Best front load washer, Know your needs Ask yourself the important questions about your usage. All washers will clean your clothes, but it's the additional options that can make a huge difference. Do you wash a lot of heavily soiled laundry? (i.e. do you have an athlete at home?) Do you wash large quantities and therefore need a large wash capacity? Will you be needing a gas dryer or an electric one? Knowing your particular needs will help you to narrow down the selection significantly, making your ultimate decision less stressful.
Look at new technology
From steam to advanced sensors to touch screens, most likely a lot has changed in the washing machine world since the last time you bought one. Do some homework and learn about new washer technology and how you might use it to get the most out of your machine and your time.
Know your budget
We can't say this enough: know how much you are willing/able to spend before you ever set foot in a store. If you've only budgeted enough money for a basic top-loading washer, don't look at the turbo-washing front-loader that is double what you are able to spend. That said, keep in mind that many retailers have sales, particularly around holiday weekends. We recommend subscribing to e-mails from Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, and Best Buy. Doing so gives you access to e-mailed coupons, as well as the dates of sales and pre-sales, both in-store and online.
What types of washers are available?
Top-loading washer
The top-loading washing machine operates, as its name would suggest, via the top. When you pull up on the lid, you expose the washer drum. They come in traditional or high-efficiency models and many have EnergyStar ratings. You may not expect to find a lot of uber-fancy features on these, but top-loading washers have recently experienced an overhaul of sorts and many manufacturers are enhancing them with the same features as the newer front-load washers. In short, you can find anything from basic dials and two wash cycles to touch screens and 11 or more wash cycles.
