Is it worth extra $$$? for

[Ausmumof3]

A bigger washing machine. We are a family of 5. I wash daily. Sometimes I get behind but usually am caught up. I prefer to wash frequently as things seem to get cleaner. We currently have a 7kg but need to replace and I'm not sure if it's worth paying for bigger capacity. It's around $200 extra for an 8.5 kg or $400 more for the 10kg.

[Arcadia]

Do you have many comforters to wash? Do you have many down jackets/coats to wash? If you have and you can afford it go for the 10kg.

On our smaller capacity washing machine, we have to wash one winter coat per load. After snow play up the mountains, it took a long time to wash everything.

[Sun]

I really wish we'd sprung for a larger-capacity washer. I like to wash blankets and comforters, and there are some I just can't fit in our washer. I have to take them to a friend's house or the laundromat to wash. I'm not sure the middle-sized one would be enough larger to make much difference, so if I were going to do it, I'd want the largest one. That being said, $400 is a lot more! With a family of five, I imagine that even that much difference might be worth it if you can afford it.

[Ausmumof3]

I can wash all our blankets and quilts in the current size one (or I could before it stopped working). And we don't have snow. I was thinking in terms of keeping up on washing when we have a lot of days out (one load instead of two means it would be done before we leave) and whether it is more energy efficient to run a couple of large loads instead of three small ones. But I don't want to be waiting around to fill it up.

 

We are in the little kid stage and I guess as the kids grow their clothes will get bigger but hopefully they won't need washing as often.

 

It is a big price difference, there is a good deal on the smaller washers right now and unfortunately can't wait around for a deal on the bigger one as we don't have a functional washer right now.

[KungFuPanda]

I have a Speedqueen old-school top loader. It washes a standard rectangular basket full of clothes and holds the largest comforter I own. The only thing that doesn't fit in it is a double sleeping bag that doesn't zip apart. I would not want to carry a larger or heavier basket up and down my steps. There are only four of us.

[kbutton]

If the only real need to wash so frequently is that things get cleaner if you don't wait, could you find something to pre-treat stains? I have no trouble with getting my laundry clean, and I'm a once per week kind of gal most of the time. I have two boys. We have "regular" dirt, not red clay. I use Shout. If something is really bad, and I'm not sure it would come clean (white with really bad grass stains), I will soak it ahead of time, but that is unusual.

 

With your kids being little, I would probably splurge for the middle-sized machine as their clothes will get bigger, unless you wear shorts and short sleeves all summer. Long pants and sleeves take up about twice as much room in the wash as I compare winter and summer laundry piles.

 

I would rather do laundry at the Laundromat (or wash each day's laundry by hand in the tub) and look for a good sale on the size I want (assuming it's not a really stark season for sales) than be sorry I have the wrong size washer. I've always had a large capacity (first a top loader), and it had adjustable water levels, so it wasn't wasting water to run it with fewer clothes. Our front loader is also large, and it adjusts water as well. I rarely do small loads with washing once per week (darks, lights, towels, and bedding are how I sort), but I will do a small load now and then for special items. Washers here go by cubic feet, not kg, so I am at a loss for exactly how big you are talking about. We've been able to fit a queen sized comforter in both of the machines we've owned, and most of the time, we fill our other loads that full as well. Smaller would not be helpful here, particular in the winter when we wear long sleeves, long pants, etc. When we did diapers, the load was not that full, but that's because we could only go two days without the diaper smell overtaking the whole house or getting mildew.

[catz]

I just got a bigger washer and I LOVE it.  I'm doing about 2/3's the number of loads I was doing before.  I can't comment on price comparison in our case - I went into it looking for a machine that took larger loads, and our old machine died, so we had to have a new one.  It has been VERY nice.

[Ottakee]

I would say go for the biggest washer you can find and afford.........provided you have a dryer that can keep up with it.  It doesn't do a lot of good time wise if you can only dry 1/2 load at a time as then the laundry will back up anyway.  I could go with 1 washer and TWO dryers around here as my washer is a lot faster than my dryer.

[catz]

I would say go for the biggest washer you can find and afford.........provided you have a dryer that can keep up with it.  It doesn't do a lot of good time wise if you can only dry 1/2 load at a time as then the laundry will back up anyway.  I could go with 1 washer and TWO dryers around here as my washer is a lot faster than my dryer.

 

Oh this is a good point.  We actually bought the "matching" dryer to our washer at the same time.  Our old one would not have fit the loads of the new one.

 

In terms of more frequent washing.  I tend to wash like a couple days a week (usually in a row).  I pre-treat stains and regularly use oxyclean in my loads and that seems to work well.

[claire up north]

I would go with bigger if possible. I agree, though, that you need to have. Dryer that can handle it, too. I don't know how old your kids are, but I will say that the larger size is really nice once your kids move into adult sized clothes.

[Ausmumof3]

We line dry... Sigh. I was hoping to look at dryers not replacing the washer but can't afford both.

[prairiewindmomma]

I hate to tell you.....as they get bigger, there is more laundry to do.  Their clothes are bigger.  Girls can often rewear stuff, but airing does not fix teen boy funk or little boy dirt.

 

FWIW, I start a load of laundry every day right after breakfast, and I start another either after lunch or after school is finished. Two loads a day, seven days a week keeps us clothed and in (decently) clean sheets.

[idnib]

Depends on the age of your kids. If 1-2 will be moving out in the next couple of years, maybe just grin and bear it. If one is at least 8 or 9, put them to work on the laundry so you don't fall behind. If they're all under 8, spring for a bigger machine. IMHO....

[Grantmom]

I agree that if the bigger capacity is not that much more, go with the bigger.  I just got a new washing machine and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  I truly do.  I say it at least once a day.  I had no idea how tiny my previous washer was until I got this one.  I will say that I stayed with the top loading style after reading a lot of reviews about front loaders.  If I have a really dirty load, I can't load it to the max and I have to set the water level to the highest instead of just letting it sense the amount of water needed.  But, it is so much easier and nicer and I can wash all the towels at once, etc.  I do a lot of laundry, and this washer has helped tremendously.  I seriously had no idea how much I would love it until the old washer broke and I had to buy a new one!

[Soror]

We upgraded to a bigger washer and dryer when the house burned and I think it is one of our best investments. We have 4 kids and it really helps to keep laundry caught up as I can wash way bigger loads. I can usually get by with 1 load most days and some times 2(depending on sheets, diapers and amount of dirty clothes from outside play etc).

[Melissa in Australia]

A family of 7 here, we have a 7kg  frontloading Asko washing machine. It has worked really well for us.

[RanchGirl]

I agree that if the bigger capacity is not that much more, go with the bigger.  I just got a new washing machine and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  I truly do.  I say it at least once a day.  I had no idea how tiny my previous washer was until I got this one.  I will say that I stayed with the top loading style after reading a lot of reviews about front loaders.  If I have a really dirty load, I can't load it to the max and I have to set the water level to the highest instead of just letting it sense the amount of water needed.  But, it is so much easier and nicer and I can wash all the towels at once, etc.  I do a lot of laundry, and this washer has helped tremendously.  I seriously had no idea how much I would love it until the old washer broke and I had to buy a new one!

 

Please share the make and model of this wonderful sounding washer for those of us who may be in the market soon!

[Arcadia]

It's worth paying for the 10kg for the convenient if you can comfortably afford it. You are unlikely to re-coup the extra money you spend on savings in utility bills even if you get an energy saving one.

 

I won't recommend the 8.5kg one because it doesn't hold significantly more than a 7kg one for the extra $200 in price.

[solascriptura]

If you can afford it, it is worth it.

[Grantmom]

Please share the make and model of this wonderful sounding washer for those of us who may be in the market soon!

 

This is the one we got:

 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_395165-83-GTWN4250DWS_1z11pmg+1z140u3__?productId=3690686&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1%26page%3D1&facetInfo=GE

 

They were having a sale, and we used our Lowe's card to get an additional 10% off, so I think it was $469.  If that link doesn't work it is a GE HydroWave, model number GTWN4250D1WS.  There was a similar one that didn't have as many features that I considered, but this one was only a little bit more, and I am glad we got this one instead.

 

To be honest, my washing machine broke and I had to replace it immediately.  I couldn't wait a week or more to research the perfect one and get something fancy.  So, I did some research, and just got what was available locally.   To me, it is amazing because my washer was 20 years old and tiny compared to this one.  I didn't know how bad my washer was until I got this one.  I do love it though!  It is quiet, and you can control so many things on it.

 

I did some research and talked to different people like sales people in the appliance stores, our appliance repair person, read Consumer Reports, and read a lot of reviews online.  For our family, I felt like the top loading washer WITH the agitator was the way to go.  I have boys who play sports and do lots of outdoor adventuring, and a DH with a very physical job who also gets dirty at work, and I really needed something to get actually dirty clothes clean.  I read a lot of reviews online of people with front loaders or top loaders without the agitator having clothes come out of the washer where parts of the clothes were actually still dry.  I wanted to be able to save water when I could, but at the same time, for really dirty stuff, I wanted to be able to completely submerge the clothes.  So, for me, the top loader with the agitator was the way to go.

 

With this one, I can have it sense the level of water needed to save water, or I can set the water level myself.  There are a lot of different cycles, there is NO LOCK (I can't imagine not being able to throw an extra soccer sock in the washing machine after the cycle has already started), and it is pretty quiet.  Overall, I am super happy with it.  I will say that when I wash a bigger load, I have to be careful to really place the clothes around the agitator very evenly and carefully, otherwise the load doesn't get quite as clean, but that is if I am really filling the drum as much as I can.  And as long as I do that, it's perfectly fine.

 

So, the top loaders with agitators didn't have as large of a capacity as some of the front loaders or agitatorless top loaders, so I just went with the one that had the biggest capacity that was available to me locally.  And honestly, it is plenty big.  

 

Good luck!  I love my new washer!   :thumbup:

[AMJ]

We have a Maytag Neptune washer and a Maytag Atlantis dryer.  We bought the washer first when our first washer died.  We got it on sale (previous year's model and the last to have the dials instead of all buttons), and got an additional $80 marked off because we took the one with a cosmetic scratch.  The dryer was bought a year later, to have a larger capacity than our previous one.

 

Things I like about the Neptune:

• front-loading, no agitator to tear up baffles in down items or wrap skinny items around them.  I've also never lost a sock in this machine.
• angled front opening, so I'm not squatting as far down to put things in and get them out.
• high-efficiency machine -- uses less soap and adjusts water level for the amount of clothing inside, so I can do loads of varying sizes.
• large capacity -- being able to wash blankets, comforters, coats, and rugs at home is priceless, especially when someone is sick.

I feel it has more than paid for itself in the years we have owned it, and we can expect many more years of good service from it before we need to replace it again.

 

 

You mentioned washing clothes more frequently because they get cleaner.  Is this because the loads are smaller than if you let it pile up?  If so, it could be you are actually overloading your current machine with the larger loads.  Clothes need room to slosh about freely in the wash and rinse water, or they simply will not get clean. 

[Ausmumof3]

I think it's just that stains have less time to set. We have pretty crazy clay here. Idk I guess I like to wash often because I don't like stinky stuff sitting around.