Opinion on Kenmore Front Loading Washing Machines?
Question:Problems with mildrew on front rubber gasket?
Good with cleaning stains on clothes?
Vibration issues?
Smelly clothes because of less water usage?
Adding bleach with less water; does it stain clothes?
Extended warranty..do you recommend?
Problems with Computerized buttons?
Answers:
I have a whirlpool front load. I don't have issues with mold on the gasket, but I would think wiping the water off of it after each use would help.
It cleans my clothes wonderfully. On the sanitize setting, you need no bleach, it gets them whiter than any bleach that I've ever used.
Vibration is a balance issue, the tub spins sooooo fast that you really need to get a level and make sure all corners and middle are exactly level.
I've never had smelly clothes because of less water...I use Tide HE...make sure you ALWAYS use HE detergent, not doing so can damage your computer board or confuse it because of to much sudding.
I've never added bleach, I just use the sanitize option.
I do not recommend Extended warranty...it's a waste of your money.
I have had no problems with the buttons...what sort of problems are you having, you didn't elaborate on most of these?
our unit is 5 years old- but I think we bought it as a year old leftover so its only been in use 4 years..
No mildew problems for us.
Stain cleaning is better than our old rotary spinning bucket- this seems to depend more on pretreating nasty stains more than the washing maching.
No vibration- thats one of the beautiful things about front loaders- they are quiet and will NOT vibrate.
I never noticed smelly clothes unless I forget and let them sit in the washer for a couple days before getting them dry.
No bleach staining noticed by us.
extended warranty- its a gamble either way but I find it to be usually not worth it.
Our kenmore washer has dials and not computer buttons- I generally prefer computer because its electronic without moving parts which are more likely to fail. I will note that we live an area with many lightining strikes so we keep as many of our electronics on surge supressors as possible.
Overall, I dont think you will go wrong with the Kenmore- we too were reluctant to try the new technology but are now happy that we did.
I have a Kenmore front-loading washing machine (no computer buttons, though) that we bought in 2000. To answer your questions:
Sometimes I need to take a Clorox wipe to clear out the mildew on the front window (and rubber gasket) as well as the fabric softener tray (for some reason that attracts it too). Not a biggie though.
We DO have vibration issues, probably because we stacked our dryer on top. If we ever got around to it, though, I think all we'd need to do is stick a wood shim under one side.
My clothes are NOT smelly, and in fact come out very nicely. The lower water bill is a big blessing, too!
They have calibrated the bleach tray for the max. amt of bleach to use, so no there is no problem with using too much. In fact, I have received compliments on the whiteness of my clothes.
I do recommend extended warranty or some kind of service contract. One thing you need to be careful of is clearing out your pockets before putting your clothes in. Little things like bobby pins, pennies, hair holders, etc., can get stuck in the gasket (?) and actually mess up the washer. We have had a service man out to fix ours because of this very thing. So a service contract/warranty is a good idea.
We were just in Sears to buy new front loaders...we had the mildew issue with the old neptunes.these new ones don't have a light on the door when you open them so the recommend that you leave the door cracked open to let air circulate to eliminate mildew.if it gets stinky run a cup of bleach thru a cycle that will kill any mildew also. remember the old washer we all left the top loaders open and if we didn't the handle spot allowed air to flow thru.
I had a Maytag Neptune front loader & I didn't have any trouble with:
(1) Mildew on front rubber gasket
(2) Clothing getting clean, especially stains
(3)Vibration issues
(4) Smelly clothes
(5) Adding bleach w/less water. The bleach dispenser worked well
(6) No extended warranty was taken out
(7) No computerized buttons to worry about on my Neptune
Once you load your washer, press the buttons, the washer door is locked & stays locked until the wash cycle has ended. I didn't use a rubber tray for my washer.
I love my front loader. I've had it for about 4 years. The only major problem I had was with the water pump. It went out, but it was covered due to a recall. Whirlpool was the same (my sister has this one). You do have to clean the rubber gasket. There are no vibration problems as long as the legs are in their proper positions. Clothes need to be removed as soon as possible. I find it cleans stains just fine; but I always pretreat anyway. I never use bleach as we have too much iron in the water and it would really yellow the clothes. I use Iron-Out instead. I never get the extended warranty, but I also consider this to be a personal issue. And no problems with the buttons. The machine is very energy and water efficient and I am proud to own it.
I forgot to add that I always leave the door ajar when I am done washing clothes.
To answer your follow up questions: Yes, you can open the door to add clothes, as long as the "add clothes" light is on. I think this lasts at least 8 minutes into the cycle. I have mine on top of the storage stand that Sears sells. If the pan doesn't interfere with the leveling feet, then it would be ok. I don't think it necessarily cleans better than a top-loader; but it's definitely more energy efficient, as I mentioned above.
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