Front loading or top loading washing machine?

[DrkLord]

Guys I'm looking for a 7kg-8kg washing machine.
I have heard front loading washing machines offer superior cleaning. For those of you with experience with both, is this true.
Also, heater + drier also required.
Brand preferences: none. ( though those with good service are preferred).
I have read some bad reviews about ifb after warranty expiration. So...well I'm a bit averse towards IFB.

Edit: Budget: 35k

 

[kalph09]

Owned an IFB front loader a decade ago. Served well for 3yrs and currently have a Samsung top loader for 7yrs.

Front loaders are far superior due to its wash mechanism (tumble wash). Top loaders do a decent job and better suited if your utility space is narrow or small. As long as you have no space constraint or ok with slighter higher electricity bill opt for a front loader, these are any day better.

Among the options, have a look at Bosch or LG. Samsung is something I would avoid which I currently own and doesn’t handle well on full load.

 

[punkesh]

u didn't mention your budget? LG is my preferred brand for home appliances. I recently bought a new LG 8kg front load that cost me 33k offline during Diwali, I would suggest offline over online as shops will give you a better offer. my previous wm was of LG too and it lasted more than 10yrs with frequent moving and shifting from time to time. also, go for front load instead of top load as the top load is a pain in the a$$

 

[Danielman]

Owned both front loader and top loader. And yes, front loader is superior to top loader when it comes to wash quality. Heated water increases the wash quality even further,but you may get extra electricity bill.
I currently own an IFB front loading washing machine. It cleans well but recently started to make some noise while spinning(its only been 1 and half year). I called the technician ,atleast 4 times, he says he will come but wont show up. The IFB aftersales service is very bad.
My uncle bought LG front loader, and their service is really good(atleast better than IFB).

 

[blr_p]

I have heard front loading washing machines offer superior cleaning. For those of you with experience with both, is this true.

If clothes are dirty yes. If they are moderately soiled the difference won't be as apparent.

Also, heater + drier also required.

What does drier mean ? there is a spin drier but that does not make the clothes completely dry. You still have to hang them out.

Heating is where a front loader wins out because it washes with less water and power consumption goes up to heat water.

You get better cleaning at 60 degrees than 40. If your clothes can take 60. Some cannot. And heating to 40 degrees is a minimum to get the detergents to activate. Think about colder weather where the water in the tank is colder than would be on a hot day where no heating to 40 is needed.

I've done power consumption measurements with a front loader. But not with a top loader as I don't have one.

If the top loader can wash in as little water as the front loader then the difference will be moot. But this point needs to be clarified by some one with a top loader.

Specifically measure how many litres of water used to wash the clothes. Let it drain into a bucket after wash cycle completes and you will be able to tell.

Front loaders wash with 5 litres and rinse with 15 litres. Around there for one with a drum of 50 litres.

How many litres do front loaders use to wash ?

Brand preferences: none. ( though those with good service are preferred).
I have read some bad reviews about ifb after warranty expiration. So...well I'm a bit averse towards IFB.

Service availability helps in case of issues.

The only point to keep in mind here is get a machine that has a drum capacity of 50 litres and not less.

The LG & Samsungs front loaders have models with smaller drums of 36 litres and you want to stay away from them even if they cost 10k less than the next model up.

These ones are always recommended by sellers because its an easy sale.

 

[DrkLord]

If clothes are dirty yes. If they are moderately soiled the difference won't be as apparent.



What does drier mean ? there is a spin drier but that does not make the clothes completely dry. You still have to hang them out.

Heating is where a front loader wins out because it washes with less water and power consumption goes up to heat water.

You get better cleaning at 60 degrees than 40. If your clothes can take 60. Some cannot. And heating to 40 degrees is a minimum to get the detergents to activate. Think about colder weather where the water in the tank is colder than would be on a hot day where no heating to 40 is needed.

I've done power consumption measurements with a front loader. But not with a top loader as I don't have one.

If the top loader can wash in as little water as the front loader then the difference will be moot. But this point needs to be clarified by some one with a top loader.

Specifically measure how many litres of water used to wash the clothes. Let it drain into a bucket and you will be able to tell.

Front loaders wash with 5 litres and rinse with 15 litres. Around there for one with a drum of 50 litres.

How many litres do front loaders use to wash ?


Service availability helps in case of issues.

The only point to keep in mind here is get a machine that has a drum capacity of 50 litres and not less.

The LG & Samsungs front loaders have models with smaller drums of 36 litres and you want to stay away from them even if they cost 10k less than the next model up.

These ones are always recommended by sellers because its an easy sale.

I guess, better to have a machine that can wash dirtier clothes better.
Drier: should have been clearer about this. I meant drier and washer should be in same chamber.

Thanks for the detailed response. May I ask, why 50 litre is crucial? Does it have to do with water and power efficiency. As some percentage of total water intake will always be wasted. So if one reduces the no. of cycles water intake outtake is done one can reduce water and power wastage?

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

Been using LG FL 6kg for almost a year and have been pretty satisfied with the purchase. This is my first machine so can't compare with TL. Reason with LG was better service and not cheaping out like IFB when it comes to spare parts. My clothes don't get soiled that much but as mentioned tumbling action gives better results. Also 20 litres or 1 entire bucket is a better when it comes to saving water and power consumption.
P. S. You didn't mention the budget limit.

 

[blr_p]

Drier: should have been clearer about this. I meant drier and washer should be in same chamber.

What does drier mean for you ? all washing machines have a spin dryer.

There are ones that have a condenser dryer but it takes a few hours to dry and not advisable.

If you want clothes dry enough to put into a cupboard its best to get a dedicated drier. But these are expensive to run.

May I ask, why 50 litre is crucial? Does it have to do with water and power efficiency. As some percentage of total water intake will always be wasted. So if one reduces the no. of cycles water intake outtake is done one can reduce water and power wastage?

It only applies to LG & Samsung which sell a smaller variant. The only reason i can see for it is to fit into smaller space or can not get the bigger ones through the door.

Seller is looking out for his interest when he shows you a cheaper by 10k compared to others machine. He's hooked you.

The reason not to get a smaller machine is its smaller drum capacity takes less clothes compared to a bigger one. This means more wash cycles. More cycles in the same period of time means less life of the machine ultimately.

Do you like doing laundry ? a bigger machine means fewer washing days.

Even if its just for one person the bigger machine is better.

Bosch minimum size is around 50 litres so this problem isn't there. Bosch or IFB use belts to drive the drum as opposed to the direct drive of Samsung & LG.

Difference between direct drive and belts is the former is little less noisy.

My preference if for LG. Its a middle of the road low end. Think of it like the Moto G of front loaders. It's got what you want and nothing more.

 

[DrkLord]

P. S. You didn't mention the budget limit.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am looking for 7kg to 8kg.
Budget: 35k.

What does drier mean for you ? all washing machines have a spin dryer.

There are ones that have a condenser dryer but it takes a few hours to dry and not advisable.

If you want clothes dry enough to put into a cupboard its best to get a dedicated drier. But these are expensive to run.


It only applies to LG & Samsung which sell a smaller variant. The only reason i can see for it is to fit into smaller space or can not get the bigger ones through the door.

Seller is looking out for his interest when he shows you a cheaper by 10k compared to others machine. He's hooked you.

The reason not to get a smaller machine is its smaller drum capacity takes less clothes compared to a bigger one. This means more wash cycles. More cycles in the same period of time means less life of the machine ultimately.

Do you like doing laundry ? a bigger machine means fewer washing days.

Even if its just for one person the bigger machine is better.

Bosch minimum size is around 50 litres so this problem isn't there. Bosch or IFB use belts to drive the drum as opposed to the direct drive of Samsung & LG.

Difference between direct drive and belts is the former is little less noisy.

My preference if for LG. Its a middle of the road low end. Think of it like the Moto G of front loaders. It's got what you want and nothing more.

I didn't even know there were different types of driers.
Spin drier will be the one which will be available in most washing machines.
I wouldn't mind hanging out the clothes to dry. I just don't want them dripping water when I take them out of washing machine.
Also, do you have any information on top loading washing machines with continuous spin and not the 1-2 1-2 back and forth motion they generally do.

 

[blr_p]

I didn't even know there were different types of driers.
Spin drier will be the one which will be available in most washing machines.

Correct

I wouldn't mind hanging out the clothes to dry. I just don't want them dripping water when I take them out of washing machine.

The lower the spin speed the less stress on the machine the longer it lasts.

Here it helps to know what the humidity is on washing day. Drier days means faster drying.

I find if humidity is less than 60% then they dry overnight with a 400 rpm spin. When humidity is higher the 800 rpm is used.

They won't be dripping wet with 400 rpm

Also, do you have any information on top loading washing machines with continuous spin and not the 1-2 1-2 back and forth motion they generally do.

Both front loader & top machines have that left and right spin. That's how you clean the clothes. By agitating.

The different cycles are just longer or shorter sequences of that back and forth motion.

The continuous spin is only the spin cycle.

There is another point to keep in mind here with front loaders and that is minimum water pressure required to work.

These days i find a lot of them want that water tank two storeys above where the washing machine will be placed. If its lower than that they complain the water pressure is insufficient and refuse to start. Requiring you to get a pump. This can also happen if the tank is situated high enough but further away instead of just above your apartment.

If you water tank is just above the front loader or you otherwise have low water pressure then you might have to look at top loaders.

How many storeys up is your water tank from the floor the washing machine will be placed ?

When i got my LG it had the lowest water pressure requirement. Tank just above was fine but their later models all have this 1kPa water pressure requirement now.

 

[DrkLord]

Thanks for the info. The tank is 2 storeys up from where washing machine will be kept.
Also, if I understood correct, the 1-2, 1-2 motion will be there in both types of machines just how long a single rotation will be, will vary.

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

Also do keep in mind the hardness of the water. More hardness means more use of detergent and scaling on the drum.

 

[adder]

Thanks for the info. The tank is 2 storeys up from where washing machine will be kept.
Also, if I understood correct, the 1-2, 1-2 motion will be there in both types of machines just how long a single rotation will be, will vary.

Typically cotton cycle will have a long single rotation and cotton cycle is typically used for Max load washing. The front load with direct drive motor like the one in LG can change the direction very rapidly because of the torque of brushless hub type motor. Where as the Bosch and some whirlpool front loaders have a belt driven motor and they cannot change the direction rapidly without destroying the belt or will cause belt to slip.

Even with a 400rpm spin cycle the lowest spin setting the clothes will not drip even one drop.

I rarely use the hot setting in my front load and get clean clothes. Only if the water temp drops below 20c do I switch to 40c setting.

On very rare occasions for highly soiled clothes like when I work on my vehicles or doing some diy work, only on those days do I use a 60c setting.

If you have solar water heater you can dump the upto 55c hot water into the washing machine. Any higher the plastic detergent dispenser will discolor or become brittle fast.

Some washing machines may not work with hot water input and may throw up a error code. But In my LG front load and whirlpool front load its works fine.

 

[blr_p]

Yes how hard is your water ?

A TDS meter will tell you. It gets harder in the dry season and softer in the monsoons.

If you have hard water then descaling is important to prolong the life of the machine. I've seen videos of people in Hyderabad where the hardness was nearing a 1000

Great from health perspective but really bad from a washer perspective. You will have to attach a water softener in this case.

A proper one not the gimmicky 'magnetic' one the demo guy wanted to sell

 

[technofast]

If you are considering Bosch, IFB they have their bearing attached to the drum of the WM. So down the line after some years or according to your usage if the bearing wears off you will need to change the whole drum mechanism as the bearing alone cannot be changed in these WM's. I had this problem in the Bosch WM and was quoted 15K upwards for changing the bearing along with the drum even though the drum was as good as new. I moved to LG front load and plus one to the water pressure in LG. I had very difficult time with Bosch and had to install a small pressure pump to get it working. Never faced any water pressure problem with LG.

 

[blr_p]

Interesting, i'd have thought a bearings change would have been easier to do with a Bosch than the Koreans, since they are direct drive and a bearings fault is the more likely failure point with these models.

 

[technofast]

Bosch, Whirlpool, Seimens all have moved to sealed drums just to exploit the consumers. I think there was a EU suit against some these companies and due to this law suit some companies have moved back against using sealed drums but in India this will not happen as we all know how consumers are treated here.

 

[DrkLord]

Bosch, Whirlpool, Seimens all have moved to sealed drums just to exploit the consumers. I think there was a EU suit against some these companies and due to this law suit some companies have moved back against using sealed drums but in India this will not happen as we all know how consumers are treated here.

Does the sealed drum decrease modularity so that even a small component failure will lead to replacement of the whole thing?

 

[blr_p]

I had very difficult time with Bosch and had to install a small pressure pump to get it working. Never faced any water pressure problem with LG.

LG & Samsung have moved to sealed drums too adder mentioned some time ago. The trouble I find isn't the cost of the repair. At 15k i'd have gone for it because its half the replacement cost. The trouble is they likely don't have the part at hand and for it to arrive will take a month or even longer. No way can you go without a washing machine that long.

Can you tell us the model# of your LG ? It must be a recent purchase yet it does not have any water pressure issues which is a good thing.

Since the last few years i've noticed the LG manuals specifying a higher water pressure than my model. This number is the same for the Bosch models.

How did the Bosch handle power cuts btw ? did it resume at the start of the cycle when the power returned or go all the way back to the start of the program.

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

Does the sealed drum decrease modularity so that even a small component failure will lead to replacement of the whole thing?

In a way yes. Drum costs cover around 80% of the total so by not allowing to replace the damaged part, you are left to pay more amount whose costs rivals the new machine. You would rather go with a new one than spending on a depreciating asset.
It depends on which component actually goes bad. A major supporting one will warrant change of entire drum, a peripheral piece may not.
Again, as a suggestion, go for a brand which is transparent and not using some shady practices. You want your WM to run for at least a decade with minimum maintainance cost.
You can look into jugaadu stuff but once such machine or an important component goes down, it's days are already numbered.