Washer and Dryer

MarieEDDJuly

What brand of washer and dryer have you found to be the best and most efficient for cloth diapering? I do plan to line dry in the summer but for the winter I would be using the dryer.  thanks

Dr.Loretta

I don't really think it's a function of the W/D. It's a function of what type of water you have, what detergent you use, and what washing routine you have.

We're on our second W/D due to a move, and I haven't noticed anything better or worse about the W/D in our apt than in our previous house.

MarieEDDJuly

the reason I'm asking is that we are buying a new washer and dryer. We are just trying to figure out what is best - also if people prefer front loads compared to top loads. Right now, our washer and dryer and in the basement and we will soon start cloth diapering and we are going to put them on the first floor.

I'm due today but no signs of this little coming yet

Dr.Loretta

MikeMarie:

the reason I'm asking is that we are buying a new washer and dryer. We are just trying to figure out what is best - also if people prefer front loads compared to top loads. 

Again, I don't think there's a "best". For every person who recommends a Whirlpool, someone else will recommend a GE or an LG or a Samsung. Our old W/D were GE old-school top loader. Our apt W/D are GE stackables with a top loading washer.

Some people have to tweak the wash cycles on front loaders, or add towels to HE washers, to get enough water to get diapers clean.

MonAndMax

FWIW, I spoke with a repairman about our washer/dryer. He was over to fix something with the fridge, and he was kind of chatty (and also not tied to a particular brand by a company affiliation). He told us to keep our Whirlpool top loader washer (and the matching dryer) for as long as we could because it was a great one (came with the house) and they don't make it anymore.

I mentioned that I wanted to get the stackable front loaders and asked him which brand was most reliable. He said none of them - after a year he sees the drums go bad, and a year is conveniently the time limit on the warranty. (Drums is not the right word, but for the life of me I can't think of what he called them - basically the bit in the middle that spins about). He said he just had someone that morning have a $1300 repair bill just to REPAIR the front loader. And they cost that much each! He said none of the companies have figured out how to get the front loaders to last for a long time, and he gets called in to fix them more than anything else. 

Just his opinion and experience, but it was enough to kill my longing for a pretty new washer - at least until this one dies. I really do want a pretty color washer but oh well.... 

062307Bride

We have the Maytag Bravos HE set - washer is a top load, though. Bought them new 3 years ago and love them. I'm washing my first load of (clean) CDs now, so I don't have any suggestions for using them to wash CDS - I just went on the fuzzibunz website and they had sugguestions for using HE washer/dryer.