Goodbye Toploader

We always liked the idea of front loaders, even before they became trendy. We spent 3 years in Chicago and the front loaders at the laundry mat were our preference. I've heard a lot of rumors about these newer consumer models though, so considerable research was done before purchasing.

A pair of Amana SpeedQueen Heavy Duty "Commercial" machines,  washer and dryer, came with our home. The dryer was replaced long ago, which was odd given that it should have outlived the washer by a huge margin. The washer actually held up quite well, and we only gave up on it due to a bad drum seal. I didn't want to be throwing parts into another machine when we have a 2nd kid on the way and too many other things to deal with.
 
We have now had the Frigidaire GLTF2940 for over 6 months now and have very few complaints, if any at all.

Capacity
3.5 cu.ft. IEC means this washer can hold as much laundry as a 3.5 cu.ft. top loader. I have been completely unable to find what the capacity of the old Speed Queen top loader, but the Frigidaire doesn't hold much (if any) more. That's not generally a problem for us though, and, while I had hoped to fit more, capacity was never a complaint with the old machine. 

In practical terms, it'll gobble up a topped off and packed down laundry basket (typical size) with no problem at all.  Too much more than that seems to require packing clothing in too tight, reducing the effectiveness of the machine.  These rely on the tumbling action after all.  In the winter, with 2 adults and 2 young children, this usually equates to one light full warm white load, one light cold white load, one medium warm dark load, and two modestly full cold dark loads.  Apparently, we wear a lot of colors in the winter.

End-of-Cycle Alert
I was pretty excited by this feature. Unfortunately, it is much too "polite" sounding. Our machines are in the basement, and I began to wonder if the EOC alert worked at all. I double checked, and the option was enabled, but I never heard it until I stood right in front of the machine. The beep is no louder than the alert on our waffle iron. The dryer sounds like a fog horn in comparison.  We have found that we can hear it from the kitchen, directly above the laundry room, but really only if you listen for it.

Detergent
I heeded the warnings from an uncle, and also as found in my research, to use "He" detergent (High Efficiency) and to be certain to use the prescribed amounts. What surprised me was my visit to the laundry isle at the store, just prior to taking delivery of the machine. Perhaps out of habit from the old front loader laundry mat days (even if it has been 8 years), I went straight to the powdered detergent. Thinking I would stick to Tide, I only found one option, in only one fragrance. Duh... look at the liquids. I expected "Cold Wash" and "Color Safe Bleach" options to be present, but they weren't.   Since then, we have found "Color Safe Bleach" Tied variants, but it still isn't commonly found at all stores.

I suppose such things aren't necessary, and I certainly can use a separate color safe bleach, but I had become accustomed to combining our whites into one huge load. It's particularly disappointing given the long cycle times of the new machine.

Water Level
Certainly not unique to this machine, but rather a "He" norm as far as I can tell, there is no guess work when it comes to water level. The machine adds water, tumbles the clothes, and continues to alternate until the clothes are properly saturated.

Cycle Options
Included in the documentation is a large chart outlining a seemingly infinite number of options. In reality, the chart makes it look confusing, while the controls on the machine itself eliminate most of the confusion. A dial can be turned to select the type of load (i.e. Heavy, Normal, Hand Wash, etc...), a button toggles water temps, another toggles misc features (e.g. End of Cycle alert), and yet another can add an additional rinse.

Delay Timer
While this isn't a frequently used feature, it does have its uses.  If you simply want to get a head start on laundry, but want to take a shower, load it and set it as usual, but set the delay long enough to take your shower.  I have even loaded it the night before, and set it so it would run in the morning.

Add-a-Garment
This is perhaps beyond logical, but the "He" machine generally use so little water that the water line does not come up over the bottom of the door (if you can even see a water line). Although this model wasn't listed as having "Add-a-Garment" as a feature, the manual clearly states that you can press "Pause/Cancel", which pauses the machine and unlocks the door. Clothes can be added, and the machine restarted. And it does in fact work, so don't fret that lame pair of socks that escaped you earlier.

Getting Down and Dirty
Over the past 6 months, we have all but taken this machine for granted.  It got us through potty-training our son.  Since it uses so little water, we had no qualms over small loads of soiled pants and underwear.  With very little prep (I'll save the details), the machine would churn out clean clothes, ready for another day of training.

There's nothing remarkable about laundry in general.  We toss them in and they come out clean.  But I can't say we have encountered many stains after the fact.  So far, the most stubborn stain was blood from a bloody nose, and we did lose that battle.  The blood had soaked in over night.  Everything else, from soil from playgrounds to marker from craft time, has come out clean.

Bulky Items
We have one queen size comforter that we machine wash that barely fits in the machine, but does come out clean.  Technically, you should always wash multiple items, but, with it set to bulky, we have not noticed a problem.  Sheets, blankets and etc... are no problem at all.

Cycle Time
It does take considerably longer to wash a single load.  In the old machine, it only took 20-30 minutes, compared to 40-45 minutes in the new machine, if you opt for the standard wash and double rinse.

As you make changes to the cycle options, such as the type of load, extra rinse, etc..., the timer display adjusts.  The time displayed has been very accurate, so, even without a good End-of-Cycle alert, you have a very good idea of when you need to return.

Dry Time
Since He machines spin out water at high RPM, the laundry comes out very very dry.  Where we might have had the dryer set to mid to high heat previously, we can run it set to low heat and have the clothes come out in about the same amount of time.  Approx. 30-40 minutes.  Since this is easier on the clothes, and saves energy, we have stuck with the low heat setting.  That means, in the time it takes to dry one load, the next load is just coming out of the washer.  Works out nicely, for us anyway.  On mid-heat, it takes 20 minutes!  In a pinch, we can set the washer to wash with a single rinse (~30 minutes) and be done altogether in 50 minutes.

Hand Wash?  Hang/Lay flat to dry?  Ha!
You might not be as, um..., daring, yes, daring (lazy actually) as I, but we have skipped hand washing in our home.  The machine seems to be gentle enough to permit this, even on the Normal setting.  While we do use the hand wash setting for the obviously delicate items, most regularly worn items get jumbled in with the rest of the clothes.  We have not noticed a problem with this at all so far.

Similarly, having noticed how dry clothes are when they come out of the dryer, most lay flat to dry or hang to dry items also get tossed in the dryer.  Again, no problems noticed so far.  However, it is worth mentioning that such items do air dry quickly enough, generally just over night.

Beware of Foreign Objects
Stones, loose change, small toys, etc... all pose a hazard for the inside of any front loader.  Such an object could get into the front gasket and tear a hole in it.  While I feel that the chances of damage occurring is relatively small, I hate finding such items after the fact.  But it happens, since we have a 3.5 year old son that packs random things in his pockets.  It's simply one of those things to be mindful about, where checking pockets is probably a good idea.

Mold Concerns Debunked?
One of the biggest concerns that surfaced before our purchase was the possible development of an odor in the machine.  This is, from what I understand, generally a result of standing water in the front gasket of front loaders.  Some say it can be avoided by leaving the door open and/or wiping the water off. 

We have not had a problem; none whatsoever.  Initially, we thought we would leave the door open, just to be safe.  But we have a cat, and cringed at the thought of a cat stuck in the machine or claws tearing the rubber gasket.  I have noticed that there is a small drain hole at the bottom of that door gasket, and perhaps that has eliminated the issue.  I'm certain that we would otherwise have an issue, since we have a cold, dark and damp basement.

Noise
Overall, the machine is extremely quiet.  From upstairs, you might hear the high RPM spinning, especially if the machine is overloaded.  We have the machine on a hard concrete basement slab, so expect considerably more noise if you put the machine on a sprung (standard wood joist) floor upstairs.  When the machine is overloaded, the clothes do not distribute properly, leading to an unbalanced condition.  Now, the machine does not dance around like the old top loader, but I imagine it would shake the floor with all that weight oscillating.

Efficiency
Unfortunately, I can't provide a quantitative report here.  Our utilities are on one of those budget plans that spread the cost throughout the year, giving balance between winter and summer months.

Next to that, we have had additional loads from potty training, and now an infant that joined our family in January.  I also re-seeded much of the lawn, thus running the sprinkler a lot. 

Nevertheless, it is obvious how much less water it uses for a single load, compared to the top loader it replaced.  We're talking buckets vs. bathtubs.  Lets not forget that we can either run the dryer for 10-15 minutes less or at reduce heat, either of which is saving gas.

The Door... DOH!
Every single front end loader has the door hinged on the left.  Our layout has the dryer on the left, and this makes transfering clothes more difficult.  We simply either go over the door or pull everything out into a basket and then, in turn, dump it into the dryer.  It will have to do until we can rearrange the connections.

Quality
This washer appears to be built well enough, at least given the "budget" price for a front loader.  It has a stainless steel drum, so that will at least outlive the machine.  The soap drawer feels comparable to other models, with a distinct plastic feel and doesn't necessarily slide all to freely; typical from what I've seen. 

The buttons feel sturdy, though are a little slow to respond, particularly when "waking up" the machine.  They obviously don't have a super computer running the brain in these things.  That does raise one point of concern.  I feel that the mechanicals will hold up; front loaders are mechanically simpler than top loaders, which have transmissions that have to change the direction of rotation constantly.  The question is whether the controls, the sensors, and the computer will last.  Time will tell.

Summary
This has been a wonderful machine.  I do sometimes wish it had a higher capacity, but the occasions where that would be helpful, in our current situation, is extremely rare.  Our son still gets a kick out of watching it fill and spin, and he likes that he can help push the buttons (also something to watch out for).  It certainly gets the clothes clean, and appears to do so much more efficiently, and it is simple to use.

P.S. The One Year Update
I'm happy to say the machine is still running and problem free.  There are just a couple things I feel are worth noting. 

First, when the machine has sat for a week, it does seem that it ejects some stagnant water.  The inside of the machine does not smell, nor do the clothes, so I can only assume it is from water that sits in the drain hose.  If it didn't simply drain into the wash basin, I don't think we would ever notice.  There are what I can only imagine are mold stains developing on the front gasket, at the bottom.  Again, no smells here, so the discoloration is the only "concern" at the moment.

Second, there have now been 3 occasions where a rogue sock got trapped in the door.  It's never encouraging to walk into the laundry area and find the floor wet.  No damage has resulted and this is merely a warning that giving the clothes a shove and "slamming" the door apparently isn't the best way to load the machine.  Nope... take the time to get the clothes settled so they stay in on their own.