I am in the process of buying another new washing machine and I am seriously confused over whether to stay with front loading. With this next purchase I will be on my fourth machine in 14 years. I was sold on the energy efficiency of front loaders after my top loader broke down about 5- 6 years ago (so it lasted 8 -12 years from my estimation because it came with the house). In retrospect that Top loader lasted a lot of years for a family of four. I bought a recommended Kenmore front loader when the Top loader finally gave in and we made it about 3 years before problems began.
We had had several repairs but when the metal tub finally dislodged the independent repairman said it was not worth fixing and we bought a new Maytag from Home Depot. About 18 months with the Maytag and it started leaving gray sediment all over the clothes and sometimes tore them. We had several repair visits with no resolution, Whirlpool/Maytag said they didn’t know of the problem either and then a week or so later the entire rubber flange on the front loader was in shreds. Another repair visit and the flange was replaced for $300 - a total bill now on the machine of about $500 in repairs. We thought we were good to go because the grey film disappeared. However shortly after the repair we noticed the machine was still tearing holes in our clothes. The repair persons suggestion is to buy another new machine and stop spending money on the old one. Home Depot will do nothing because of the 1 year warranty and Whirlpool/Maytag will do nothing for the same reason.
We loved the concept of a front loader from an environmental perspective and the cleaning potential but I am tired of buying a machine every 2 - 3 years. Was it the brands we bought or the front loaders as a model? I can’t find any long term reviews on Front -loaders that will tell me if one of them has any staying power. Should we go back to a top-loader and hope to get some longevity? Saving water is great but putting a washing machine in a landfill every couple of years doesn’t make sense either. Do the top loaders today last any better?
Maureen from Canad