[msdivy]

Originally Posted by chetans

I am on lookout for fridge with 5 star rating.
roughly around 250lts, double door fridge.
Please share the details/deals on best performance model as well as VFM model.

Whirlpool has few good-looking models. But availability of parts is bad. LG & Samsung are better in terms of service. There is little to differentiate between these two. Checkout the models and choose the one which suits you.

[rana_kirti]

my friends,

i'm looking for a new fully automatic top loading washing machine for a family of 4. I'm looking for a machine which has excellent and gentle cleaning especially for tender and also white clothes.

Has anyone bought a new machine recently and care to share experiences. Which brand/make is the most popular here in our forums ?

Regards,

Rana.

[rohi_rao]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

my friends,

i'm looking for a new fully automatic top loading washing machine for a family of 4. I'm looking for a machine which has excellent and gentle cleaning especially for tender and also white clothes.

Has anyone bought a new machine recently and care to share experiences. Which brand/make is the most popular here in our forums ?

Regards,

Rana.

Any particular reason why you want top loading? Top loading inherently consume more water and the wash is because of drum movement (unless Whirlpool still makes their 1-2 1-2 agitator). In front loading ones the clothes are pushed up and dropped down (not rotated down, in a way simulating the conventional washing by hands method).

I have had good experience with Whirpool for my previous FP65. After 5 years the motor conked off and the replacement cost with only 6 months warranty for the new motor was not attractive.

I am happy with my Siemens Washing Machine Siemens Household Appliances - Product Showroom - Washing & Drying - Washing machines - WM12E360IN

I also use their dryer Siemens Household Appliances - Product Showroom - Washing & Drying - Tumble dryers - WT44C101ME

Siemens products are slightly expensive (32K for washing machine and 35K for the dryer after employee discount by dealer ) but very energy efficient. The dryer was bought an year back and recently the control board had a short circuit (reason quoted was Cockroaches) and was replaced under warranty. If interested, buy directly from Siemens not through the retailers. Siemens has some peculiar requirement to connect the inlet through an angle cock, but usually the installation guy will have the regular ones which can connect to normal tap. You can't move the washing machine around (its quite heavy anyway) since there are no wheels and you are advised to place it on a level ground.

[rana_kirti]

i was preferring the top loading option as i suppose it would be easier to operate for my parents since front loading will require them to bend much more. what do you say ?

also a sales person told me today that the front loading requires constant water supply and also consume more water as compared to top loader. So if the front loader was washing clothes and water supply stopped then the procedure will pause and will have to wait for water supply to resume. Whereas there is no such issue with top loader machine. please correct me if i'm wrong.

but he did say that the front loader washes better due to washer man style washing.

[AvinashV]

Even i am looking at a top loading washing machine. Parents have a front loading Whirlpool at my hometown so they are leaning on me to buy a whirlpool. People with Whirlpools please advice on any issues faced & whether the wash is good.

Also saw Panasonic models. Not seen them before. Anyone using them?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by rohi_rao

Siemens products are slightly expensive (32K for washing machine and 35K for the dryer after employee discount by dealer ) but very energy efficient. The dryer was bought an year back and recently the control board had a short circuit (reason quoted was Cockroaches) and was replaced under warranty...

Please take some sort of protective measure to stop rats and cockroaches getting in. Incredibly, that control board, as a spare part, is a substantial proportion of the cost of the machine! I know, because I bought one for my from-UK Bosch, and it would be a very similar part.

If your machine is inside, then maybe rats can't reach it. a piece of that fairly stiff mosquito window screen material would probably deter cockroaches.

[khoj]

The top loading would require your parents to double over the machine and then lift the clothes out, thereby putting much more strain on their backs compared to a front loader wherein the clothes can simply be pushed into a bucket strategically placed under the door.

By design the front loading machines are better at drying the clothes than the top loaders hence weight of the cloth itself being picked up is less as more water has been drained out.


The sales guy should be kicked where it hurts the most. Just ask him how in the World will the top loader continue to wash without water .... by Magic??


Washer man style....what is this guy smoking??

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

i was preferring the top loading option as i suppose it would be easier to operate for my parents since front loading will require them to bend much more. what do you say ?

also a sales person told me today that the front loading requires constant water supply and also consume more water as compared to top loader. So if the front loader was washing clothes and water supply stopped then the procedure will pause and will have to wait for water supply to resume. Whereas there is no such issue with top loader machine. please correct me if i'm wrong.

but he did say that the front loader washes better due to washer man style washing.

[dadu]

This is a repost(updated) of an earlier post, Top Loader Vs Front Loaders, having used both, Samsung and IFB respectively.

Top Loaders

- Needs more water
- Can use any detergent you want
- Washes better due to ample water for wash and no restriction on stonger detergent.
- Small wash cycle overall
- Good for your back
- Will use less electricity due to smaller wash cycles.
- Flexibility to add/ remove clothes inbetween a cycle.
- You can remove your clothes for manual washing incase of long power blackouts
- Lesser weight, easier to move around and shift.
- Doesnt need fixed plumbing


Front loaders
- Needs lesser water for all cycles.
- Availabilty of heater is a big plus point specially in colder areas.
- Need specific detergents for front loader (low sud), otherwise expect a sud fountain out of the door.
- Washing can be compromised if you overload the machine, due to low levels of water used for wash and movement of clothes gets restricted, it relies on rubbing of clothes(friction) with each other for washing and cleaning.
- Long wash cycles, needs more time(more elecricity) for overall washing to complete.
- Most need permanent plumbing and are quite heavy to move.
- It can pump water upto 2-3 ft high for draining to a sink etc.
- Costs more to buy, more to maintain.

Overall I am much happier with a Top Loader.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by dadu

Top Loaders

- Washes better due to ample water for wash and no restriction on stonger detergent.

I used various top loaders for more than 15 years. Recently bought a front loader and is quite amazed by the superior wash quality.

[rohi_rao]

Originally Posted by dadu

Front loaders
- Long wash cycles, needs more time(more elecricity) for overall washing to complete.

On the contrary, in Siemens a normal wash (Cotton 30C water temperature) is preset to 2hr30min which will consume less electricity than the "Speed Perfect" mode which takes 1hr but consumes more electricity. On any wash setting one can choose "Eco Perfect" mode which will taken even more time, around 3hrs but consumes much less power.

My experience is also that the front loading ones make less noise than the top loading ones.

I should also warn on one thing, in my Siemens washing machine the clothes are not that much dry around 70% only

[UKR]

Although I agree to some points, I have had a different experience on most of the points mentioned below with my LG direct drive and IFB front loaders, see them bold in line,

Originally Posted by dadu

This is a repost(updated) of an earlier post, Top Loader Vs Front Loaders, having used both, Samsung and IFB respectively.

Top Loaders

- Needs more water
- Can use any detergent you want (Same for front loader also in my experience, I use normal tide detergent without any sud problem, the trick is to find the right quantity to use)

- Washes better due to ample water for wash and no restriction on stonger detergent. (I have had better washes in front loader due to tumble wash which lifts the clothes up and then drops them, mimicking the action of a dhobi washing clothes on a stone)

- Small wash cycle overall
- Good for your back
- Will use less electricity due to smaller wash cycles.

- Flexibility to add/ remove clothes inbetween a cycle. (this is possible in the two front loaders that I am using atleast)

- You can remove your clothes for manual washing incase of long power blackouts (again possible with the front loaders I am using)

- Lesser weight, easier to move around and shift.

- Doesnt need fixed plumbing (again not required for my IFB and LG front loaders as well)


Front loaders
- Needs lesser water for all cycles.
- Availabilty of heater is a big plus point specially in colder areas.

- Need specific detergents for front loader (low sud), otherwise expect a sud fountain out of the door. (As mentioned, not necessary as I am using Tide normal detergent without issues and without compromising wash quality)

- Washing can be compromised if you overload the machine, due to low levels of water used for wash and movement of clothes gets restricted, it relies on rubbing of clothes(friction) with each other for washing and cleaning. (On the contrary, I think top loaders rely on friction where as front loaders use tumble wash where the clothes move up with the rotating drum, once it reaches the top, it falls down mimicking the process of washing the clothes on a stone).

- Long wash cycles, needs more time(more elecricity) for overall washing to complete. (depends on the wash program selected. Shortest wash program in my LG is 30 min and the longest is 3+ hours)

- Most need permanent plumbing and are quite heavy to move. (As mentioned earlier, not necessary)

- It can pump water upto 2-3 ft high for draining to a sink etc.

- Costs more to buy, more to maintain. (Front loaders last longer in my experience, my IFB is around 15+ years old and still going strong without any issues to the drive motor or drum till date)

Overall I am much happier with a Top Loader.

[dadu]

Archat, Rao and UKR, its good to now that you are happy with your Front loaders.

But I was an IFB user and one of their early customer, they launched their WM in 1990-91 along with Intron but was not able to(perhaps the newer models do) :

- Open the door of the machine inbetween the wash cycle to add clothes since the water levels are above the door trims.
- Again due to above, was not able remove clothes incase of long power cut, you will have to drain the water first using the fluff filter provided in the Front loader.
- I tried the 30min cycle and the wash quality was pathetic, thats for wool and delicate cycle.
- If you reduce the detergent quantity to control the suds, you compromise the wash quality, min 30gms of detergent is required in each wash cycle if its pre-wash+ wash otherwise 60 gms in single cycle.
- Longest program in my Top loader in 65min with pre-wash.

I moved from Front to Top loaders and due to the flexibility it gives, my family prefers Top loader. So I would suggest make your choice and buy what suits you.

[vina]

Originally Posted by UKR

Although I agree to some points, I have had a different experience on most of the points mentioned below with my LG direct drive and IFB front loaders, see them bold in line,

The conventional wisdom seems to be that tumble wash is better than pulsator. Can somebody explain why would "dhobi action" be better especially when dhobis are notorious for damaging clothes via there hit-the-stone action? In fact I don't see much of a similarity between tumble and what dhobis do, so let's leave that out. Let's pose a more straight forward series of questions?

1. how do pulsator based machines clean the clothes
2. how does tumble action clean the clothes
3. why is (2) better than (1), or vice versa

While I can see why agitator based machine (top load with a spinning vertical pole in the tube) can cause damage to the clothes, in a reasonably loaded pulsator based machine that is no more a possibility than in a front-load tumble IMHO.

[C300]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

my friends,

Has anyone bought a new machine recently and care to share experiences. Which brand/make is the most popular here in our forums ?

Regards,

Rana.

Originally Posted by archat68

I used various top loaders for more than 15 years. Recently bought a front loader and is quite amazed by the superior wash quality.

+1 to the Front Loaders.
Go for the LG inverter direct drive front loaders. Amazing wash quality, minimal water usage and extremely silent motor. You will not regret the decision. We are using it for for past one year without any complaints.

[rana_kirti]

guys thanks some very good discussion on pros and cons of both. i visited some more shops last evening. one very interesting point told to me by a salesperson.

He said... "Only Whirlpool had a special technique called the heater technology" This he says is an unique selling point of whirpool washing machines. He told me that in places with cold climates delhi and north etc where there is winter for 3-4 months, at that time the water is very cold and the normal machines are not able to make lather with the detergent and hence the clothes are not washed clean.

Now with the whirpool heating technology the machine first heats up the water to your desired level like warm, hot and very hot. This way the detergent is able to mix well and generate ample lather and hence clothes wash in an ideal way come out very very clean and soft.

He said for places with winter climate buying a washing machine with heating technology is the best idea. What say guys ?