Recommend a top load washing machine

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Ultimate Geek

#2452073 1-Apr-2020 10:58

I can't in good faith recommend Fisher & Paykel after them taking 6 months to perform repairs, even after escalating to the executive level. This was on a faulty-from-new appliance. Good luck once you are out of the warranty period. I had this same experience across two appliances (washer / dryer & dishwasher). You can expect to wait 40+ minutes up to 2 hours when calling them as well.

Went with Miele and never looked back. Worth paying the bit extra IMO. You can do an express 20 minute wash cycle and their heat pump dryers do an express 30 minutes dry cycle. Get a whole load done in under an hour.

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jonathan18

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#2452600 1-Apr-2020 20:32

My in-laws are in the same boat of looking for a new top loader to replace their current one, which has decided to pack it in during the lockdown. I’m a front loader convert, but in this case I can see the logic of sticking with a top loader (MIL would apparently find loading a front loader very difficult).

They’re talking of getting a Westinghouse (sans agitator), but I note someone above had problems with theirs. Are there any other models that don’t have an agitator that can be recommended? In our union holiday home they have a large F&P model, but that would be a few years old now.

Appreciate any recommendations to help steer them to buy a decent machine.

Technofreak

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#2452611 1-Apr-2020 20:51

What's wrong with an agitator?

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jonathan18

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#2452620 1-Apr-2020 21:03

Pretty damn hard on clothes. I'm amazed at how much less wear on washed items we've experienced since switching to a front loader.
Or has something happened in the last 10 years so that the bog standard F&P top loader doesn't have this problem?

timmmay

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#2452623 1-Apr-2020 21:12

My Dad got an F&P without an agitator about 10 years ago, said it was really poor at washing clothes. The new F&P front loader is very effective.

jonathan18

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#2452634 1-Apr-2020 21:49

timmmay:

My Dad got an F&P without an agitator about 10 years ago, said it was really poor at washing clothes. The new F&P front loader is very effective.

Yeah, given they don't seem to make an agitator-less model any more they don't seem to have taken off!

Just checking if you meant the new F&P top or front loader? As mentioned, in-laws only keen on a top loader.

I've checked Consumer's test and they only recommend two top loaders, both being cheap-as models (assuming it's a value for money thing).

timmmay

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#2452654 1-Apr-2020 22:11

We got a new f and p front loader, works great so far.

jonathan18

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#2452685 1-Apr-2020 22:28

Yep, I get that front loaders are great, but in laws are only interested in top loaders...

Personally, I think they should try a front loader to see if it is difficult to load and unload, but it's not exactly like they can come around at the moment to try ours!

Technofreak

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#2452693 1-Apr-2020 22:54

jonathan18: Pretty damn hard on clothes. I'm amazed at how much less wear on washed items we've experienced since switching to a front loader.
Or has something happened in the last 10 years so that the bog standard F&P top loader doesn't have this problem?

I must admit I don't have any experience with non agitator models, but we definitely don't see any unusual wear and tear on the clothes with our top loader F & P agitator model. I know in my case I get very good life out of my clothes. Our washing machine is well over 10 years old.

I wonder why our experiences are so different?

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Handle9

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#2452696 1-Apr-2020 23:01

Technofreak:
I must admit I don't have any experience with non agitator models, but we definitely don't see any unusual wear and tear on the clothes with our top loader F & P agitator model. I know in my case I get very good life out of my clothes. Our washing machine is well over 10 years old.

I wonder why our experiences are so different?

In our experience you don't know what you don't know until you use the other system. We thought our top loader was fine but when it died bought a direct drive front loader to keep the noise down (our laundry backed on to out bedroom). Once we started using it we noticed our clothes felt different and seemed to last longer.

The mechanical process is quite different so it's logical that a top loader with an agitator is harder on clothes but faster and gets more heavy stains out than a front loader.

driller2000

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Ultimate Geek

#2452712 2-Apr-2020 00:15

Had our F&P 513 Top Loader for 21 years now - bottom of the line model.

Clothes come out clean, undamaged and I think we have had 1 repair in that time, for a total bill of $135.

Will get another F&P top loader based on this experience - that is if the existing one dies before I do!

timmmay

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#2452726 2-Apr-2020 06:13

Our F&P top loader with agitator worked well for a decade, never ripped anything or caused obvious damage. We would still be using it if I hadn't damaged it with a water blaster, and I'm sure it could be fixed but we wanted a front loader.

jonathan18

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#2452728 2-Apr-2020 06:28

Handle9’s post above sums it up for me - without that direct experience of both it’s difficult to compare. All our previous top loaders (all F and P) were inferior washers compared to our current Bosch, no question. I initially worried about cycle times, but the one hour cycle on our front loader does absolutely fine for standard loads.

The only issue is rough towels, which can be mitigated by using less detergent, a longer cycle including an additional rinse, lower spin speed, and some time in the dryer.

cshwone

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#2452732 2-Apr-2020 07:24

Our F&P top loader finally died after 15 years and we replaced it with

https://www.panasonic.com/nz/consumer/home-appliances/laundry-appliances/top-loaders/na-f85a1wnz.html

Very happy with it.

We always had front loaders in the UK and invariably ended up with leaks around the door so on moving here we were very happy to discover top loaders :)

CokemonZ

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Ultimate Geek

#2452772 2-Apr-2020 09:32

Lots of older folks don't like front loaders as they have to bend and reach.

You can either build or purchase a stand that would raise them up by about 30cm off the ground which would make a huge difference to them.

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