If merely "large" (as opposed to "ginormous") will do, Frigidaire sells a nice set of stackables that hold a surprising amount of laundry. If "ginormous" is necessary, however, people here seem to like the Whirlpool Duet/Kenmore HE3/4/t sets.

Your best bet is to take a typical load of (clean!) laundry to your favorite appliance dealer and see if you can get the whole load in at once. Keep in mind that you can stuff a front-loading washer, so long as you can comfortably put your fist between the laundry and the top of the drum. Also keep in mind that, if you want to buy something big enough to wash your king-sized comforter, you may spend a lot of money and give up a lot of space to machinery that you use only once in a blue moon (maybe I'm just lazy, but I do not wash my queen-size comforter/comforter cover every week or even every month). Consider a set which will handle almost all your needs at a price and reserve the unusually-large items for the laundromat.

I'm looking at the frigidaire models mainly because of their small profile since I have limited space. When comparing them to my TL they are definitely bigger as far as capacity and I have a large capacity TL. And I agree with steve o, unusually large items can go to the laundromat. But I use duvet covers so it's not a problem for me.

We have the Kenmore HE4t and love them. We've had them since Nov. So far, so good. We don't have them stacked but they can be. I did have to have my laundry hook-ups relocated to another location in my laundry room - these units are BIG! They stuck out a bit more than we liked in the old location and it was right in the path of the back door, which we use a lot. But it worked out perfectly because I never liked where the W/D was located. And we had water and a drain in the new location due to an upstairs bathroom. I am so pleased with the result.

I'm one that does wash larger things more often than most. I have a white chenille bedspread and three cats that love to sleep on it. They are indoor/outdoor cats so they do bring in dirt. I wash this spread about every other week and there's no way I'm traipsing down to the laundromat to wash it. I did the laundromat thing when I was young and poor - not doing it again. lol!

As Steve says, consider your needs and decide from there. And make sure you have room. You won't be sorry with the new FLs.

Diana

We have the Kenmore HE4t also. Yes, they're large, but because they're stacked we actually gained floor space. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

We have the 2004 model Maytag Neptune stackers....we love them and am amazed at what all I can fit in there.

I've got the Frigidaire ones and love them. I put a king size silk quilt in it and had no problems. It looks smaller than my old washer but it holds a lot more stuff--I guess because it doesn't have the agitator.

De

We have Kenmore from Sears -- don't know the model offhand, but we've had them for several years and they've been great. Large capacity, not Huge.

We have a Stacked Miele setup in our "Small" house. Laundry area (would be a stretch to call it a "room" will only hold a stackable, and the Miele is perfect. Smaller, but SO good at washing, so quiet. I'll never buy another brand.

Don't let the smaller size fool you, we can wash our queen sheets in there no problem. Will hold I think 7 kilos of laundry.

Reviving an old thread...

Steve_o and De, which Frigidaire set do you have? Our washer went rather dramatically kaput over the weekend and our dryer's sucked like a black hole all along, so we figure it's time to just bite the bullet and replace them both even though the budget is tighter than Pamela Anderson's shirts. I'm thrilled to pieces with my Frigidaire FGFL87DS (Lowes' house version of the GLGF388D) range - Frigidaire seems to provide a lot of bang for the buck - so I'm trying to decide between the Frigidaire FTF530FS/FEQ332ES (which runs about $900 for the pair) and the GLTF2940ES/GLEQ2152ES (about $1150, OUCH... don't know of any salvage or scratch-and-dent places here). The latter is a bit larger - 3.5cf vs 3.1 - and has the onboard heater everyone gets so wild about on the Laundry forum. However, there's only two of us, and almost nothing we own would get washed in hot water (including towels and sheets, since we have colors - no germphobes here), and we get over 120F at the nearest tap anyway so I am somewhat dubious about the need for it.

I keep a low stool in the utility room for reaching the top shelf of the pantry closet anyway, so it would be no problem sitting on that to extract clothes from the washer (way better than lifting the heavy, wet clothes up out of the top loader what with fibromyalgia and a trashed back) into a basket. If we stack them we'll have room for a counter next to the machines to set the basket of wet clothes on to load them into the dryer, if they're side by side with a counter on top I can just scoot the stool over. Easy peasy. :-)

I have the FTF530FS/FEQ332ES set and love them. I have been using them (stacked set) for a year now and have had no problems. They are energy effiecient, water efficient (important with a septic system)and large capacity. I wash and dry my queen sized bed quilt on a regular basis (both the cat and dog sleep on my bed darn it)and they work fine.

DH talked me into getting the GLTF2940ES/GLEQ2152ES, among other things because of the larger washer door - the tiny door on the 530 wasn't as comfortable to reach both hands into - and a bunch of weird little widgets to turn guys on. :-) But since he does more than half the laundry (although I'll probably be doing more what with not having to painfully lift heavy wet clothes out of a top loader) I figure he should get a say in the choice of machinery... I should be thankful he didn't nag for some fancy-schmancy Eurosnob machines that cost as much as our first car and require a degree in engineering to operate. LOL I ordered them today (got to cut off about $100 with a couple of rebates) and they're expected to arrive on the 1st.

We have septic too although it's a weird type called a "STEP" which are very common in my town - no leach field, it pumps out a very looooooong pipe to the street) and too much water going into the tank floats solids up into the pipe and clogs the whole thing up. The tank has to be emptied every few years to remove the solids, gotta have it checked this spring since it's been 3 years and the POs said to pump it every 3-4 years. We have to use all the usual septic-safe stuff so that the stuff that is supposed to dissolve will dissolve and get pumped out to the street rather than having to pay the "honey dippers"!

Do you use a special HE detergent? I'm horrifically allergic to anything from Tide and Wisk (scarlet rash that looks and feels more like a burn) and anything fragranced is a recipe for itchies. I'm going to go over to the Laundry forum and ask there about the detergents too, although those folks scare me! :-)

mari ~ I use Purex Baby liquid detergent. It's also hypoallergenic, and since I have all sorts of allergies and get skin rashes like crazy, I figured I'd give it a shot. DH and I both get ridiculously dry skin during the cold months, so we don't need any extra irritants. I was using Ariel (the one made in Mexico), which was a kick-butt detergent on stains, etc. But as of late I'm having a heck of a time finding it in our local Spanish grocer. I tried Purex on a whim, partly due to their claim of being great on stains (such as baby formula). I figure if they can get out baby formula they can get out any stain. So far I'm happy with the results, and I do find it's quite gentle on our skin, not to mention the old pocketbook. Just a suggestion.

Duh ~ A little fuzzy this AM. To answer the original Q. We have Whirlpool front-loader (badged under Sears), purchased over 6 years ago. I will never, ever go back to a top-loader. As far as the detergent, if I'm not using one specifically made for front-loaders (HE), I cut down the amount. Generally, I'll use 1/4 the amount called for. Works for me. And I only use liquid detergent because we have a septic system.

I have a Frigidaire (GLGT1142CS1) that I'm quite happy with. It's a little louder than I would like, though. Sure would be nice to have an actual laundry room, so I could shut the door, and hide the noise somewhat.

We actually could fit a normal washer/dryer in our laundry space, but decided to get a stackable, so we would have a space next to it for our kitty litter boxes. It's worked out perfectly. We put up a very nice curtain rod, and a fancy shower curtain, and if we want to hide the washer/dryer and the kitty boxes from guests, then we we just pull it across.

I bought a frigidaire stackable less than two years ago. The trasnmission and bearings on the washer have already died and I didn't buy an extended warranty. It will cost $600 to fix. I live alone, so it certainly wasn't overused. I would never use this brand again. From what I have read, buying a smaller front load separate washer and dryer that can stack is not only more energy efficient, but if one of them goes out, then you only have to replace one appliance.

Sorry, I just saw your question. We bought the FTF530FS/FEQ332ES I believe (it looks the same in the picture). We've had them over a year now and haven't had any problems. We use the HE Washing powder from Sears (free of everything). It comes in the large bucket and it takes me forever to go through one. We try to wait until they have it on sale for $9.99.

De

I just purchased the whirlpool duet front loaders. They are to be delivered today. I'll let you know how they work out.

Got my whirlpools and so far I love them. Much quieter and a smaller profile in a very tight space. Also like the front loading. I hope they hold up better than my Frigidaire stackable which I rate as one of my worst purchases ever

Bumping this one UP, because it is of recent interest on the forum....again.

A lot of different folks posting in this thread too. The turnover in names is interesting, isn't it?

we have a set of the whirlpool duet sport. They are fantastic. We have them set up stacked but you can have them side by side if you choose (and have the room). They fit in my small space and can handle large loads of laundry. I've had them 2 years now and am very happy with their performance.

In my last house I had the duets. In this house I bought the LG's. I am not happy with them. I really wish I had kept my duets, or bought the same ones I had.

Boop, I did the same thing when my washer headed south. Just can't figure out how to get things clean with LG. After reading more reviews than is the norm, we are all having the same problems. LG seems to refuse to address them. The suggestion to keep the washer door open is ludicrous.

Are you finding any specific option that works better than the others. I tried the Sanitary just the other day and was floored the timing was close to 2 hours. I haven't tried programming a cycle just for what I want.

The reason I bought these was LG had the option to change the controls from top to bottom which makes it far easier to get to controls when stacked. So my dryer has the controls just above the washer. No issues with the dryer, it is great.

If I thought the dryer could be attached on top of another brand, I'd admit to a mistake and buy a different washer.

My Kenmore stacked duo with a front-loading washer has bitten the dust after just eight years. The dryer went out about two weeks before the washer. I suppose I should be thankful they went out so close together. I don't want to take the gamble of repairing, but have loved having a front loader. There doesn't seem to be much out there with a front-loading washer that is also stackable. Anybody ever heard of speed Queen? I see they have a set, not sure about the quality.

We have a stackable GE set with a front loading washer, julie. We've had them for about 4 1/2 years and they have not missed a beat. No problems with getting clothes clean either. Although, I would not say ours are large capacity. GE makes a few different stackables with front loading washers.

not selling or buying stackable just need information seperating the dryer from washer to carry upstairs

We just separated ours and it was a real pain. We have a Frigidaire and the adhesive was stuck so well that dh had to bend the metal bar from the stacking kit to get it off. I had done a search for how to and couldn't find anything. Good thing those stacking kits are cheap.

Another Miele laundry family here. We have the smaller, 5kg, set and have had no issues with them at all. I'm always surprised at how much better they clean and how much you can fit in them when compared with my in-laws maytag or sister-in-laws whirlpool.