Washer Dilemmas: Front Loader or Top Loader

Embrace yourself – Boxing Day is coming! Shops hire additional staff, appliance delivery companies buy bigger trucks and people, who want to replace their old washing machines, keep asking the same question:  “Front loader or top loader?”

Well, we cannot answer the absolute question – which one will be your next? Instead, we will try to give you some useful information to help with this decision: which is better, a front-load washer or a top-load washer?

Here are the factors to consider when you choose between the front load washer and the top load washer.

Space

What does your laundry room look like? If it is just a small niche inside the apartment, or your appliances are sitting underneath some countertop, you will probably give up buying a top-loader washing machine. The front loader will sit there, and it will be very approachable and even will give you the option to stack the drier on top of it.

On the other hand – if your laundry place is spacious but narrow (like a walk-in closet), the top loader will fit much better.

Efficiency

On average, any front loader uses twice less water for one load of clothes as the classic top loader (the one with an agitator pillar inside). It also uses less energy and spins the load faster, expelling more water out of the clothes and thus making the dryer job easier later.

But here comes the newer type of top loader – the High Efficiency one (without an agitator inside), and this guy gets close to the front loader in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

User Friendly

Here, top loaders have a clear advantage. You do not need to bend your back or knees while loading (as opposed to front loaders). And the bad odour issue, common in front loaders, does not really apply to top loaders.

Reliable Repair

Repair issues are various in both types when the crucial difference is the drum bearing. The bearing is highly susceptible to damage in front loaders because of the drum position. The drum (inner tub) is supposed to “hang in the air” horizontally, supported mostly by the bearing itself. Broken bearing leads to very costly repair quotes, which most appliance repair customers do not accept, who prefer to buy a new washing machine instead.

The top loaders’ inner tub is standing vertically, and this definitely brings less pressure and less overloading on the spinning parts, promising longer and healthier life for your washing machine.