I have had a Fridgidaire front loader for about 3 yrs and totally love it. I have had no real problems with it. I wouldn't trade it for any top loader for sure. It is the better model. It is digital with a built in heater. It does an awesome job on my clothes with plenty of options. I will never go back to a top loader. My electric bill dropped noticably, too.

peanutmom thanks for your comment. Is is a gas or electric dryer?

I have Frigidaire appliances and love them, but was thinking if I should go with an alternate model for the washer/dryer.

I just hooked up the LG HE TL WT5101W and DLGX5102W in my laundry room yesterday. This is my 3rd washer in 7 1/2 years. The first two were FL's. I couldn't convince myself or my husband to take a chance on a 3rd FL, and I wanted another HE washer. So far, I am very happy with my decision. I've done at least 10 loads in them, and the only problems I've had are just learning curve issues. No second guessing this decision at all. Thank goodness!

Just curious, why do you have a preference for a FL?

There are a lot of great machines out there. The first thing to decide is your budget on one and what features you would like to have on it. It makes it easier to help you out that way. No need for you to spend a lot of money if you do not wash in warm or hot water a lot, or you have no need for the big capacity machines

Gates1, I'm not looking to spend a lot of money. I currently have a 1970's whirpool washer/dryer, so anything from this century will do. I do laundry twice a week and maybe once on the weekend. I mostly use warm water and hot water for whites only. I'm looking for more features on the dryer. I want to be able to place a large load and for it to be completely dry without wrinkles when done. I'm not familiar with any of the hi tech machines out there, other than looks. I would love a front load, but what's the difference? Is it just looks and easier to load unload?

Kmustak - I chose the Frigidaire Professional series because I had them in a previous home and had no issues. Also, we were on a tight budget for our kitchen renovation and these suited us. I have not had any problems with any of my appliances. However, I would prefer to see what other brands offer.

Thanks!

It was my experience a front loader is not easier to load/unload unless they are on pedestals. In fact, I often found myself sitting on the floor to do just that since mine were installed under a counter. As for looks, absolutely they are blingy. No question about it. IMO, the set I just got is also blingy. The cost could be a little prohibitive unless you shop around. I ended up getting $300 off each appliance. I've read similar experiences from others here. One person got their set for $350 off each appliance with a deeply discounted 5 yr warranty. My husband wanted to get a regular (non HE) TL based on price, but the capacity on it was so much less then what I ended up with I was hesitant. I'm glad I hesitated, the set I got ended up on a huge sale, the set he wanted never dropped more then $50 per.

It certainly pays to look around and do your homework. Seems that's what you're doing. Good luck whatever you decide.

If your looking for a traditional top loader, I will not be much help for you as I am not fond of them. I got rid of mine 9 yrs ago and went to a front loader. They use too wasteful on natural resources, and the do not clean as well in my opinion. Ive no no major issues with my set over the years. I just bought a new LG waveforce set of HE TL, because mine is starting to show its age.

Without some idea on budget there's no way to give much for suggestions on makes and models but I do have a few other thoughts:

Do you need a new dryer? There's no such thing as and energy efficient dryer. They all do basically the same things: tumble clothes, heat air and vent air. There's some other differences such as some will reverse tumble, F&P has a top lead feature with the lint cup, some have a rack but as said for the most part dryers vary very little except on price and capacity.

You mention wanting it dry without wrinkles. Any dryer will do that as long as you don't overload it. That's another issue to watch for is capacity. I really laugh at some of the large capacity washers being paired with a small(er) capacity dryer.

If you need a dryer too, do they need to "match"? First, many don't really match that well IMO and second if you're willing to mix models you can get a very good, large capacity dryer for a lot less than the "matching" dryer. I see no need to spend $2,000.00 on a dryer when a $400.00 (or less) dryer will do and possibly even do better. Having more room in the dryer gives more room to fluff the clothes, dries faster and is less likely to wrinkle. However, you still have to get the clothes out of there quickly or they can wrinkle. Some dryers have a "wrinkle guard" setting where they'll tumble the clothes occasionally for a while to give you more time to get to it. More of a gimmick IMO.

There's a wealth of information on this forum. I'd suggest reading the threads and the'll give you ideas. As I always caution people there's a lot of strong feelings expressed and some downright worship their machines and can't even consider anything else can possibly do what theirs can. But when you take it with a fistful of salt you can get a lot of ideas of what people like and don't like and see if that compares to what you like or dislike and then you can compare your budget to see what machines fall within your range of consideration.

There's a lot of good machines out there. There's also a lot of rumors and misinformation. Many problems are caused by pilot error. Don't get hung up with an idea that a particular brand was good 20 years ago, it might not be as good now. And don't get hung up that there were troubles with a brand years ago, it could easily have been resolved by now. Base your decision on current information, not obsolete rumors and innuendo.

I happen to like the idea of a heater in a washer but I don't see any sense to one that only works on one or two cycles. That's why I've dismissed the new LG TL HE machine, an otherwise very interesting machine. Many front loaders are that way too. Do your research and be prepared for conflicting information too.

One other thing, don't get hung up on brand names either since you need to research to see who makes them. For instance, Kenmore does not make any appliances - they're all made by manufacturers for Sears. The GE Harmony is built by LG. An Amana FL is made by Samsung. And different models are built in different locations.

This can be a good time of year to buy. There'll be Black Friday specials and other sales. For instance Sears has a FL washer and dryer for somethings like $600-$700 for the pair, Menard's has a Cabrio HE TL for about $500 after rebate - just a couple that I've seen advertised. Don't forget the possibility of clearance, floor model or discontinued models either. Scratch and dent units can save a lot of money.

Happy hunting.

Cynic - thanks for all the info! My budget is no more than $2000 for both washer/dryer and if I can get a deep discount even better. I'm looking to update my current 70's washer/dryer one for efficiency and the other for larger loads. They both are still in excellent working condition. It seems the previous owners of our home were very meticulous of maintaining every 6 months. I'm starting to notice considerable shaking when overloaded and I don't want to wait until last minute for them to breakdown.

As I mentioned I'm new to all the high tech machines out there. This is our first home, so what I've been use to are building laundry rooms and local laundry mats. I'm just looking to get my laundry done in the least possible time, smelling nice, feeling soft and wrinkle free. The basics with a few extra bells and whistles!

Front loaders take more time to do a load of clothes. The trae off for this is a much more gentle wash action, cleaner clothes, lower utilites, money saved. You can wash more in them...BUT that does not mean you can toss every kind of fabric in one load and expect good results with cleaning and wrinkling. I know home depot is knocking 750 off a pair of new waveforce washers. I bought the set with the extended 4 yr warranty for under 1700 dollars. There are no Front loading washers out there except Meile and I think bosh that use the heater in other cycles except whites and sanitary. When the LG uses selects stain treat option, I heard that the heater will work on any hot water wash, but I cannot confirm this yet, still researching it

cynic. I know you got the email from LG telling you that the heater only works in two cycles, but that email also contained blatant misinformation about one of those cycles. They told you that Bright Whites and Sanitary both use Extra Hot, when I can assure you that Bright Whites does not and can not use Extra Hot temp. When you select the Bright Whites cycle, the default is Hot/Cold and Extra Hot/Cold is not a selectable option.

You're right, there is an awful lot of misinformation being thrown about here.

laundrylady is correct on the LG WT5101: Only 1 cycle uses the 158deg built in heater -- Sanitary for the following fabric types: Heavily soiled underwear, work clothes, diapers, etc. (less than 11 lbs.)

cynic wrote: "If you need a dryer too, do they need to 'match'? First, many don't really match that well IMO and second if you're willing to mix models you can get a very good, large capacity dryer for a lot less than the 'matching' dryer."

Amen, brother (or sister, of that is the case). Every part of your post, cynic, deserves to be chiseled in stone.

Some of the most important features of washers and dryers can get lost in the hype over new, high-tech, features. For instance, for those of us whose laundry room floor is less than NSF sanitary, pristine clean, it is very useful to have a dryer where the door is hinged at the bottom, not the side. That way, when one transfers wet laundry from washer to dryer, if an item slips from your hands and falls, it falls onto the open door of the dryer rather than to the dirty floor of the laundry room.

Among dryers that have bottom-hinge doors (also called "hamper doors"), most are among the least expensive dryers in the marketplace. Some low-end Whirlpool dryers and some low-cost made by Whirlpool Sears brand Kenmore dryers come to mind. They are not sexy, in the sense that they will not draw ohhs and ahhs when you take your status-conscious friends for a tour of the laundry room; but, ultimately, the bottom-hinge feature may be more important than any other specification of a dryer for many users.

If you are using a 5.0 cubic ft dryer than you need the biggest dryer avalible to you if you always do large full loads or they will come out all wrinkled. No you do not need all the gadgets, just the size. In most cases the largest dryer have all the gadgets to go with them

So laundrylady, you're saying it's even WORSE than I thought! LOL Thanks. Now I'll scratch it off the list with ink! Really too bad, it's an interesting machine in many ways. But having a worthless heater is of no value.

In dryers, capacity is really everything, or at least the main thing. I think it's downright hilarious to see the LG and Cabrio/Bravos have SMALLER capacity dryers than you can buy for 1/2 the price. In some cases, like mine, 1/3 the price. I for one don't need the glass in the door. I can watch Youtube to see dryers tumble.

Actually I just noticed the thread laundrylady and I see you are wrong. Here is what I said:

"BTW, my understanding is Extra Hot is only available on the sanitary cycle. Hot/Cold is apparently available only on Bright Whites. The heater does not work on the Stain Care cycle - it only adds time to the wash cycle (on the WT5101HV).

Now I'll give the caveat that it's certainly possible that LG customer service can be wrong so if you have tested the machine and show differently, please let us know."(Emphasis added)

According to the info I received, and I'll put this as basic as possible so you'll understand:
-Heater works on two cycles but not the same temperatures.
-Extra hot is only one cycle
-(Heated) Hot on Brightest whites is only one cycle
-No heat on Stain Care

It's pretty simple to understand. Let me know if you're still confused and I'll see if I can, to put it in laundry vernacular... dumb it down for you? ;) (just kidding)