[govigov]

We have a traditional main door lock and a stand-alone intrusion home detection system.

I would like to move to a biometric main door access (or else, there needs to be 5 keys, with fear of loss of keys) and I would like the intrusion system to disarm based on successful authentication of the fingerprint. Arming the intrusion system can be manual.

Is there such a device in the market that can fulfil the above requirement?

[graaja]

Hi All,

Need some advice on front loading washing machines.

Currently, we have a Samsung fully automatic top loading washing machine that has been working well the past 6 years. Recently, I have been doing some changes to make efficient use of water (with increasing water scarcity). As front loading washing machines consume very less water compared to top loaders, I want to change to a front loading machine. But my wife is not ready for the change due to the bad experience she had with an IFB front loader that we had before the current one.

We had the IFB front loading machine from 2005 to 2013. That machine used to shake so bad during the spin cycle that it used to move a couple of feet. Also, the wash was not that great. Because of these two issues, my wife is totally against going for a front loading washing machine. I am sure that technology has improved a lot in the past 15 years that front loading machines no longer have these issues.

I need inputs from other users of front loading washing machines on some questions.

1. Is the machine completely stable during wash, rinse and spin cycles?
2. Is the wash quality poorer compared to top loading machines?
3. What are some good models of machines that I should look for?

Thanks in advance for all the inputs.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by graaja

Currently, we have a Samsung fully automatic top loading washing machine that has been working well the past 6 years. Recently, I have been doing some changes to make efficient use of electricity and water. As front loading washing machines consume very less water compared to top loaders, I want to change to a front loading machine.

I am not sure if junking a working appliance to save electricity & water makes much sense either from a environment POV or a money POV. It takes lot of materials, electricity & stuff to make a washing machine in the first place. So it will probably involve many years for you to even break even on both environment friendliness and savings cost.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by carboy

I am not sure if junking a working appliance to save electricity & water makes much sense either from a environment POV or a money POV. It takes lot of materials, electricity & stuff to make a washing machine in the first place. So it will probably involve many years for you to even break even on both environment friendliness and savings cost.

Apologies. I was not very clear. This move is to mitigate the increasing water scarcity these days. I read (in Samsung FAQs) that while a top loader consumes about 160 liters of water per load, a front loader consumes just 60 liters.

I agree that junking the appliance does not make sense from an environment point of view. But as it is in good working condition, I would be probably giving it away to someone in need.

I have edited my post to include the point about water scarcity.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by graaja

I need inputs from other users of front loading washing machines on some questions.

1. Is the machine completely stable during wash, rinse and spin cycles?
2. Is the wash quality poorer compared to top loading machines?
3. What are some good models of machines that I should look for?

Thanks in advance for all the inputs.

I had replaced my top loader with front loader 2 years back, after the old one stopped working after 13 years and the parts were hard to get.

I have Bosch front loader. Bosch advises not to keep it on any stand. This causes vibrations and the machine doesn't stay stable. They advise to keep it on the floor. But mine is placed in dry balcony which has other uses as well and due to which the area remains wet most of the time. So the bottom of machine can get rusted. I tried to place it on a stand, and as mentioned by Bosch, it used vibrate like hell.

So I got a 6 inch platform created only for the machine. This way the water in dry balcony does not touch the base. Now it is quite stable in all the cycles, including spin.

As for wash quality, I don't see the difference in quality. It is not good or bad compared to the previous one.

As for models, I just went with the best deal after exchange on Amazon. Wanted to get something between Samsung, LG or Bosch only.

And yes, I too made the move from top loader to front loader to save some water, although the top loaders are cheaper.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Front loading washing machines vibrate due to improper levelling. Some floors have a slope built in to drain away water. Installation of the machine should offset such slopes, if present

[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by graaja

Hi All,

I need inputs from other users of front loading washing machines on some questions.

1. Is the machine completely stable during wash, rinse and spin cycles?
2. Is the wash quality poorer compared to top loading machines?
3. What are some good models of machines that I should look for?

Thanks in advance for all the inputs.

Agree with Sapnil.

1. Front loaders are stable during all cycles of washing machine. Of course, the manufacturer clearly mandates not to keep it on the stand. We had kept ours on the stand due to the location and the machine ended up walking around. According to manufacturer, it does impact the drum although the installation person could not point the right reason for the same

2. Wash quality - I have used both and somehow i felt the front loaders did a better job. But again, the manufacturers were different. So cannot conclude completely

3. I have been an LG faithful when it comes to washing machine and fridges. My first purchase of LG washing machine lasted me for more than 10 years. We gave it to our cook since we wanted to get a slightly bigger one due to an expanded family. The second one has been going strong for about 6 years now without any issues as of now. My parents had an IFB. It was quite good for the first 3 years, but developed circuit faults after that.

Having said that, based on what my friends have experienced i think LG, Bosch are probably good options to look at

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by graaja

Hi All,

Need some advice on front loading washing machines.

My parents had bought an IFB front-load washing machine (they too wanted to save water even though it was not considered a scare resource in Kerala at that time), and it served them well for 10-15 years. They replaced it with another IFB washing machine. The first machine was kept on a stand, and I remember that it used to vibrate during its last year of service. I guess the shock absorbents for the drum were past its best by that time.

When I moved out, and had to buy a washing machine, I chose an LG front-load, because I wanted to try a direct-drive machine. The LG washing machine has been happily working for more than 5 years now, and it is very silent and does not have any vibrations.

Irrespective of the brand, I recommend a direct drive front-load washing machine.

[LonelyPlanet]

The TDS of water after RO filtration at our home is 11.
What is the impact on body due to this low TDS and what precautions/ supplements I need to additionally take assuming I don’t want to change my Existing RO ?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by LonelyPlanet

The TDS of water after RO filtration at our home is 11.
What is the impact on body due to this low TDS and what precautions/ supplements I need to additionally take assuming I don’t want to change my Existing RO ?

Which machine is it? Kent has a TDS controller screw through which you can control the water TDS. It may be same for other manufacturers but I am not sure. I try to keep the TDS around 80-100.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by graaja

1. Is the machine completely stable during wash, rinse and spin cycles?
2. Is the wash quality poorer compared to top loading machines?
3. What are some good models of machines that I should look for?

Thanks in advance for all the inputs.

Bosch/Siemens (same company). I use a dryer stacked on top of a front loader, absolutely no movement and db levels are really low.

[LonelyPlanet]

Originally Posted by saket77

Which machine is it? Kent has a TDS controller screw through which you can control the water TDS. It may be same for other manufacturers but I am not sure. I try to keep the TDS around 80-100.

This is a ZeroB.
Will check with ZeroB if they have a similar arrangement to control TDS

[graaja]

Originally Posted by shipnil

I had replaced my top loader with front loader 2 years back, after the old one stopped working after 13 years and the parts were hard to get.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Front loading washing machines vibrate due to improper levelling. Some floors have a slope built in to drain away water. Installation of the machine should offset such slopes, if present

Originally Posted by subraiyr

Having said that, based on what my friends have experienced i think LG, Bosch are probably good options to look at

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Irrespective of the brand, I recommend a direct drive front-load washing machine.

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

Bosch/Siemens (same company). I use a dryer stacked on top of a front loader, absolutely no movement and db levels are really low.

Thank you all for your valuable inputs. This should be enough to convince my wife

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by graaja

I need inputs from other users of front loading washing machines on some questions.

1. Is the machine completely stable during wash, rinse and spin cycles?
2. Is the wash quality poorer compared to top loading machines?
3. What are some good models of machines that I should look for?

Thanks in advance for all the inputs.

We have a Bosch 6.5KG Front loader.

1. Yes the machine is very stable . It sits on a metal stand with rubber bushes at the bottom and does not vibrate much. Bosch has this stand as an official accessory.

2. Nope. We find the dirt removal better in front loader compared to a Bosch Top loader.

3. Bosch/Siemens are very good. Silent and barely make any noise.Have a ton of wash cycle options with water temperature selection. Bosch and Siemens are exact same machines with same internal components. Just branding is different. In fact they are manufactured in the same assembly line. Think Vento and Rapid . LG direct drive front loaders are the next best that i have come across.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Front loaders have been stable for decades, even with spn speeds well over 1,000RPM. If people encounter one that is not, it is not leveled, as described above, not installed on a solid base (stands are not a good idea) or it is a rogue machine.

My rogue machine was an LG. Horrible thing. But it was a fault that seemed afflict a limited number of machines at a certain time.

Having a ton of wash program options is not very useful, as people will only actually use two or three of them. The thing is to make sure the machine will fit each individual's requirement.