Top loading vs side loading washers

[fordmantpw]

One question about top loaders VS front loaders .... how many times have you started a load of laundry, have the water in and its running and you find another piece of laundry that you'd like to throw in the load? Guess what? You can't do that on a front loader. On our top loader, we usually run it at the next to the fullest water setting. If we decide to add more laundry all we have to do is turn up the water setting to the fullest setting, toss in the extra laundry and close the lid and off you go. Just something to consider.

You know, my wife worried about that a bit, but it hasn't really been an issue. The water savings is well worth it.

On the smell issues, ours doesn't stink at all. We leave the door open after the last load for the day and close it the next morning. It dries out, no issues at all. My wife loves ours!

 

[dave1949]

Hi Dave,
Does your machine look like this? Amazon.com : Bosch Vision 500 Series DLX : WFVC6450UC 27 Front-Load Washer 4.4 cu. ft Capacity - White : Front Load Clothes Washing Machines : Appliances

If so its very similar to mine. Boschｮ 3.3 cu. Ft. Washer and 3.9 cu. Ft. Electric Dryer - White - Sears | Sears Canada however is is considerably larger..

I was warned to avoid the larger Boschs, particularly the Made in USA ones. Whats the COO of yours? Mines Made in Germany and is a full 220v unit.. Apparently they made the drum larger for the US market (Americans apparently wont buy small things, surprise!). My drum is only 3.3cuft, where the 500 model is 4.4cuft. Unfortunately making it larger also made it susceptible for other problems that the smaller ones didnt face (larger drum, more weight, therefore more load on components. Front loads were never designed to be "once a week" washers as is common in the US. They are designed to be daily washers, as is common in the EU). The salesman was really trying to push me into the larger model (same cost, more capacity and bells and whistles... Id be an idiot for not getting it!) but I stuck to my guns.

Anyways, I digress.. lol.

On my model there is a door on the front to access the cleanout. There should be on yours too. You may have to remove the front panel though. Give a search over on ApplianceJunk.com. Theyre pretty helpful and you may be able to get the actual shop manual through them. Ive gotten my manuals for my Samsung appliances and my Bosch Wash and dry via AJ.

As to Persil. There is a product that a service guy recommended to use to clean up the spider and bacteria ( I didnt need it for my washer, but I had asked what he recommended for those complaining about smells). It was called Glisten. Id recommend using that as a starting point. If you have bacteria present, then you need to be rid of it. Persil by itself likely wont do that, but it will keep the residue down that allows it to grow, once you are rid of it. Leaving the door open can help too.

Have you seen the lawsuit over front loads? I wonder how much of those complaints are detergent/user caused vs. defective design? Some detergent types are well known to eat aluminum spiders.Lawsuit over front-load washers may drive consumers back to energy-wasting models : TreeHugger

Nope, it doesn't look like the linked pics. Controls are on top. It is a year 2006 Nexxt 500 model. 120v, 8kg load capacity, made/assembled in USA.

I found this exploded parts diagram online: http://www.justanswer.com/appliance/5bq8z-check-pump-essage-bosch-800-series-washer.html and questions with answers for that area.

The cover is removed by pushing something about the size of a 4 penny nail in the hole, which pushes back a springy plastic tab that acts like a stop. With the tab pushed back, the cover can be rotated until the ears on it match the slots in the front panel. Then it can be removed by pulling straight out.

No filter. What it has is a removable cover on a drain pump trap to catch whatever bits might ruin the pump. I found two little driveway gravel grits. No money, no dog hair. :laughing: There was skunky water in the trap and a light coating of gray gunk typical to a drain line. No way to catch the ~2 cups of water when unscrewing the trap cover except laying down old towels on the floor.

The washer has worked okay for over 7 years now, but I think the next one will be a top loader--that's straight from the laundry boss. :laughing:

 

[Scooby074]

Give the Glisten and Persil a try. See if that helps.

The $60, 6.4kG box is supposed to "only" do 80 washes, but it does MANY times that. Probably 2x. We only use about 30-50ml/load.

 

[dave1949]

Give the Glisten and Persil a try. See if that helps.

The $60, 6.4kG box is supposed to "only" do 80 washes, but it does MANY times that. Probably 2x. We only use about 30-50ml/load.

Thanks. I will try those.

 

[Scooby074]

Thanks. I will try those.

YW..

I kind of sound like a Persil Pimp... But it really is a good product. Check the reviews on Amazon.

 

[Toddao]

One more vote for the Speed Queen

 

[jinman]

One more vote for the Speed Queen

I put myself through high school working on commercial Speed Queens. Those old machines were quite different from today's machines. The old machines were not direct drive whereas today's Speed Queens are direct drive. What that entails is a shaft seal on the newer machines that the old ones did not have. The newer ones can develop a leak in that shaft seal and flood your laundry room. I had one of the newer machines and had the seal replaced under warranty. A few years ago, the machine started leaking again. I carried it to the dump and bought a brand new LG front loader from Sears on sale for $524. I kept the old Maytag front-load dryer which works perfectly still today. I'm sure I got my money's worth out of both the washer and dryer. That seal is my only complaint.

 

[V1Rotate]

Vinegar works really well to clean and get rid of the smell from the inside of clothes washers.
Put 2 cups of vinegar in the drum then let it fill with hot water, stop the machine and let it set for about an hour.
Then let it run so it can finish all the cycles, you will notice a big difference if your machine has a smell.

 

[Coyote machine]

We went from decades of top loaders to now switching to front loaders. The current one is a Kenmore HE4 that takes ONLY HE detergent and 'AFFRESH' washer cleaner tablets to keep it from smelling/stinking badly.
To me the value is in less water usage to supposedly get the same or better cleaning. The jury's out in my opinion, and we usually get the extended warranty on the Sears products, so when they break we are covered.
In my personal opinion ALL the appliances made today are junk waiting to break. We bought Kenmore refrigerator, broke till they offered a replacement credit and we went with a new Samsung, (Korean). Samsung 'smart TV' broke, needed main board, Toshiba TV broke, needed audio board. Kenmore HE4 washer needed new door gasket to keep water from pouring onto floor. Viking fridge broke and broke and broke. Fixed under warranty 'till there was no warranty then we paid and it broke again and Viking repaired it FREE to replace a defrost t-stat, IIRC. Before that they had charged us $150+ for a defrost circuit heater. The tech said they all need heaters to make the freezer work properly?!
I told him that's ridiculous, and if I paid for him/Viking to install a heater and the problem wasn't solved I would NOT pay for the repair. It seemed to work until the t-stat failing caused a similar water dumping onto the floor issue. They came and fixed it with the new T-stat free. Viking beverage cooler broke and off warranty. Haven't had use since Oct, '13. Went round with emails 'till this week- now they've decided to replace it with a new one, FREE!!! Yeah, it's a $2,900 machine. They will deliver it tomorrow, and take the old one and fix it and sell it to somebody probably through a broken then fixed used equipment dealer
Sorry for the rant, but I think it could be useful to some to realize they all put out junk and we pay and pay and pay with our time, money and frustration sitting around waiting to get things fixed under warranty or not. It drives me crazy the amount of wasted time spent chained to all the modern conveniences; read junk!
I wrote this earlier, got interrupted by the phone internet guy here to fix my 24* meg service where we're getting 300-500Kb/second download and he tells me we're NEVER going to get close to the 24meg, no matter what! He says if I got 17.5 or more he'd be amazed. But they charge me #5/mo. for the 24meg service anyway?! Fiber optic is supposed to be at my door by July they tell me today; meantime they're not fixing the existing service, but they keep charging anyway.:mur:

I will also try the special detergent and washer cleaner. I have to clean my washer?!:confused2::shocked: It makes no sense it should be cleaned by using it!:duh:

Sorry, changed 2 meg service to correct 24*meg number, duh :confused3:
.

 

[Scooby074]

I will also try the special detergent and washer cleaner. I have to clean my washer?!:confused2::shocked: It makes no sense it should be cleaned by using it!:duh:
.

The only reason I suggest running the Glisten is to get your machine back to a somewhat cleaner state before going over to Persil. If you (or anyone else) had used Persil since new then running Glisten wouldnt be necessary because your machine likely wouldnt have a buildup to clean. We've ran Persil (other than a few times when we were out) since new and have never had to run a cleaner. Neither has Dad. Both our machines from two different brands (Miele and Bosch) and do not smell.

Another thing is to be sure to use minimal amounts of detergent. That is another reason for buildup in the washer. Persil calls for 80ml detergent for a wash in soft water, we use about 1/2 of that give or take for an average wash. Sometimes if something is particularly dirty we will use the 80ml or maybe a bit more. Its very concentrated.