my samsung 520 w & d is large enough to do thick king size comforters. u can't beat a FL for getting clothes CLEAN! A HE FL uses such little water that you won't feel silly washing just a garment or two. I got my 520's for 1/2 price! (once a year sale, at Pacific Sales late last year)

i can't emphasize enough how much better a FL is at getting clothes (and filthy oily rags) SPOTLESS. Wish I would have bought one years ago instead of wasting water and detergent in my old Maytag TL. I had no idea how lousy it was until I got the Sammys

Thanks, that sounds nice! If you don't mind sharing, what's 1/2 price?

lucik77, what brand/model TL is your non-functioning machine? Although the symptoms sound bad, it could be something simple and inexpensive as a broken safety lid switch. I've seen people toss out a washer for not realizing their problem is a $12 part that's easily replaced by a competent DIYer.

dadoes, thanks! we have a GE but not sure of the model # (something ancient no doubt). unfortunately neither my husband nor I are DIYers.
how can we diagnose the problem? also, how do we get the water out of the machine? when I try to re-run it by turning the knob to "rinse", the machine makes a scary sound like a car with a dead battery.

I can't offer further advice on a GE without the specific model number to check what's the mechanism. They had more than one mechanical design over the last decade or so (not known for reliability). I was thinking maybe it's a Kenmore or Whirlpool, which didn't change from approx 1985 to early this year.

I just replaced our less than 7 year old top of the line Kenmore He Front Loader that bit the dust with an He Samsung Top Loader. This machine has just as much capacity as a front loader (4.7 cf). The drum is huge!! The He top loaders don't have the center agitator. This one (and many others) have HUGE drums. I can fit SO MUCH in this thing and actually enjoy doing laundry (well, as much as one can enjoy it!) again! My clothes smell good and get clean again. I also have two kids that get dirty playing sports, etc. Their clothes are coming out nice and clean. And my dryer that I was having to hit "touch up" on to finish getting the last little damp bits finished off is actually working because the spin is getting all the water out I suppose.

I've stood over the clear lid and watched it work. It's getting all the laundry soaked and tumbling it all over. This morning I didn't want to do a load yet and needed to run it about an hour later. I then remembered it had a delay wash button! I hit it to start in an hour and went on with my day and came back to perfectly clean laundry! Other brands probably had that, but it's new to me with my 7 year old washer! I can throw a load in before bed and have it run when I wake up in the morning. Fantastic!

That sounds great!
What are some of the most important features that I should look into while narrowing down the choices?

Thanks!