Which laundry setup is best and why: front load or top load?

My untested opinion is that front loaders are better because they don’t have the agitator in there beating up the fabric. Less wear on your clothes.

I vote for top loader because you can open it up after starting and drop in that one sock that always falls out of the basket on your way to the laundry room. Front loader, you’re SOL. Those socks will never meet again.

I always use top loaders because of a back that doesn’t like to bend down too much.

We have only had a top loading machine. When we first married, a front loader was not yet available for the public.

I would still give a checkmark vote to a top loading machine for this reason:

1. A top loader is much easier on a person that has a bad back. I can stand, while loading and unloading a top loader. I have to bend over or sit on a stool to do the same with a front loader. I am 6 ft. 5 in. and my wife and I both have bad backs, so a front loading machine is not for us. jp

I have a front loader.
The last time I have seen a top loader was almost 2 decades ago. It was an old machine from east germany. Since then I have only seen front loaders.

The last top loader I saw was my mother’s manual twin-tub in the 1970s. Nearly all UK domestic washing machines are front loaders, as we need the space.

Front loaders use a lot less water and large loads come out cleaner, compared to top loaders. The opening in ours is the same height as our laundry baskets, so loading is not so bad. Also, I get our kids to do the laundry, so the low door height works for us.

Best for what and why?
Cleanliness?
Power consumption?
Water consumption?
Wear on fabric?
Lingering odor from front loaders?

You don’t have to worry about balancing the load in a front-load washer.

@ragingloli The last time I have seen a top loader was almost 2 decades ago

Home front loaders only became popular in the US in the last decade. And they are usually significantly more expensive, so top loaders are still popular here.

@jaytkay that is a remarkable answer. I am not just saying that. It shows a depth of character in you that I admire, and I will make a point to follow anything you share on Fluther more closely.

seriously.

I used to have a top loader, and my clothes were always shredded after a year or so. I bought a front loader a couple of years ago, and I noticed my clothes last a lot longer.

You can do bigger loads in a front loader, they spin faster so you use less drying time and they use less water.

@tranquilsea – Not necessarily. My washing machine washes quickly, but takes hours to dry the clothes. But then, that doesn’t bother me since I put a load in each night when I get home from work and they’re done and dry the following night when I get home from work and put another load in.

@jaytkay you’re good but… I don’t think you caught this.

I somehow had the notion in my head that some dryers are top loaders! I think this is not true, or rare. Furthermore, I don’t know how I thought that I could pick up clothes and drop them in the dryer since I’ve never had that experience to my knowledge.

Has anyone got a link to a top load dryer?

@Ltryptophan – Go to Amazon and search on “top load dryer.” There’s a few. Avoid Haier though. They’re known for being crap.

I hate my front loader.