The same restrictions reasonably apply. I've not seen any frontloaders with a designated cycle for waterproof items (which doesn't mean there aren't any) ... but a designated Bulky Items or Delicate cycle may work, with spin speed set to the lowest that's available, or even to No Spin if that's an option.

I have washed Gore-Tex jackets in our FL washer with no problems. And no "waterproof" cycle. I probably used the perm-press, delicate, or outerwear cycle just to have more water in the drum. (It has been a while)

Haven't there been serious issues washing waterproof's in FL'ers? Personally I wouldn't risk it unless you choose no spin, but would there be spins between wash and rinse still?

That's a good question Mama. I think on my Electrolux on the Delicate or Hand Wash cycle it does no spins between rinses.

I would assume on the Electrolux it would cancel out all spins. (I would test mine now but I'm currently at work).

We wash water proof and water resistant items in our business daily and there are a couple of considerations.

The first is that you don't have any movement of water through the fabric. This can inhibit actual cleaning and it forms pockets that hold water with the detergent and soiling when it spins out. We counter this by using a full fill TL with 165F wash and a couple of rinses. We have tried FLs and He TLs and they don't work at all for us. Full fill gives a lot more dilution that can overcome the larger residual water that you have with the waterproof items. You might be ok though if you have small items that are not too dirty that you might wash in the FL machine on the highest water level and then rinse by spray or in a tub and then hanging to drain and dry. You might be able to add several rinses to the cycle and get it cleaned if you have the time. We will sometimes pre wash and even apply a bleach solution before putting it in the full fill TLs just to reduce the soiling going in.

You also need to consider the nature of what you are washing. There are some waterproof things that will not tolerate any spin and so might not do well with tumble or agitation either. You might be better off to handwash. Others like fabrics we are washing tolerate all of it including the dryer.

I don't think its so much a question on how to get waterproof things clean but more how to prevent a catastrophic nightmare.

I thought it was just top load HE machines that flew apart due to that. I have never heard of a front load doing that, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

I was answering this

"Does anyone have experience with or knowledge of washing waterproof items in he front load washers?" from the OP.

The OP did not mention machines flying apart. That was not mentioned until sparky's post if that is what you mean by catastrophic nightmare.

My Whirlpool front load washer broke a year after purchase. The door would not open and it was dead. They fixed it. 1 year later, exact same thing. I realized that both times there were water resistant doggie diapers in the machine. This last time they told me they could not repair the washer. I have a new Electrolux and won't be putting the diapers in it.

We have doggie diapers with the outer layer that is a PUL cover and wash them all the time for the last few years, with no problems. Our dog is small, so maybe that makes a difference. I'm sure not going to wash them by hand. :-p

Wet bath towels weigh more than her diapers.