jonathan18:

 

We bought one last year, after seeking advice here on GZ (see this thread).

 

Ended up with a mid-range Bosch - I think this is the Bosch near the top of the Consumer recommended list, posted above, with that model 'exclusive' to HN's (this model here).

 

Wished we'd replaced our top-loading F&P way earlier; while we were initially put off by the long cycle times, we've found in reality for 80% of our loads we can use a quick setting (1 hour), and the washing and spinning is still way superior to the old machine!

 

You'll see from the thread I linked to above we were looking for a model that we can add stuff part way through a cycle - I'm sure a few brands let this do you now (and Samsung has the model with the extra 'door' to let you do this). Many don't see the value of this, but we certainly find it valuable.

 

Edit: and it's worth saying the machine we got is really quiet; it took a bit of ensuring it was well-balanced (before that it was pretty noisy!), but since then it's certainly quieter than the old top-loader. 

 

One thing to take into account is whether having the washing associated with a baby means the generally faster times of a top loader is an advantage - we used reusable nappies for our boys and so had a load or two to do most days, and I'm not sure if 2-3 hour cycles would have been practical.

 

Second edit: Note - I think most front-loaders also work off solely the cold water (heating their own water) - which is one of the reasons they take longer; if you heat your water with gas then there'll be a transfer of power usage from one to the other. (For us this was a benefit as it means we do a load most days timed for our 'hour of free power' with Electric Kiwi - as such, given most of our loads are also one hour, the only running cost is the detergent.)

 

Thanks that was helpful, the machine looks great. Will check this out.