I purchased the LG SteamWasher and matching dryer about 6 months ago and I couldn't be happier! The steam options on both the washer and dryer are very useful! The washer and dryer are in a Chicago 2-flat that has two different families using them and they have held up very well! I would strongly recommend them!

sisyphean torture indeed! our fisher & paykel needs replacing and we are very jealous of the washing + drying machines available in the USA. any recommendations from Aussie readers would be great.

My Samsung VRT front loader washer is a piece of junk. 2 years old and unable to complete a cycle most times. I will never buy Samsung again. Going to try LG next time. I did a ton of research before buying it, too, but they seem to have problems with lemons. I got a total lemon first (would not complete a cycle a single time after install) and I had to call and complain 20+ times to get it replaced (only after I found a repair person who owned up that there was a known electronics problem). Imagine my disenchantment when now this one is doing it. I can sometimes solve it by putting in more clothes and starting over. Sometimes I can just tell it to rinse and spin. Sometimes I stare at it with hatred and go to bed and try starting the cycle over in the morning. On average I run 5 cycles to get 3 loads done.

We have an LG Tromm Steam washer and dryer. 5 years, cloth diapers (so lots of laundry) and no complaints. No complaints at all.

We have Amana front loader washer and dryer (stackable), which we bought for about $1100 total, and they work great. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done and I have no complaints!

I moved into a house with a Whirlpool front load washer and I LOATHE IT. The inside gasket is covered in mold that won't come off, despite everything I've tried. And I have tried EVERYTHING. The set isn't that old but I feel like it still needs to be replaced. Super grody.

"Meanwhile, Consumer Reports is a big fan of the Whirlpool Duet, though the reviews on and the Samsung WF511AB[W], both of which are between $1,100 and $1,400."

huh?

We have a set of LG's from 2 years ago (side loaders) I just couldn't justify the price of the top of the line ones. Mine at the time (prob still now) was just as energy/water efficient as their top priced one, cleaned just as well. The only differences- no steam in the dryer to take out wrinkles, didn't have a separate thing you could take in another room to hear the washer is done, and didn't come in fancy colors. I did all the research possible too and we've been thrilled with ours. Plus it plays a fun little song when its done :) Only drawback I find to ours is it seems to take forever to wash- 50 some odd minutes for a regular load. My old, dumpy washer went a little over half an hour. But, they do come out clean, so I guess no complains from me there.

I wanted the convenience of side loading, but my top pick at the time they still make and it was a Maytag top loader. It could easily wash a king sized comforter and then some. I could have crawled in the thing! Plus it was supposed to clean amazingly well.

and @tequilared, all side loaders have the rubber seals and its listed in the instructions you should wipe them dry inside and let air dry (door open) when done. I have with ours and its fresh as the day I got them. BUT, I know my parents let theirs mold and it was an easy replacement part my dad ordered and switched out himself. Could try looking into that if you moved in to a moldy one.

I bought Maytag Performa 950 series front loading set about a year ago. I did a lot of research before buying. My deciding factors were: 1) my wise mom swears by Maytag and 2) the Performas are made in Germany. I LOVE these machines. No problems, and they are energy and water efficient. I can get 3 times the amount of laundry in one load compared to my old heavy duty machine.

Front loading washers must be left open to air out, and they need to be cleaned once a month (they sell products for this, or you can make your own with vinegar). Once they get the mildew growing, it's nearly impossible to get rid of, so it's really important to maintain them properly.

We have a whirlpool cabrio top loader, and I love it! We originally got a front loader and it broke when I tried to wash a quilt in it, well while it was being sent away to be repaired they loaned us the cabrio and I said "we're keeping this one" paid $500 for it because it was slightly used. I use cloth diapers and I love the fact that I can press a button and it will add extra water which is a big issue with these new HE machines.

Oops, posted too quick. Sorry it's kinda long, and I didn't even mention the good performance. Very quiet, uses less detergent, don't need dryer sheets at all. Clothes come out clean and these seem to do a good job filtering pet hair and rug fibers.

I actually did notice my water and power bills went down after I bought the set for a combined savings of around $25 per month.

parnassus,

My mom swore by Maytag too! Last forever and work great. Only thing I noticed in my researching though was I kept seeing they were bought out a while back by Whirlpool so the quality Maytag washers...were actually not anymore. Reviews seemed to reflect that as well. I was bummed.

We love our LG WM3987HW all-in-one. It makes laundry so easy. I would never go back to separate units. You just toss in your dirty clothes and when you come back they are clean and dry. No chore of transferring soggy clothes to a dryer, which if you put off ends up making your clothes musty.

My 16-yr-old whirlpool drier is dying. Thanks for this post, but please correct the cut/paste error pointed out by @funstraw.

I bought the cheapest Kenmore top-loading washer and dryer I could find when I bought my house (since I had no money left) and they have worked great for the past five years.

Error is fixed! Thanks for the tip
Catrin

I purchased the LG 14-cycle top loading 4.5 cubic feet washing machine. (model WT5101HV) and could not be happier. The washing machine does a brilliant job and I like the fact that it is a top loader and also high efficiency. I am saving up to buy the dryer the goes with it (I figured it was better to get the best washer I could afford instead of settling just to buy both at once) Truth be told, what is so super fantastic about this washing machine is that it takes SO much of the excess water out of the laundry that I can hang things to dry and have them ready by the next day. Amazing!

I'm with Canyak. I have an LG combination washer dryer.

It's great for condos where the other option might be a stacked unit. As it uses a condensation process to dry, you don't need a dryer vent, just a drain. It's also very energy and water efficient.

It even does a great job of cleaning laundry.

It does take longer to wash and dry than separate machines and so I probably wouldn't recommend for a family.

I have had a Samsung washer WF210 for 6 months. It replaced a Whirlpool Duet that was 6 years old-the outer drum sheared off and started leaving small bits of plastic embedded in everything I washed. The samsung washes better, faster and the loads are drier when done which lets me run my drier less. I've been thrilled. Every load has run without any problems. I bought a floor model at Sears, got it for about half of the retail price, and no problems. I do leave the door open when not in use and no smell. The duet was the 1st front loader I ever owned and the difference upgrading to a front loader was amazing-our clothes stay looking like new! We are a family of 4 and the washer runs almost daily.

As a disgruntled frequenter of laundromats, I would say any washing machine located in the privacy of your own home and not a laundromat is the best washing machine. Sigh.

I just bought a washer and dryer for my condo. I'd thought about doing the LG combo unit, but had some misgivings about it. I opted instead for a major splurge on Miele stacked washer and dryer. It does such an amazing job that I almost enjoy doing laundry now. If it lasts 20+ years like they claim it will, it will have been worth the insane cost.

My Miele Softtronic 2245 is definitely worth the price. It's been running since six years without problems, never had any damage to clothes or repair needed. It washes delicates safely with the special honeycomb drum and saves us water. The price was about 900 Euros which equals about 1170 USD.
We also have the Miele Softwind drier, but we hardly ever use it as I normally hang the washing inside or in summer outside in the garden. And it's too much energy wasted. But it is good to have for my daughter's "teenager clothes emergency" cases! As in: Mom, where are my jeans???!

It's not the washer, it's the soap that does the most work! I swear by Charlies http://www.charliesoap.com, and a scoop of disinfectant (like Oxyclean or Sun). Cleans all my cloth diapers and soiled clothes like a champ. I have really old Maytag, and the clothes come out fresh and spotless every time.

I got the Whirlpool Duet Sport on sale (closeout on discontinued model) for $1000 for the both of them. I'm super pleased with the set, although my expectations were low since they replaced a washer/dryer from the 50s I think, with the old washer dancing across the floor and unplugging itself during the spin cycle.

I have a Whirlpool simply because it came with my loft, but when it dies, I want a Miele. Or a Bosch. I would settle for LG. Just not Whirlpool ever again.

My sister has a Maytag Performa and LOVES it.

some great user reviews here, can't wait to go shopping :)

We have stackable GEs. They are wonderful, 4 years old, and the warranty isn't up on them yet. They're wonderful. My landlord got them about a year before we moved in, and knowing what my roommates have done to it, I'm surprised at how well it has lasted.

They definitely get the job done better than any other washer/dryer set I've every used. LOVE it!

I got Samsung washer/dryer front loaders on Thanksgiving as part of their holiday sales (the LG ones I was originally aiming for were sold out prior to Black Friday even starting). So far, I'm thrilled with them, it feels like my clothes are coming out cleaner than my parents' LG front loading set (almost 5 years old). As weird as it sounds, my biggest complaint is that they're too quiet! Even with the notification noise as loud as it'll go, I have a hard time hearing it in the neighboring living room unless I have my laundry room door open.

JMORRIS26 - yes, Maytag was bought and there are some complaints about some of their units not being as reliable as the old reputation.

That's why I chose the Made in Germany Performa Maytag - made in the original factory, and top of the line Maytag. Can't beat German engineering.

My grandma, my aunt, my mother, my cousin, my brother, me: MIELE. Always.

After stressing about the availability of the communal apartment sets and the nearest laundromat, I've been washing everything by hand (or plunger, really) in a plastic bin in my bathtub. Short of having an in-unit set, this is sadly the most convenient and least stressful.

ARCANE - you've brought back memories of my first flat after my parents. if not for the location, bondi beach, i would've packed up and left.

I've got a set of 4-year-old Fisher & Paykel top-loaders. The washer is the EcoSmart and the dryer the Smartload. Both were inexpensive compared to front loaders, and they work great! You can actually fit a lot of stuff into both. I wouldn't trade them for the fanciest front loader out there.

We bought the Whirlpool Cabrio platinum top loaders, which were nice to look at. Unfortunately, the new top load technology without the big agitator doesn't seem to clean well and won't handle bulky items at all. Forget about comforters or blankets. And although the drum looks huge, you can't put a full load in because there is a sensor in the middle that has to be visible. For smaller loads they worked fine, but for the cost, you can't do what you should be able to do. We sent them back and traded for a pair of Duet frontloaders, which have been great so far. As for mold problems and the like, user error is the most common problem. People don't take the extra precautions needed to care for these machines. They require extra TLC to stay in good shape.

We bought a Kenmore Elite a couple years ago at the OUTLET store. I was nervous that it came without warranty but the price was right so we took the plunge. I love the thing! It has enormous capacity (15 pairs of jeans or TWO sets of queen sheets), gets clothes clean with only a tiny bit of HE detergent AND has a timer so I can schedule loads to coincide with the electric company's "timed usage" off-peak hours. I've lowered our bill by about $20/month! Oh and it's gentle as well--no more hand washing!!

Bought this bad boy a few months ago with matching dryer and love it: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+3.5+Cu.+Ft.+6-Cycle+High-Efficiency+Washer+-+White/9739898.p?id=1218165052349&skuId=9739898&st=samsung%20washer&cp=1&lp=14

Miele simply the best machines you can buy

Miele washing machines are great. However, they are expensive. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative have a look at Haier, e.g. the Haier RWT350AW front loader.

It's a very simple and well made washer.

This is the washer that I have: http://amzn.to/Wp19MW It gets the job done and was pretty cheap as well.