carriede Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Our 8 year old washing machine won't drain, so DH and I decided to go ahead and replace it. It's a basic Whirlpool top-load agitator. We have 4 young kids with many years of mud and stinky teenagers ahead. We need our clothes to be CLEAN. We'd like to stick with a top-loader. We have a laundry closet, so the machine itself cannot be bigger than the basic standard... 27-28 inches deep. DH read one review that said the new impeller top-loaders (the high efficiency ones) dont clean as well as the ones with the traditional agitator. What experience do you all have with impellers? Any specific suggestions? We plan on going to a big box store tonight to buy whatever they have in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Get the agitator. It just works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 My 16 yo washer broke during hay season a few years back. Dh didn't have time to mess with it. We went to Lowes, bought a new one with no agitator. After 2 weeks it went back to the store because our clothes STANK. We are stinky, dirty, smelly people apparently. IF we sat in an office all day, MAYBE it would have cleaned our clothes. But our clothes were not clean. My dh repaired the oldie that we'd fortunately, not had time to haul to the dump. It's still going. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 My 16 yo washer broke during hay season a few years back. Dh didn't have time to mess with it. We went to Lowes, bought a new one with no agitator. After 2 weeks it went back to the store because our clothes STANK. We are stinky, dirty, smelly people apparently. IF we sat in an office all day, MAYBE it would have cleaned our clothes. But our clothes were not clean. My dh repaired the oldie that we'd fortunately, not had time to haul to the dump. It's still going. I love that story! Nice comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Yeah, agitator for sure. Also, don't get a low water one. We had one for a while, and the clothes would come out with dry spots! We bought it brand new, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I've had a front load large capacity whirlpool duet for a decade. I live on farm/lake lots of red clay and muddy kids and it got it all clean. Now the same washer cleans clothes of a mechanic, firefighter and our farms dirt. I also love the sanitizing cycle for my scrubs. I'm also on hard well water. I found that its the detergent that does the cleaning. I use a powder detergent and add Clorox to white and a Clorox 2 to all color loads. The fire clothes sometimes have to be washed twice but that's expected. The traditional washer have a hard time getting out smoke smells The machine has been a work horse and gets it all clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I have a Kenmore with an impeller that works very well. Cleaned paint ball clothes, "honey, I spilled chemicals on myself at work because I wasn't wearing my lab coat" clothes, replaced the front bumper of the car clothes, lawn care in 100*+ weather clothes (and a larger-than-normal suburban lawn), "we hauled a full truckload of dirt today and potted 2 dozen trees" clothes, etc. It's cleaned "we camped for a week with no showers" clothes and bedding, and "we had a house full of extra middle school boys who didn't shower and probably didn't wear deodorant and slept in these blankets for 3 days" blankets. It's cleaned "this is the blanket that was in the dog bed for 3 months" blankets. Etc, etc, etc. I wash with normal All Free & Clear detergent, don't use any extra boosters, and don't use dryer sheets, so it's not just fragrance masking, either. I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4everHis Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Our top load kenmore with agitator lasted 24 years. We just replaced with 2017 SpeedQueen that does NOT lock when running. I LOVE the SQ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I would say that the front loaders clean the best, better than a machine with and agitator. But I now have a top loader and it does not clean as well. I will not buy another top loader. My vote would be for the agitator over the top loader, but if you can talk yourself into it, those front loaders are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 Very mixed reviews! Y'all aren't making this decision any easier. ;) Actually, after watching some youtube videos, I might tear into the washer and see if the drain is clogged. You can hear the motor trying to work, so I don't think it's an electrical issue. DH just doesn't want to take the time to fix something that may need to be replaced soon anyway... Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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