still needed to go the laundrymat. My wife would take change and a book and spend a day there. I would take a fishing pole. It cost about two dollars more. It would piss her off to no end until I learned to refold the laundry so it looked like I did it.
4 people and bedding is too much to truck to the laundomat and far too annoying too.
I did four loads of laundry yesterday, and three the day before. I'll probably do two today. Kids, guests, pregnant wife all conspire to add to the list. If any of these are in your future, laundromats won't work. Plus, my $200 washing machine has lasted way over one year.
Wally wrote: My wife would take change and a book and spend a day there. I would take a fishing pole. It cost about two dollars more. It would piss her off to no end until I learned to refold the laundry so it looked like I did it.
Hahahahaha. Thanks for making my day! 
I paid $40 each for my Frigidaire set on CL. They looked darn near new, both in condition and style. No bells and whistles, just standard set.
They've lasted 3 years with no problems, but its just me and the wife so we don't use them as heavily as you do. We probably do about 3 loads a week. I figure if they died right now I could get another set for $50 each and sell my broken ones for $20 each... or get $15 each for scrap.
We have Roper brand from Lowes. They are Whirlpool without the bells and whistles 6-7 years and no issues.
Just out of curiosity... what bells and whistles can a washing machine actually have?
Mine had Heavy, Medium and Light with cold/warm/hot buttons. Do the high end ones make coffee or something?
All kinds of timers, ones that fill themselves with detergent, a sweet candy apple red finish. I was shocked at all the options they tried to sell us.
We bought a $65 Maytag off ebay and got 9 months out of it. Quite a good deal in my mind. Then the wife wanted a front loader - I talked her into a lower priced huge top loader that tied the clothes into knots during rinse. I returned it to Lowe's after hearing about it for two weeks.
I got her the washer she wanted since that is her area of expertise in our family. She lets me get the cars I want without fussing about saving money.
Sometimes you gotta get what the little lady wants. And since my clothes magically end up back in my drawer; who am I to challenge her wants.
trucke wrote: We had the same dilemma a couple of years ago. They all seem to have issues with them - reliability issues. We opted for a Speed Queen Front Loader - $1,300. This is a home version of a commercial laundromat unit. If it can run all day in a laudromat for 10 years, it will last well over twenty years in our home. Everything is beefed up and no computer to fail. Unlike other front loaders, it washes a load in 30 minutes. Make sure you get the home unit, you won't need quarters. Had ours for over two years with no problems. The front loader get the clothes cleaner with less wear and tear on them. If you want a top loader, those will last too! The top loaders are very popular in nursing homes. About $600 for a top load. http://www.speedqueen.com/home/products/
Thanks for this post. My $300 / 10 year old washer took a dump this weekend, so I started shopping. Looked like for $450 +/- I could get a name brand but imported unit from a big box, or for $700 +/- I could get a Speed Queen. I'm normally a cheap bastard, but the washer we've had has been noisy, leaked a couple of times, etc., and so I thought about stepping up. What sealed the deal was that for every unit that looked decent from the big box, inevitably there were a fair number of reviews that were resoundingly bad. I literally could not find a bad review on the Speed Queens. Called around this morning and found a couple of local dealers who gave me a competitive price on it over the phone, and went and looked at one over lunch. Ended up paying $625 delivered and installed. So I got to buy American, and I got to support a local business in the process. Go me. :)
pete240z wrote: We bought a $65 Maytag off ebay and got 9 months out of it. Quite a good deal in my mind. Then the wife wanted a front loader - I talked her into a lower priced huge top loader that tied the clothes into knots during rinse. I returned it to Lowe's after hearing about it for two weeks. I got her the washer she wanted since that is her area of expertise in our family. She lets me get the cars I want without fussing about saving money. Sometimes you gotta get what the little lady wants. And since my clothes magically end up back in my drawer; who am I to challenge her wants.
one of these?
ya gotcha one good woman there 
We've been super happy with our Bosch washer and dryer, close to 4 years old and no reliability problems. There area couple down sides: they can't be stacked because the controls are on top, and they can't be used if you aren't putting them on a concrete slab like in a basement or slab on grade house. The washer spins at 1200rpm and it shakes too much to be on a wood floor, it would make your whole house sound like it was under attack. And I suppose the cost is a downside if you're pinching hundreds. You do need to leave the door open to avoid stink. But I wouldn't go back to a top loading if it was free. Even if we let our laundry pile up for two weeks it's four loads and we're done. Water usage is insanely low but the clothes come out clean and smelling nice. Cost was not insignificant, but they're made in the USA and that's why we picked the Bosch over the other formerly-American brands. Oddly some of those were made in Germany. Riddle me that.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Mine is 15 yrs old this month. It is also filled with soapy towels that should be clean and spun dry but aren't. The transmission has had it. What new washing machine can I buy today to avoid this problem for another 15yrs?
Is it kenmore or whirlpool? They had some issues with the direct drive coupler splitting causing a no-spin. About a $13 part and you can find videos on how to change it yourself on youtube
We have an LG front loader and I HATE it. Talk about stinky damn clothes. I've ordered/purchased more products that I can count that claim to fight the smell. NOTHING WORKS! We leave the damn door open 100% of the time when not in use, I wipe it out, I empty the drain water, all to no avail. Evidently there is even a class action suit against LG now.
So, I'm shopping too. I agree that front loaders are great for their volume capacity, but don't know if any of them can truly be mold/mildew free. Do I have to go back to a top-loader??
Strange. We've had our Front Loader GE for about 7 years and the only time the clothes smell bad is if we leave the clothes in for an entire day. A re-wash takes care of the problem.
We also leave the door open when not in use, otherwise it would get ripe in there.
The only problem we've had was a bad door switch, which I was able to resolve myself without too much effort.
When I changed the door switch, I cleaned out the trap under the drum and there was a lot of water stored in there (plus about $0.45 in change) that could be source of your issue and unless that potential swamp is cleaned out, you won't get much satisfaction.
dyintorace wrote: We have an LG front loader and I HATE it. Talk about stinky damn clothes. I've ordered/purchased more products that I can count that claim to fight the smell. NOTHING WORKS! We leave the damn door open 100% of the time when not in use, I wipe it out, I empty the drain water, all to no avail. Evidently there is even a class action suit against LG now. So, I'm shopping too. I agree that front loaders are great for their volume capacity, but don't know if any of them can truly be mold/mildew free. Do I have to go back to a top-loader??
HE top loaders are really common now. Ours is a piece of crap, but that is a whole different story. Just looking at Lowes - the biggest top loaders have a higher capacity than the biggest front loaders.
Bought a Maytag front loader about 2 years ago and hate the thing. It’s smells and the drum bearings have gone out twice. Wish I got a cheap top loader but I needed something stackable.
Well I came in here and learned something - front-loading washers are like low-flush toilets. They use less water each time, but they don't save any and they're a big PITA 
Otto Maddox wrote:dyintorace wrote: We have an LG front loader and I HATE it. Talk about stinky damn clothes. I've ordered/purchased more products that I can count that claim to fight the smell. NOTHING WORKS! We leave the damn door open 100% of the time when not in use, I wipe it out, I empty the drain water, all to no avail. Evidently there is even a class action suit against LG now. So, I'm shopping too. I agree that front loaders are great for their volume capacity, but don't know if any of them can truly be mold/mildew free. Do I have to go back to a top-loader??HE top loaders are really common now. Ours is a piece of crap, but that is a whole different story. Just looking at Lowes - the biggest top loaders have a higher capacity than the biggest front loaders.
From what I read, the HE toploaders did away with the agitator and take twice as long to clean half as well. Dunno if that's reality, but it seemed to be a common theme.
turboswede wrote: Strange. We've had our Front Loader GE for about 7 years and the only time the clothes smell bad is if we leave the clothes in for an entire day. A re-wash takes care of the problem. We also leave the door open when not in use, otherwise it would get ripe in there. The only problem we've had was a bad door switch, which I was able to resolve myself without too much effort. When I changed the door switch, I cleaned out the trap under the drum and there was a lot of water stored in there (plus about $0.45 in change) that could be source of your issue and unless that potential swamp is cleaned out, you won't get much satisfaction.
I wish I had your good fortune. 
Once I replace this washer, I'm going to disassemble the piece of $&$@ and see just how bad the build up is. I will then do everything within my (limited) power to let folks know about it.
DILYSI Dave wrote:Otto Maddox wrote:From what I read, the HE toploaders did away with the agitator and take twice as long to clean half as well. Dunno if that's reality, but it seemed to be a common theme.dyintorace wrote: We have an LG front loader and I HATE it. Talk about stinky damn clothes. I've ordered/purchased more products that I can count that claim to fight the smell. NOTHING WORKS! We leave the damn door open 100% of the time when not in use, I wipe it out, I empty the drain water, all to no avail. Evidently there is even a class action suit against LG now. So, I'm shopping too. I agree that front loaders are great for their volume capacity, but don't know if any of them can truly be mold/mildew free. Do I have to go back to a top-loader??HE top loaders are really common now. Ours is a piece of crap, but that is a whole different story. Just looking at Lowes - the biggest top loaders have a higher capacity than the biggest front loaders.
Dammit. So these are worthless too??
DILYSI Dave wrote:Otto Maddox wrote:From what I read, the HE toploaders did away with the agitator and take twice as long to clean half as well. Dunno if that's reality, but it seemed to be a common theme.dyintorace wrote: We have an LG front loader and I HATE it. Talk about stinky damn clothes. I've ordered/purchased more products that I can count that claim to fight the smell. NOTHING WORKS! We leave the damn door open 100% of the time when not in use, I wipe it out, I empty the drain water, all to no avail. Evidently there is even a class action suit against LG now. So, I'm shopping too. I agree that front loaders are great for their volume capacity, but don't know if any of them can truly be mold/mildew free. Do I have to go back to a top-loader??HE top loaders are really common now. Ours is a piece of crap, but that is a whole different story. Just looking at Lowes - the biggest top loaders have a higher capacity than the biggest front loaders.
That sounds about right.
Or was right a few years ago.
Looking at my trusty Consumer Reports Buying Guide (don't laugh), of the washers they tested cycle times ranged from 50 to 100 minutes for front loaders and 35 to 80 minutes for top loaders.
DILYSI Dave wrote:trucke wrote: http://www.speedqueen.com/home/products/Thanks for this post. My $300 / 10 year old washer took a dump this weekend, so I started shopping. Looked like for $450 +/- I could get a name brand but imported unit from a big box, or for $700 +/- I could get a Speed Queen. I'm normally a cheap bastard, but the washer we've had has been noisy, leaked a couple of times, etc., and so I thought about stepping up. What sealed the deal was that for every unit that looked decent from the big box, inevitably there were a fair number of reviews that were resoundingly bad. I literally could not find a bad review on the Speed Queens. Called around this morning and found a couple of local dealers who gave me a competitive price on it over the phone, and went and looked at one over lunch. Ended up paying $625 delivered and installed. So I got to buy American, and I got to support a local business in the process. Go me. :)
EXCELLENT!
Our front load Speed Queen is over 3 years old and going strong. We leave the door open when not in use and have never had any odor issues.
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