This might be helpful:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2012/12/finding-appliances-made-entirely-in-america-can-be-tricky/index.htm

Post and/or read the posts on the Laundry Forum: Gardenweb's Laundry Forum

Yeah, but how much activity is there in the laundry forum. I think it opened when laundry was overwhelming appliances way back when.

Since you're concerned about repairs, your best bet is to get hold of some of the local servicemen and ask them. People like being asked about their work and those are the people who will know best about waiting for parts.

I've had a Bosch washer and dryer set (the last Nexxt model) for seven or eight years now and even in my semi rural area there are people who work on them. Our problems have been minor, though. The Miele dishwasher has never needed servicing, but it requires a LOT of TLC---expensive small balls of salt for the built in water softener, and a cleaner that must be run once every two months to keep it from developing weird smells, and a filter that must be cleaned regularly. Our fridge is a Sub Zero and other appliances are Kitchen Aid, and we are now looking for a replacement for the KA ice maker that has almost ruined a new wood floor with leaks (see my post above). We don't use the KA trash compactor, and the 30" Architect Series dual fuel range has had both the glass in the door AND the entire door replaced. The PO chose the KA appliances, which started failing at the seven year mark. The original owner chose the SubZero fridge, which lasted 22 years.

The Laundry Forum loves Speed Queen almost as much as the Kitchens Forum loves Bluestar.

I bought a set of SQ for my aunt. She wanted reliable. That's exactly what she got. Cleans well. Runs great. Built like a tank.

When I replace my set, I'll go with Speed Queen, too.

SQ top loader or front loader? The top loaders both at my old apartment and more recently at laundromats don't seem to clean all that well. The front loaders in the laundromat that I now visit are Dexters...those clean beautifully. Unfortunately they are not appropriate for the home as they are super expensive and need to be bolted into the concrete.

I bought her the SQ top loader. Believe me, she is particular. If she is a satisfied customer, even the pickiest will be satisfied.

I have the Bosch Nexxt front loader. It's okay. I haven't had any trouble. They are about 10 years old.

I really don't care whether it's a front loader or a top loader.

I'm looking at Speed Queen and like everything about them - except they seem too small to fit something like a king size mattress pad. Even a king set - top & bottom sheets plus 4 king pillow cases seems like it would be crammed in. Anyone have one and noticed a problem with size?

I have at least 10 maybe 12, SQ TLs and they clean beautifully. We have to have clean and it cannot tear up what we are washing. We just bought a couple more to use in our business. We have them at home and bought them for our kids because the grands have allergies. Nothing else we have used in the last 10 years compares. If you are having trouble maybe look at your water or detergent. I can easily put a king mattress pad or set of sheets in but the comforter may or may not fit.

Thank you wekick for that confirmation. I don't use bulky comforters so that's not an issue. If a king mattress pad works then a king matlasse will too. Good to know.

I like the electrolux brand and was underwhelmed by speed queen. If you don't live in a major metro area, parts and labor may be difficult to obtain regardless of mftr location.

I love, love Electrolux. I have both washer and dryer. Best machines I have every used. Both are front loaders. I would never consider a top loader.

I had a Speed Queen washer for nearly 20 years before it died. It drilled holes in my vinyl floor, but it was a solid machine that cleaned clothes for nearly two decades with no problems.

I bought a Maytag top loader before we moved, but didn't love it. I hated moving the clothes away from the middle, and it didn't seem the clothes were clean.

Now I have an LG front loader. In my shopping, it seemed LG was the leader in this technology. I have had this machine for a little over a year and I like it. The thing I learned about front loaders is they reduce dryer time. What a revelation! Stuff was in my dryer for 90 minutes before, and now it is about a half an hour.

90 minutes is a long time in the dryer. Maybe something was wrong with the dryer. I have done a boatload of heavy towels this summer and they dry in 30 minutes. My SQ TL is 700 rpms. The rpms in the old TLs were 250-400 so that might have made towels take longer but in all my years, I have never had towels take 90 minutes. Now the TLs can be up to 1100 rpms. Some FLs go to 1400 but at what point is it diminishing returns? Will going from 700 rpms to 1400 only save 3 minutes in the dryer? It would be interesting to see if anyone has studied that. Most machines use a lower spin for permanent press.

The speedqueen dryer in my apartment used to run for 75 min for a permanent press cycle. It was old style so no moisture sensor.

"The rpms in the old TLs were 250-400..."

250 to 400 RPM maybe on low speed. The slowest high-speed spinners were Whirlpool/Kenmore units from the 1950s through the 1980s, which were 500 to 525 RPM (~330 RPM on low speed).

Maytags were faster at 618 RPM. Other brands were comparable at the 500 to 650 RPM range at high speed selection. Whirlpool's direct-drive design introduced in the early 1980s upped them to 640 RPM.

The first automatic toploaders introduced by GE and Frigidaire in the late 1940s, which were also a direct-drive design, spun at 1,140 RPM (drum spun at full motor speed). Frigidaire continued at 1,140 through the 1950s, then mechanism revisions reduced it to 1,010 and 1,000 (dubbed "Rapid-Dry") and further reductions on the 1-18 models into the late 1970s.

To me dryer time is proportional to vent length, longer length more drying time...even longer if the lint hasn't been cleaned out like it should be regularly to reduce the possibilty of fire....

The OP asked for a front load washer.

Speed Queen has the best built front load washers for home use. No question. American made, American owned, so ticks the domestic box as well.

However, they are missing features, such a heater, that could be important to some.

Electrolux would be my pick for a more feature rich front loader. They are made in Mexico and Swedish owned, but they effectively are a domestic company, because they bought Frigidaire which was a long established American manufacturer, and the washers are designed and supported by those same people. They have free access to service manuals for any appliance tech, whether or not they are an authorized warranty servicer, and open parts distribution. Service will not be an issue with them.

I have a Bosch Axxis set. Love them. 8-9 years old. No issues.

We recently replaced a Kenmore FL washer with the 2015 digital Speed Queen FL washer. So far no spousal complaints that I recall, and it works well when I run it. I don't think a king-sized comforter has been tried, but the SQ washer handles a king-sized mattress cover.

It has a spin cycle of such high rpm that one can end up with some types of damp items stuck to the drum, even at the top. This thorough water removal surely helps reduce dryer dry time.

Note that the SQ FL washer door is hinged to the right, but moving the wash to a r.h. located dryer is not obstructed because the hinge allows complete (180-degree) opening.

This unit is capable of a third rinse, so there should be no complaints of residual detergent even with the modest per-cycle water usage of a front loader.

kas

@kaseki

"Note that the SQ FL washer door is hinged to the right, but moving the wash to a r.h. located dryer is not obstructed because the hinge allows complete (180-degree) opening."

Wouldn't the open washer door cover some or all of the r.h. dryer opening?

Agree- very confusing wording. Aren't ALL FL washers hinged on the left hand side as you face them? Or in contractor terms, they open right (which always sounds wrong to me but is using the universal contractor language of butt to butt)

>>>

Aren't ALL FL washers hinged on the left hand side as you face them?

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Not all. Miele is hinged on the right. It's very rare, but there are washers that have a design where the hinge can be placed on either side (this is more common with dryers). The Electrolux is one example.

Although my dryer is spaced a couple of feet from the washer, I think the minimum spacing for no door interference is fairly small, if the dryer door is also hinged on the right (as my Kenmore is). I'll have to check what spacing is necessary for this particular case.

kas.

The gap between my SQ washer and r.h. hinged door Kenmore dryer is about 24 inches. I would estimate that it could be reduced to 20 inches without a door conflict problem.

As seen at SQ's web site, the counterpart SQ dryer door is also hinged on the right, so having the washer to the left or right of the dryer without a gap would require moving wash around a door either way.

kas

Thanks for the info kaseki.

FYI, from their web site, it looks like all of the SQ dryers have reversible doors so putting the dryer on the left side of the washer would be a solution.