The Top-loader and High Water Bills Agitated Me for the Last Time
Written: Nov 08 '09 (Updated Dec 09 '09)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Ease of Cleaning:
Style:
Pros: Efficient, uses little water/soap, gets clothes clean, removes most water (decreases drying time)
Cons: Spin cycle is loud. Small amount of water accumulates in front of the door.
The Bottom Line:
If in the market for an inexpensive HE washer, this one seems good. Just follow all instructions and you'll be enjoying lower water bills and buying less detergent.
groove1's Full Review: Frigidaire FTF2140FS Front Load Washer
I had wanted a front loading high efficiency washing machine for some time. Our 4.5 year old Maytag washing machine worked fine, but we finally had several reasons to upgrade. The water bill where we live is on the high side and the town just raised the rates by 7.5 percent. North Carolina was waiving sales tax on "Energy Star" rated appliances, the store was having employee discount pricing, 24 months no interest, and free delivery (after mail-in rebate). Add all these up and the stars were aligned for a new high efficiency (HE) washer. They had a very cheap one in their ad at $428 but this one was only 3.1 cubic feet. I had read and heard a lot about high efficiency front loading washers, but I did not know how the size would translate. Upon arrival at the store, the 3.1 cubic foot was very small and the washer only had a few basic controls. This was obviously the "get you in the door model" so we looked at the next size up which was 3.5 cubic feet. A difference of less than a half a cubic foot may not seem like much, but in a machine without an agitator, it's huge. This one would wash a queen size comforter with some room left over and had a lot more options (which almost seemed like too many at first). The brand was also a Frigidaire, which seems to make decent lower to mid ranged priced appliances. We have had no issues with our Frigidaire refrigerator, so I did not hesitate because of the brand. The price of the machine was $531 which is only about $150 more than we spent on our top-loader nearly 5 years ago.
One thing I had heard from several people who have owned front loaders is to get the pedestal. People who initially do not buy it always buy it later. People have told me that they end up bending over too much and hurting their back without the pedestal. Being 6'4" tall with back problems, getting the pedestal was a no-brainer. The pedestal for this one was a little over $100; however it does not have storage like some of the more expensive ones do which was a disappointment. I am definitely glad I purchased it though as everyone else seemed to be correct with their recommendations. The door is right at the perfect level for loading and unloading laundry.
Once the store delivered and installed it, they turned on the machine to make sure it worked - and it did. Again, I did some research on HE washers, but I did not realize how many buttons, options, and controls there were. One thing there is not though is a control for water level. HE washers select this automatically by what's in the machine. Also, another thing lacking was the agitator inside the drum. This was fine with me because on our old machine, this thing lived up to its name. It agitated us because bras and strings from sweatpants were always getting caught on it. Even though the drum of the HE washer is slightly smaller than then the old top-loader, it holds approximately the same amount of clothes since it is all space for laundry.
One thing I quickly realized during the test cycle they ran was that the cycles on HE washers are longer. I looked at the time chart and a full wash load set on "normal" takes about 53 minutes. This, however, is offset by the fact these washers not only use less water but they extract and drain more of what is used. This means your clothes come out drier and spend less time in the dryer.
I could not wait to start washing clothes, but wow, where to start? There were so many selections to choose from. I had enough dress clothes - mostly dress slacks and a couple of wrinkle free dress shirts so I thought I would start there. I put the clothes in on delicate and cold (you cannot select "hot" as an option when using the delicate setting which is nice). I had some of the newer 3 in 1 washer/dryer streets which had the HE logo on it so I used one of those. Note: DO NOT use detergent without the HE logo on it. The HE detergents are low sudsing and gentler on the HE washers - plus you do not to use as much of it. The wash cycle on this machine is extremely quiet; however the spin cycle is somewhat loud. The delicate cycle did not take too long and the clothes came out clean and soft but it was difficult to tell how clean with them being dark. I did notice they were not soaking wet however, and after putting them in the dryer on "wrinkle-free" they came out nice.
Next it was time to use the normal cycle to wash some jeans, t-shirts, and dark socks. For these I used the one load sample of Tide HE which came with the machine. Normally I use the allergen fighting "free" detergents, but I wanted to use the sample. There is a small compartment on the top left side of the machine where you put in the soap. It has a locking mechanism which you slide over and pull the compartment out. There is a space for detergent, a space for bleach, and a space for fabric softener. I only used to detergent for this one. It goes into the machine and is dispensed accordingly when needed based on load size and setting (which is why less detergent is needed). This cycle did take a while as mentioned previously but with it being slightly less than a full load it did not take 53 minutes. Again, the clothes came out clean and not too wet. They were done quickly in the dryer and came out clean and soft with a "free" dryer sheet.
Next would be the true test of cleanliness though I did not realize it at the time: whites. Unless I used bleach on things like white athletic socks they rarely came out too clean in the old washer. I set this one on normal/warm and again used one of the 3-in-1 laundry sheets. When I got the clothes out, I could not believe how clean and white they were. It turns out that this is another advantage of HE washing machines as well as HE detergents. In a traditional top loader, once the water fills up, the dirt from the clothes comes off but stays in the water - somewhat like taking a bath. The HE machines only used a small amount of water and gentle tumbling action, and then the water is drained.
I am not crazy about the 3-in-1 sheets I was using so I went to the store to get some HE detergent. If you're wondering about price, the HE detergent costs the same as its conventional counterpart. I came home and washed some red and pink clothes in cold on the delicate cycle. Again, the clothes came out clean and not very wet.
The next day I washed the comforters. I used the extra spin to remove even more water which it t did. This made them come out barely moist and they only spent a few minutes in the dryer.
There are many cycle selections available: heavy for heavily soiled items - 16 minutes of tumbling followed by 3 rinses, an automatic extra rinse and a final spin. Normal: 13 minutes, 3 rinses, and a final spin. Permanent Press - 10 minutes of tumbling, a cool down rinse, 2 additional rinses and a final spin. Sport cycle for synthetic fabrics, Delicate cycle for knits and delicates, Hand Wash for items labeled as such, Soak for pre-treating, Drain/spin to drain water or follow up to a no-spin selection, and Rinse/spin, for cold water rinses or to add liquid fabric softener if you forgot to add it.
The cycle settings include temperature and final spin speed. Note that you cannot select the temperature if it is not appropriate for the cycle. The available options are Hot water/cold rinse, warm water/cold rinse, cold water/cold rinse, and warm water/warm rinse (which is only suitable for washable woolens).
The final spin speed is automatically selected based on the cycle selection. The options here are high, medium, low, and no spin. The higher the spin speed, the more water which is extracted - however this can increase wrinkling. A lower spin speed is suitable for items that wrinkle easily.
There are a few other options for the cycle, including Heavy soil/stain, Extra rinse, Extra spin, and cycle signal. The signal is a beeping noise when the cycle is completed. This is nice because there are parts of a cycle on this machine that are very quiet and it seems like the load is done, but it is not. There is also a delay start feature which allows you to delay the start for up to 8 hours. This should come in handy since I can put clothes in before going to work and set them to be washed right before I get home. There are also some status lights which show if the door is locked as well as what part of the cycle the machine is on (wash, rinse, or final spin).
One thing I noticed about this machine is that a little bit of water ends up in the "bellows" which is the rubber part that goes around the door. Some reviews of this machine said that their unit smelled like mold/mildew and this is likely the culprit. There were supplemental updated instructions included with this washer which say to try to leave the door open when not in use so the water can dry. This is kind of a nuisance but it is something I can live with.
So far, I really like this machine other than the little bit of excess water left and the noise during the spin cycle. It was relatively inexpensive, uses little water, gets clothes clean and they are not too wet when they come out, and uses only a little bit of detergent. I have only had the machine a few days, so I cannot judge the reliability yet. I did read a lot of reviews on front loaders which had reliability problems. More research has shown that this is probably user error more often than not (such as using the wrong kind of detergent) but I still bought a 3 year warranty just in case. From my experience so far, I would recommend this machine over a conventional top-loader which may cost close to the same amount.
***Update 12/09/09 I just receveid my electric bill from November 8th until present - it decreased by about 20% from nearly $50 to just under $40. The previous one would have been more than that too except that we wer eout of town for 4 days so not much electricity was used. The washer not only uses less energy, but saves even more money because our electric dryer doesn't need to run as much. I don't have the water bill yet but I will come back to let everyone know what that difference is.***
Frigidaire is the largest manufacturer of front load laundry in the world. So you expect contemporary styling thats beautifully designed to fit your l...More at HomeGoodz
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