HE washer w/o agitator?

[Susie]

We bought a new house this summer, that came with a matched Kenmore front load washer and gas dryer pair, from 2011.  The dryer is fine, but I want to replace the washer for a bunch of reasons.  I think the bearings may be on the way out, because the shaking is crazy when it's on a spin cycle, everything sitting on it ends up on the floor and it's crazy loud.  The location (relative to the exterior door) also makes it really hard to leave the door open.  As a result, when we moved in, it already had mold in the gasket from the previous owners.  I've cleaned it, but never felt completely satisfied with what I could achieve.  I don't want to put money into repairing it, because it feels like the wrong fit for the space.  Someday we might redo the layout, but that time is not now.  

I want to get a top loader, to get the washer door up out of the way of the exterior door.  At our last house, we always bought relatively inexpensive top loaders with agitators.  Laundry was in the basement, and I didn't want to spend $$$ on fancy machines.  

My priorities for the washer include:  
- large capacity.  Our dog sleeps in our king size bed, so we need to be able to wash the quilt.
- white.  I don't care about having a matched pair, but I don't want a black washer next to the white dryer.  Plus the cabinets in there are white.
- reliable, to the extent that it's predictable.
- ability to get clothes clean.  Despite the things I hate about the current front loader, I have liked the cleanliness of clothes.
- solve/avoid the gasket mold problem

We picked up Consumer Reports from the library, and all the top rated top loaders are impeller driven, no agitator.  (They are generally also from LG.). Comparatively speaking, they kinda pan the agitator driven top loaders.  I had previously had a bias against the impeller machines, I had heard that they were kind of halfway between front loaders and agitators and not as good at the strengths of either.

Any experience with them or any recs?

ETA: this layout is why I don’t like a front loader in this laundry room.

[af1212]

We got an impeller washer (whirlpool) after our last washer started inexplicably leaking and we couldn’t find the source.

We have loved it.

I would recommend measuring the opening it needs
To get through and then just buying the largest possible one that will fit.

[penguingrrl]

We have a whirlpool cabrio no-agitator top loader that came with our house. No idea on the age, but we’ve been in our house 4.5 years and I don’t think it was super new then.

It’s awful. My clothes don’t get sufficiently clean on a regular cycle, we have to add all kinds of extra rinse cycles and it take 90 minutes to do each load. And stuff often comes out with soap stains despite using the amount and type of soap recommended in the owner’s manual and the extra rinse.

We’re planning a renovation of the space the w/d are in pretty soon, which is the only reason I haven’t replaced it yet.

[morecoffeeplease]

We have a washer without an agitator and I don’t like it. Our close do not come out as clean, IMO and we have to do some many rinse cycles because the soap doesn’t come off of the clothes all of the way.

[icedcoffee]

We went with an LG top loader with no agitator based on those same consumer report reviews. It’s been about 2 years and no complaints. It’s the LGWT7300CW.

Bonus—I get an alert on my apple watch when my load is done. LOL

[fivechickens]

Oct 31, 2021 9:28:12 GMT -5 morecoffeeplease said:

We have a washer without an agitator and I don’t like it. Our close do not come out as clean, IMO and we have to do some many rinse cycles because the soap doesn’t come off of the clothes all of the way.

Same.

We had a Maytag toploader w/o agitator and it had to be repaired 4 times in 8 years. It was a PITA. We recently bought a Maytag washer with an agitator and I love it.

[sent]

My parents and I both have top load Samsungs. Our clothes come out super clean. Pretty sure they have agitators.

Also I opened this thread because I thought the title said "alligator."

[dcn]

I have a top loader with no agitator (whirlpool cabrio) and when it dies I’m getting a regular washer with an agitator.

It takes a long time for a load to run, even the “quick” load takes almost an hour. You can’t fill it too full or the clothes don’t get clean, you have to run an extra rinse cycle a lot which kind of defeats the low water use perk. I dunno, it just has not lived up to the hype at all. I’ve also had a front loader and hated it more than this one bc of the mildew issue and it takes so long for a load. When we got married we had a basic kenmore washer that was great.

[macmars45]

We have an LG top loader no agitator. We bought it originally in May 2019 and liked it so much we bought it again in January 2021. (We moved 2x in 2020.)

Our previous to May 2019 washer was a top loader with an agitator. The agitator broke and the washer leaked everywhere.

[cmeon]

Washing machine biases run deeeeep and are pretty hilarious if you're interested into looking into studies at all.

All I can say is that we are very happy with our LG front loader, and a modern FL does not need an open door (I'll admit I still crack mine because of *biases* formed with our previous FL machine).

[onthemove]

I don’t remember the brand, but my parents have an agitator-free top loader. The only way to get things clean is to use the “deep soak” function, otherwise it doesn’t use enough water to get things clean.

[SusanBAnthony]

We have a GE top loader without agitator. We've had it for 3 years.

It's ok..... But I guess I e felt that way about every washer.

Top loader with agitator is rougher on clothes and harder to wash big things

Front loader got stinky and took forever and seemed finicky

Current top loader without agitator we always put on the deep fill/deep rinse because it otherwise uses a ridiculously small amount of water and doesn't get well agitated or well rinsed. And when washing bedding it often gets unbalanced and can't rebalance itself.

When we had a laundry room like yours we had stacked front loaders so that we could avoid the door issue that you have. I liked it because we had all the winter gear in the space where the washer would otherwise sit.

[charlatti]

We have the LG no agitator that consumer reports recommended. It’s ok. I think our old front loader was better at getting clothes clean. I wash everything except towels on delicate plus extra water, because otherwise I think it’s hard on the fabrics without actually cleaning them.

[sweetchix]

I also have an LG but not sure of the model. I got it just before the covid shut down, so it’s just a little over a year old. I love it.

[ste]

We have a top loader without agitator, but we also have well water - so I’ve never been sure what’s really to blame. My biggest complaints that are 100% washer are that if I actually fill it, the dryer has to run multiple cycles to fully dry everything. Plus, it’s so deep it’s an uncomfortable fight to get everything out every time and it’s so frustrating (and I’m v average height). Any deep clean issues I’ve assumed was water related, but now I’m rethinking after reading this post!

[northeastern]

We got a LG top loader with no agitator and hated it too. My daughter would eat Gerber Puffs and if they got stuck to a bib or onesie, they were still there after it was washed. Also, per the instructions with ours, you still have to load it like has an agitator in the middle. I was used to a front loader and being able to get it pretty full. So that may be an issue with your king size quilt. Luckily the store took the set back, but told me I could not replace with another top loader without agitator because “if you didn’t like that one, you won’t like any of them.” (It was the best at the time per Consumer Reports) We bought an updated front loader set and haven’t had any mold issues.

[Patsy Baloney]

I do feel like top loaders without agitators take some finesse in getting them to work their best.

We have a 10 year old kenmore top loader, no agitator. It does not use enough water on its regular settings to get the clothes wet - we would notice dry patches or soap smears. It took me a bit to figure out how to get the best wash out of it - bulky or heavy duty setting, second rinse, leave a donut in the middle, less soap, vinegar in the barrel (we don’t use fabric softener in the washer or dryer), the biggest load we do is our king sized comforter.

It does use more water, but clothes are very clean, stains lift out easily, and we have not had any repair calls for it yet.

[dragon's breath]

Had one with no agitator, absolutely hated it. Never got clothes clean, never got all the detergent out, etc. I was so happy when it died (couldn't justify replacing it before then. Could not select a water level, so I ended up dumping buckets of water in it, which probably led to a faster death, which was fine by me.) At work, we had the same brand/year washer, but that one had an agitator and it was 100x better than mine.

I plan to get a Speed Queen when I build a house. Now have those at work and they handle some pretty tough stuff.

[dirtyred]

First, have you checked to see if the washer is level?  That can cause shaking with spinning.  Otherwise, I had an LG with out an agitator that worked pretty well.

[RockNVoll]

This doesn't answer your question, but if you like front loaders there's the option to get one that opens to the right instead of the left. Alternatively, is is possible to swap the positions of your two machines?

Edit: I stand corrected; DH says dryers usually have reversible doors, but not washers.

[pinkpeony08]

I used consumer reports at our old house and got a Whirlpool Cabrio at their recommendation. It was horrible. I would pretreat stains that wouldn’t come out, air dry and repeat without luck. Then I’d take it to my parents’ house and use their old school agitator washer and the stain would come out first try. We once put something large (which washer said it could accommodate), and the full thing didn’t even get wet.
I bought an Electrolux front loader at our new house and it’s been great.

[georgeglass]

I'd buy the biggest Speed Queen you can. I am obsessed with mine.

[litasail]

Oct 31, 2021 9:55:38 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

We went with an LG top loader with no agitator based on those same consumer report reviews. It’s been about 2 years and no complaints. It’s the LGWT7300CW.

Bonus—I get an alert on my apple watch when my load is done. LOL

I have this one, too, and I also love it.

[Roc A Bee]

I think washers are a thing where old school just works better. Team agitator all day!

[hazelden]

Oct 31, 2021 18:29:31 GMT -5 georgeglass said:

I'd buy the biggest Speed Queen you can. I am obsessed with mine.

This exactly. I love our Speed Queen. A load of laundry takes 29 minutes on the regular setting on ours. I have a part time job as a household manager and just bought a set for that household. They told me they love them. The model they have takes 39 minutes, which is still a huge improvement over the 90 minutes their old machine took to finish a load.

[tiki]

We bought a house with a Samsung top loading washer without an agitator. It's high capacity, but things come out with dry patches / not smelling clean unless we either run a very small load, or use the deep fill option. Deep fill uses more water than HE mode but less than an old school agitator washer, so it seems like a decent compromise.

[sadlebred]

I have a Whirpool Cabrio w/o agitator and like it. I hated, hated, hated my LG front loader with a passion. I did a happy dance the day it died. I love that I can do huge loads of cycling laundry at one time.

The only time I seem to need a 2nd rinse is for really big things like blankets, comforters, winter jackets, etc.

[pandora89]

We also have the whirlpool cabrio and like it. Top loader, large basin, agitator, cycles don’t take extremely long, haven’t found clothes not coming out clean, I love the load & go and WIFI features.

[IndiaInk]

I got an LG top loader with no agitator with a home we bought in 2015. That machine rocked -it never failed me on filthy farm clothes or cloth diapers. I loved it so much we bought another LG set from Costco after we moved again a couple years ago. They are phenomenal and I’m SUPER picky about clean and good-smelling clothes.

[Susie]

Aw man, new wrinkle: the bottom of our upper cabinets is 53.5" off the floor. Most of the LG top loaders have a height of 57+" with the door open. That's not really close, and the hinge of the top loader would probably need to sit under the cabinet in order to keep the doorway clear. It would "fit," but the door wouldn't open all the way and I might have to hold it open in order to load/unload. That is a definite no.

The gas line to the dryer is flexible, and it does look like we could swap the washer and dryer spots, keeping the washer away from the exterior door. But our current dryer is a right side hinge, and can't be swapped, so if I put the washer on the right instead, it would be a PITA to transfer laundry from washer to dryer. I would rather not replace the dryer right now just for an opposite swing, since it works fine.

This just got more complicated than anticipated!

This is from the RE listing, existing cabinets and washer/dryer.


We actually don't really use those upper cabinets because they're so hard to reach.  H is tall and can reach them, but I can't.  Are they worth having?  There are more cabinets on the exterior wall opposite the washer/dryer.