Sanitize or Allergene cycle for sheets and towels. Hot/boiling water works; I'll only consider washers with an onboard heater. Double and triple rinse; I won't buy a washer without multiple rinse options. Get a washer with super high spin speeds to extract as much soapy water as possible with each rinse. The drive toward energy savings, specifically less water and cold temps, has resulted in filthy laundry with detergent residue. If the detergent were really being rinsed out with just the standard cold wash, one rinse cycles, why would so many people need "Free and Clear" detergents? I actually read advice online that said when your towels start to smell bad, you know it's time to replace them. Huh? Send them through the sanitize cycle with a commercial laundry detergent instead. If washers have gotten so energy efficient that we're throwing out perfectly good towels, you have to wonder just how much eco-savings we've achieved.

I have a Whirlpool FL now for about 4 years. I always wipe out the boot or gasket whatever and remove and drain the dispenser tray so no issue with mold. However, recently, I notice when I am wiping it out, there is a lot more water in there. I've tried to figure out what is going on. Nothing has changed, I did not move the machine, I'm doing the same size washes and all... I did come across a youtube saying to take a q tip to clean out some holes.. I really don't see them but it makes sense. Anyone have a dummies diy guide I could try? I'm convinced it shouldn't be a big deal but I am toying with calling a ((gasp)) repair person. Among my searches, this thread came up.

@newenglandsara2 It depends on the towel. Most of ours are the Charisma ones from Costco (or whatever other indian brand they are selling). We can usually get 7-8 of those in at one time plus 10-20 wash clothes. Bath Sheets, the longer ones, Can get 5-6 of those in. Wife and older daughters like those better. Honestly you can pack the drumm full, just not full AND tight. Packing full will result in good wash action for most items once they are wet. As for durability, Miele and Speed Queen BOTH have models targeted at commeical use and resedential. Go to almost any Laundromat and you will NOT see soft mount front loaders from either brand. True commerical model washer from either company will be 4-9k and up depending on capacity. This is true of Speed Queen as well. The ”my washer lasted 30 years” and ”Mine lasted five and died” tells you nothing of durabilty. You dont know how it was used or how many hours are on the machine. Miele is the only residential washer that i know of that includes an hour meter on their washers and dryers. Speed Queen will probably be just fine. The lack of features and on-board heater is what turns me off to it. Speed Queen DOES offer items like this on their TRUE laundromat washers and dryers. They also offer detergent dispensing systems as add ons. Miele is giving you these features in a residebtial appliance. The turn off for many people is their capacity. We do laundry for 14 people. If they work for is then I call BS on people that think they wont work for a house of 4-6.

Seeing that nobody has responded, I'll take a shot. First thing: have you tried water hoses with 90° fittings? (If you don't know what I'm referring to, here is a randomly chosen example: https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-4-ft-Universal-Stainless-Steel-Washer-Hoses-with-90-degree-Elbow-2-Pack-PM14X10008/205473453) Beyond that, there may be numbers of ways to create hose recesses in the wall behind the washer. What works depends on the wall -- how is it constructed, what is in it (e.g., empty space, plumbing lines, insulation, electrical etc.), what is behind it, and the kind of plumbing you have to deal with (copper? PEX? PVC?). For example, my laundry room's back wall is drywall on bare 2x4 stud framing with a readily accessible utility closet space behind it. The back side of the wall is unfinished (i.e., without sheetrock on the utility space's side of the wall) The standpipe drain is PVC. The water supply lines are PEX. In this instance, all that made it easy, inexpensive and quick to move the washer's supply and drain connections to the other side of the wall in the utility space and cut access ports through the paneling directly behind the hose connections. This set-up allows my washer to slide all the way back to the wall behind it while still providing ready access to the supply and drain connections. YMMV.