Matt has told me that he wants me to purchase a new washer and dryer today. But before I made my decision, I wanted to get through all of the comments that people left on my previous post earlier this week.
After reading through about 30 comments, I finally realized that I needed to make some notes because all of the info y’all shared was getting jumbled in my head, and there was no way I could remember all of it. So I got out a piece of paper, started on the first comment again, and made notes as I went along to see if I could distill your comments down to some easy-to-read categories.
I found this exercise to be very eye-opening, and very helpful! And since I had the info written down, I thought I’d pass this along to you just in case any of you are in the market for a new washer and dryer and can benefit from this info as well. This information comes from the 159 comments left on the last blog post, so while it’s not a huge sample of people, there were some pretty obvious themes that became noticeable.
The Top-Recommended Washer & Dryer
Without question, the top-recommended washer and dryer brand was Speed Queen. Out of 159 comments, Speed Queen was recommended in 41 of them.
What people love about them is that they’re just simple, reliable, commercial-grade machines that clean your clothes. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on them. They’re just solidly-built machines that last seem to last for decades.
There were two downsides mentioned about Speed Queen. First, the price. They’re definitely a pricey pair, but again, they seem to last for decades. The second problem that was mentioned by two people is that the Speed Queen dealers in their areas stopped selling this brand because it was getting difficult to get parts. This seems to be a problem that arose in 2020, which is understandable since this was an issue with so many companies during that time. Hopefully, it’s an issue that has been or is being resolved as things have been returning to normal.
The Worst Brands To Avoid
Out of the 159 comments, LG and Samsung seemed to get the worst reviews/warnings by name, with 12 bad reviews/warnings for each brand. Most of those were mentioned together, and while some of them were warnings from people who had actually used the brands themselves and hated them, most of them seemed to be people passing along the warnings of their repairmen, like “My repairman likes this brand and that brand, but told me to never buy LG or Samsung.”
Two people even mentioned that their repairmen refuse to work on LG or Samsung at all. So take that for what it’s worth. Out of 159 comments, 12 bad reviews/warnings per brand isn’t absolutely horrible, but I did find it interesting that it seemed to be a repeated theme, and more than not, the two brands were mentioned together in warnings coming from repairmen.
Front Load Washer vs. Top Load Washer
This is the category I was the most interested in. Because I didn’t do an actual poll with specific answer options, and people were able to just give whatever info they thought was important, it became a little challenging to distill all of this info into concise categories. But I did my best. Again out of 159 comments, where what I found…
- 32 people said they prefer a top-load washer over a front-load washer.
- Of those 32 people, 7 of them mentioned specifically that they prefer a top-load washer with an agitator, as opposed to one that have impellers.
- While many commenters have front-load washers, only 8 mentioned that they’d never use anything else.
- Of the people who have or have had front-load washers, 7 mentioned specifically that they regret buying the front-load washer because of issues with the washer, such as odor, having to constantly clean it, and clothes not getting clean.
- There were a couple of people who said they regretted buying top-load washers, but the reason wasn’t because of function, but rather, because of difficulty reaching the bottom to remove clothes.
About That Odor Problem With Front-Load Washers
The issue of odors with front-load washers was my #2 issue I wanted to hear about. Out of the 159 comments, here’s what I found…
- 18 people mentioned specifically that they had experienced a musty smell with their front-load washers, and a couple mentioned that it actually affected the smell of the washed clothes.
- 35 people said that they leave their front-load washer door open to allow the washer to dry after the final load, and to prevent musty odors.
- The most common way to avoid the musty odor issue that was mentioned is (1) use powder laundry detergent, and make sure you’re not using too much, and (2) use white vinegar in the wash instead of fabric softener. Several people mentioned that when they switched to white vinegar, the must smell issue went away.
My Personal Decision
Based on all of the input from readers, I’ve decided to go with a basic top-load washer with no bells and whistles, and no fancy electronic panel that may need to be replaced in the future. I just want a good, reliable washer, and preferably one with an agitator, if I can find one.
As far as the brand, I’m going to look at Speed Queen. The price is a bit hard for me to swallow, but Matt said I should go for it. Matt is always a little more willing to spend money than I am, so while he’s on board right now, it may take a few days for me to come around to spending that much on a washer and dryer.
If I can’t make myself spend that much, I plan to look for something equally as simple in design. I do want to look at some other options, and see what else is available, but Matt is already sold on the Speed Queen, and he wants me to make the purchase today. Yikes!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
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