I have a new LG WM4200 front loader since November 11th that I love. I have found ways to work around the dumbed down water tempeartures.

a2gemini, it has been awhile since I have seen you the boards! So glad. I previously owned the unitized Speed Queen frontloader stack and I loved it. It broke my heart to let it go when we sold the house. However. I am over it. A few weeks ago I settled on a set of Maytag front loaders with a sanitize setting — something I always wanted and that SQ did not offer. Holy smokes, they are awesome. Good luck in your search.

Hi A2. It definitely has been a long time. I remember a discussion about your giant kitchen drawers! I hope you are watching the UM game on NYE!

We bought a weekend home a few years ago and just redid the kitchen and laundry room (I posted the final)—all Miele and SZ but went with the Electrolux front loader and matching dryer and I really love them. While I am a Miele fan, I find the size too limiting.

Jeffrey Caban's post here on Houzz might be helpful. It was for me. I recently replaced our Miele W4842 (after 10 1/2 years) with a Speed Queen FF7 ( kept the Miele dryer.) I'm still compiling observations since it was delivered one week ago. We don't need anything larger than 4.0 cu.ft., I had a love/hate relationship with our Miele and the money spent on repairs, and was willing to go without an internal water heater for something smaller with a pedestal option, which is a must for me.

Follow-up post re: SQ

- So far the FF7 seems to be doing a great job cleaning. Consumer Reports magazine gave it a high rating for this.

- I am learning and taking notes on what the wash water temps are. The machine does not "dumb down" the HOT water fill, but the cold water temp in our Zone 7 wintertime does affect the fill for the WARM and COOL settings. Priming the hot water pipes at our laundry sink, something I have always done, helps.

- The machine is much noisier than others. CR magazine noted this when I did my research, and so have I in the laundry room. If the machine is essentially in your immediate living space, that might be a problem for you and this is not the machine for you. I can close the door to the laundry room, so not an issue for us.

- With the Miele, one could "pause" a wash cycle and add items, unless the water was HOT. The SQ allows for that too, with any temp setting, but the water in the tub empties out first, then refills when the cycle is resumed. Some of the detergent is lost, so pausing to add items isn't a great idea.-

We recently purchased a Speed Queen TC5. So far I really like. While it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles like my old front loader, I feel like it cleans my clothes better. The only negative for me would be that the spin isn't as fast as my old machine. Therefore drying times are a bit longer.

It has been awhile since i was on GW Great to see some familar names!!

i will check oit Jeff’s post for sure Thanks for the tip.

NYCBD - definately watching the game - paws crossed that no one gets sick on either team.

We recently redid 2 bathrooms, extended our entryway mud room tile, new carpet, fresh coat of paint and plantation shutters in the dining room, great room and our bedroom. It all happened so fast.

We also added a pup to the household He is a 6 year old Berger Picard

Ooh, sweet pup!

"cavimum: With the Miele, one could "pause" a wash cycle and add items, unless the water was HOT. The SQ allows for that too, with any temp setting, but the water in the tub empties out first, then refills when the cycle is resumed. Some of the detergent is lost, so pausing to add items isn't a great idea."

I consider that to be loss of all the detergent. Does the user manual reference the behavior as a safety function? Does the water level get high enough that spillage is a risk?

"I consider that to be loss of all the detergent. Does the user manual reference the behavior as a safety function? Does the water level get high enough that spillage is a risk?"

1.) No, page 15 of the User Manual (a free .pdf download from SQ website) does NOT mention that water drains out when a cycle is paused. Nor does it state that once the cycle is re-started, the tub fills up with fresh water, which seems stupid to me and a waste of good water.

I called SQ's customer service to inquire after observing this and was told 'detergents today cling to the fabric so it should not affect the wash outcome' or STTE. Okaaaay. Whatever.

I suggested they include in the User Manual the fact that the water empties from the tub when the machine is paused, and she said she would pass that suggestion along.

2.) No, the water level does not even get high enough in any cycle I've observed where spillage is a concern. I'm watching every cycle. Our Miele W4842 did that with a few cycles (Delicates, rinse cycle on Perm Press, etc.) so that machine did not permit a Pause function with those cycles as a safety function. (one could only cancel the cycle and start over.)

Cavimum, what do you think of adding a bit of detergent to the tub if it drains when you pause a cycle? The water may drain from the tub but the load should still have enough detergent that had been mixed in prior. Kind of like the suds savers of old; you add just a portion-in your case a small portion to make up for the drain and refill. I believe after experimenting with this you will be able to discern what is ideal for your needs.

armjim - I thought of that but have not tried it out yet.

"The water may drain from the tub but the load should still have enough detergent that had been mixed in prior." --- that is what the SQ customer service rep said, but if it is paused early enough in the cycle, the detergent might not be there if the fabrics are not thoroughly wetted and detergent not fully dissolved. For me, this is just a learning curve. Any new washer will have one. I'm making notes with each cycle and observation.

@a2gemini

Welcome back.

re the SQ FF7 -- the price of the one in white was $1650 for a while but has gone back up to $1849. The stainless finish is even more. Both mostly seem to be on back-order now so you may have trouble finding one if you need a replacement washer right away.

If you are still considering an LG, I haven't seen much detailed discussion here on the recent front loaders but there is a longish, detailed, mostly positive thread on the WM4000 model at AutomaticWasher. If you haven't already seen it, here is the link: https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?87993_166

jwvideo - we ordered our SQ not knowing how long it might take to arrive because of the pandemic and related problems. Our dealer could not even guess at a delivery date. We were in no hurry. It was delivered three weeks later. Much faster then we expected. YMMV

a2gemini - If you are looking for a slightly more compact (capacity) machine, LG has one that earned very good ratings on CR magazine WM1455HWA and it has an internal water heater for Allergy/Sanitize. It fell off my radar because there is no pedestal option.

I have an LG washer and dryer that I love, no issues. I have had it several years. I loved it so much, I purchased an LG dishwasher and a LG freestanding air conditioner. I love them also, no issues.

LG front loaders. The best I've ever owned.

@Toronto Veterinarian I'm curious (as I also live in TO)... do you like the LGs more than the Gorenje set you have/had?

Yes, I think they do a better job at cleaning - but they do take up more space. The Gorenje set I left at my last home (moved 7 months ago) was really good and I wouldn't have replaced it except that I moved. I again have a laundry closet (rather than a laundry room), and I would have actually preferred the smaller Gorenje set, but they simply weren't available with no ETA on when I could get one. So now my excellent LG set is squeezed into my laundry closet - enough room for heat/ventilation, but but I had to find a 4.5" wide cart to hold my dryer sheets and detergent.

I would have no hesitation recommending the Gorenje set to anyone, if you can find it ;)

Speed Queen 100%. You’ll never have to repair or replace. Old school with no unnecessary features.

Boba1 our Speed Queen is top loader

Boba1, our SQ is a TL so it does not have an on-board heater, therefore I have the WH turned up to deliver very hot water when I need it. I washed some stained dish towels a few days ago, so I washed them with white towels, Clorox and hot water and the stains were gone. The lack of an on-board heater is not really a deal breaker in our household so long as the machine does not 'dumb-down" the hot water. I am sure a FL with the heater may remove more stains than our machine does, but very seldom do we have laundry that it is an issue with. Like flamingo75, I just am not interested in all the pizazz on my washing machine. That is what works for me (my partner is banished from ever using the washer again) in our house.

Good point about the onboard heater as our water comes in at 37 degrees in the winter.

i measured it to decide on a demand water heater but went tradional

We looked at all 3 today i was surprised that the SQ top loader held the same amount as the Miele(brought my own towels vs the flimsy towels at the store)

The LG tubs were the biggest but they said not to overload where as both the Miele and SQ were designed to stuff.

stay tuned

Happy New Year

So confusing.

It sounds like the SQ uses quite a bit of water on most cycles other than Eco and has no onboard heater.

The LG might not be as gentle on clothes

does anyone have the compact Miele to verify drying times CR(take it with a grain) gives it a very good on drying time but hearing it can take 2 hours to dry (from sales rep)

Thanks

oh - if you watch the bowl games and see a Geico commercial with a leaking pool, the dog is Chester - a friend of our dog and both are the same breed

a2gemini I would skip the SQ TL in your consideration. It will not fill with enough water to handle the load you may consider extra large. The new machines do not let you add water with the Water level control the way the earlier (non-digital) models did. The highest setting will be below the top 2 roles of holes if that is any idea of how much water it will fill with. It is that company's way to to avoid not getting an Energy star rating of some kind. I would not replace our SQ with a new model if I had to replace it. So far after over 4 years not one issue with it or our SQ dryer, so hopefully we have at lease another decade to go.

That is fun about your dog's friend Chester.

Armjim -thanks

He has also been on SNLive

Gatsby has only had a cameo appearance in an AKC video

a2gemini - so far i am impressed with our SQ FL getting things clean and its rinsing capability, along with the option to add three more rinses to any cycle.

However, since your tap cold water comes in at 37 degrees in the winter, a machine with an onboard heater for all wash cycles would be your best option.

Cav- Thanks

we do have a utility sink and could pre run water We do wash cold most of the time but pup towels are done with hot

We are making progress we are down to the LG top loader or the SQ FL

The sales guy told us you can order the door on either side but not seeing on the website

We need a right side hinge for our laundry room

Gatsby as a pup with famous Chester

Found it! SQ with right hinge

https://speedqueen.com/products/front-load-washers/ff7008wn/