TOP LOAD VS. FRONT LOAD WASHER

So your washer has just run its last cycle in its long and prosperous life and now you are, for potentially the first time, shopping for a brand new one. You walk in to an appliance store and you see an overwhelming selection of washers to choose from. There are top load with the agitator, there are top load without the agitator in the middle, and finally there are front load washers. What is the major difference between the three? Well I’m here to answer exactly that.

Lets begin with top load washers with

agitators. This is your traditional washer set up and generally at lower price points. The first thing to mention is that very few top load washers are built in the old school manner where they will last 15 to 20 years. Most modern washers on the market going to last 8 to 10 years, regardless of set up. The reason they don’t last as long is because the savings on energy efficiency over the 8 to 10 years of its life is enough money to warrant purchasing a new set. The down side of this washer design is water efficiency while the benefit is you don’t have to bend down to put clothes in. A great example of a top load washer is the LG 5.7 Cu.Ft. Mega Capacity Top Load Turbowash Technology Washer.

The top load without the agitator in the middle is a curious study. The lack of the agitator in the middle to pull clothes through the water to clean them means that the manufacturers had to get creative with the way the tub rotates. The benefit of these is that your clothes can’t get tangled around the agitator or get frayed, plus the capacities tend to go higher on them as well. The downside on them is water efficiency.

Now we get to the front load washers. The number one complaint I’ve heard customers have is that they tend to develop a smell over time. The manufacturers have fixed that issue by using anti-microbial material on the interior of the washer. The other thing to keep in mind is that front loads require ventilation, so keeping the door cracked is necessary. Now front loads are the best at cleaning clothes and here is why, the tub will spin out much faster than the top loads plus the tub itself is stainless steel on the interior. Now while they are generally more pricey, the amount of water savings you will have on front load vs. top load will pay itself off in two to three years. Check out the LG 5.2 cu.ft. Mega Capacity with On-Door Control Panel & TurboWash.

So in general, front load washers will clean the best and are the more efficient. The downside is having to bend down to load and unload, but they do have pedestal or stacking options.