What’s better - Top or Front Loading Washing machines? One of our most popular videos is “How to Get Rid of Front Loader Washer Stink.” And boy, our viewers have been very vocal about their strong preference for either top or front load machines.
One of the big challenges of the front loader is moisture elimination. That’s because it is a more sealed up machine than a top loader. If you address moisture elimination using a simple few practices and maintain the machine, then you won’t get the problems associated with moisture build-up.
Heck, saying whether the front or top loader is better is right up there with saying whether Ford or Chevy (sorry Dodge… :-)), Mac or PC, or Android or iPhone is the best. A choice is made based on what you prefer, what the device will be used for, price point, and so forth.
In this episode, DirtFarmer Jay gives 7 reasons why DFJ and DFM really like the front loader approach and why you should consider making this design of washer your next washer purchase. Even so, there are some great current and legacy offerings (a “golden oldie” is a Speed Queen top loader) for top loaders and there’s no reason for canceling a friendship over a difference of opinion on this.
Here’s something to think about. All major laundry facilities in hotels, resorts, hospitals, and penitentiaries (um, or so we’ve been told!) utilize larger machines that incorporate the same design features and approach to laundry. Washing effectiveness, reduced water, detergent, and softener consumption, drier laundry due to high spin speeds, less time in the drier, and less wear on the articles being washed are all compelling reasons to have this design of laundry machine!
Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com. You know, we've put out two videos on how to
maximize the performance of this machine and how to reduce the stink that develops and moisture
and all that, but that's not what we're going to talk about today. We love these machines and I'm
going to give you my top reasons why you should consider buying one. Now, I know there are those
of you that are going to disagree with me, but I'm going to see if I can convince you anyway.
Let the hate begin. Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay from DirtFarmerJay.com in the laundry room using our
LG front loading washing machine. Now, we've had great success with this and I can tell you this
video series, there's two of them now so far, this is the third on this subject, has been one of the
most passionate debates that we received on our channel. There are those of you that absolutely
love these machines and you were happy to find some ways to really maximize their performance
and how to maintain them. There's others of you that feel equally strongly that there is no reason
whatsoever to have these and they're junk and they're from the devil. Those kind of things,
but I'll tell you what, it's kind of like trying to say what's better Ford or Chevy or Mac or PC
or Android or whatever. What's that other one? Anyway, so these are the kind of arguments that
you just have to make a decision based on information of what works best for you. Well,
we really like this machine and I want to give you some of the top reasons why. Here we go.
Reason number one, because the machine washes horizontally and water comes over the top of
the clothes, the way the tub is oriented cooperates with gravity. And as water flows
through the clothes, gravity pulls it through and only needs a little bit of water to do so.
Instead of sitting in a whole tub of water, which is kind of like, you know, sitting in a bathtub
after you've had a hard day's work, you're kind of sitting in your own, you know, so this is kind
of gets it out of there with less water. There's a second benefit that is tied directly to that.
And that is because there is less water, high efficiency laundry products, detergents,
and softeners only need a little bit to do the work that's needed. And there's a basic reason
for that. Since you have less water, you aren't diluting the product. It stays on higher concentrate
form and just a little bit will do you. As a matter of fact, one of the big problems why
people end up with stinkiness out of these machines is because they keep using excess
amounts of detergent and softener. And especially if they're liquid types, you end up with a lot of
biologicals because those are tallow based and organic material. You're going to end up with
mildew and such and the resultant stink that goes with it. So you don't need as much of that.
Reason number three, these machines don't use any kind of agitator. There's no vertical agitator
or a plate agitator like on a top loader. And that means that what is actually doing the
cleansing action? The clothes themselves. There are no hard agitators, therefore less abrasion.
Whatever the most abrasive or toughest article that's in that load of laundry is the winner on
everything. But there's a lot of tumbling going on where the clothes are slipping by themselves,
water's flowing through it, and therefore less abrasion, less water, less wear and tear
on your delicates. That's a great reason. Number four, one of the things that you can select on
this machine is a speed wash. Now there's other longer washes like for bulky or large or tall,
but a speed wash you can actually have a whole load of lightly soiled articles. Let's suppose
dress clothes, something like that, dress shirts or something that weren't heavily soiled. You could
have them done in 18 to 20 minutes and the finish is beautiful. For those of you that have to keep
time compressed and can't invest a lot of time in the laundry room, that's a great option. And we
actually use it on a fairly regular basis. Reason number five, ultra high spin speeds. Well what
benefit is that? Well a couple things. Number one, the laundry comes out of the machine much drier,
translating to less time in the dryer, lower utility costs. And the secondary benefit is
is that you can actually have a laundry day and get a lot done because articles are drying. You're
not piling up waiting for the dryer to get done. You can actually put through or a lot of throughput
because of dryer articles. We found that to be a great benefit. And there's one other cool thing
that happens. When the clothes are drier, if you end up having to let them set for a half day or
something or you've got laundry and you have to run an errand, you come back they're a lot less
to start getting that little bit of laundry edginess, stinkiness because there's less moisture
to feed mildew and such. So that's another great benefit. Number six, when these machines are placed
on a pedestal, this is a very handy working height. And finally number seven, hey if this kind of
design is really the best for commercial laundries, the next time you go to a hotel, a resort,
a hospital, look at their commercial laundries, even a penitentiary. Not that I know about that,
but a friend of mine told me that these kind of machines, large scale, are in all of those
settings. Why? All the benefits I just outlined for you scale up as well. So there's some compelling
reasons to consider buying one of these. Now I know there are those of you that love the top loaders
and I'm not saying you're going to lose out if you buy one of those. And some of the legacy
machines like the old Speed Queen top loaders, excellent machines. So I'm not a hater, I'm just
telling you if you're considering one of these, these are the reasons why we really love the
machine and why you should consider them as well. Well if you found this video to be helpful, won't
you like it? And better yet, subscribe to our channel. And when you do, ring the bell so that
every time we put out a new video, approximately every Friday, you'll be notified right away for
great insights like what you've enjoyed today, as well as things in the shop, the garden,
and in the kitchen, and great product reviews. Until the next time, this is Dirt Farmer Jay
from DirtFarmerJay.com.
