LG Front Load Washer--Good for the planet, but doesn't get clothes clean!
Written: Jul 23 '09 (Updated Oct 03 '09)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Ease of Cleaning:
Style:
Pros: Quiet, uses less water and energy.
Cons: Doesn't clean clothes as well as conventional washer, takes longer per cycle.
The Bottom Line: Uses a lot less water, but doesn't clean as well as conventional washers. Doesn't clean as well as top loading washers. I don't recommend this washer for that reason.
longjourney's Full Review: LG WM0642H Front Load Washer
I've put off writing this review for a long time. Not because I wasn't sure about what to write, but because I wasn't sure I WAS right. It seemed like everything I read about front loading washers indicated they got clothes cleaner with less soap, water, and energy. I thought for awhile that I was just being overly critical of this machine, but eventually I realized it wasn't just me, this washer just did not do as good a job as our old top loading washer.
Description:
This is an LG front load washer with a 3.83 cubic foot load capacity. It measures 29.5 inches deep by 27 inches wide by 44 inches high. The door, which has a window in it, opens to the left and cannot be installed to open to the right. On top of the washer at the back is the usual control panel assembly providing controls and indicators for operation of the washer. There are 11 buttons, not counting the power button, one dial, and a time and status indicator. The buttons allow the user to set the wash/rinse temperature, spin speed, soil level, beeper volume, and optional settings of pre-wash, extra rinse, stain cycle, rinse+spin, quick cycle, and delay wash. The knob is used to set the wash cycle to one of the following settings: Sanitary, Comforter, Cotton/Normal, Perm Press, Delicates, Hand Wash, or Speed Wash.
On the top left side of the washer is the dispenser, which consists of four compartments. The first compartment is for loading high efficiency liquid detergent. The next is the prewash compartment, then the liquid fabric softener compartment, and lastly, the liquid chlorine bleach compartment. This washer is designed to use only HE (high efficiency) detergent. Using regular detergent will cause oversudsing and won't wash or rinse properly.
Our model is white. I don't know if it comes in any other colors. A pedestal drawer can be purchased separately which is placed under the washer. This both adds storage space and raises the washer to a higher level so loading and unloading doesn't require as much bending.
Experience:
We've had this machine for well over a year now. At first, the number of features and options were a bit overwhelming, but it didn't take long to sort through it all and figure out how to work it. One of the most useful features of this washer is that it can be set for delayed start. We use this feature a lot. My wife will often throw in a load of clothes on her way out the door in the morning and set it to run at 3:30 PM. When she gets home at around 5, the clothes are ready to be tossed into the dryer. This eliminates the mildew odor that can occur if clothes are left in the washer wet all day.
For general use, the washer seems to do okay. Most things seem to get clean, or at least they don't smell bad or look dirty. Nonetheless, I'm somewhat disappointed in the performance of this washer. After a couple of months, I started noticing that some of my darker shirts had light-colored stains in the armpits. One day, I picked a shirt that had been washed, but showed this stain and hand washed it in the sink with a little detergent. It easily washed out in a few minutes. Apparently, substances in clothing that are highly hydrophobic, such as antiperspirant, need more water to get clean. I noticed another problem with our sheets. We have light colored sheets, off-white, I guess you'd say. With our old washer, the sheets always came out clean. Well, as a guy, I tend to sweat. My wife, on the other hand, doesn't. Our sheets have become gray in two diagonal areas, depending on which way they are put on the bed. In other words, where I sleep, the sheets have turned gray. As I said, this never happened with our old washer.
In trying to correct the problem of things not getting clean, I tried using the "Heavy" soil cycle. I couldn't tell any difference in my shirts or in the sheets. In addition, it increased the wash time from about an hour per load to an hour and a half. In a household of four, especially when three of them are girls, that's too much time. My teenage daughters seem to wear several outfits a day and use as many towels. Neither my wife or I want to spend all day doing laundry.
Another problem we've had with this machine is that the spin speed is so high that clothes routinely get twisted into knots. I was recently in the doghouse because I washed one of my daughter's favorite dresses and the washer tore off one of the ties on the back of the dress. The spin cycle is highly efficient at spinning water out of the laundry, but it can also damage clothing and induce wrinkles that don't always come out in the dryer. It also tangles clothes together so that it can be a slight chore to separate them.
On the plus side, it has decreased our water usage a little bit. It may have decreased our electricity usage a small amount, but not enough to notice on our bill. It also operates quietly. I believe it's important to conserve water and energy, so I am happy in that respect.
In reading some of the other reviews of this machine, I noticed complaints about the washer shaking the floor, making excessive noise on a wooden floor, and smelling moldy. The manual clearly states that a solid floor is critical when using this machine, and that wooden floors may need to be reinforced. The manual also states that if your floor is wooden, you will hear and feel the vibration throughout your house. The moldy smell is just common sense-leave the washer door open until the water on it drys. We usually leave the door to the washer slightly ajar for several hours after use and have had no mold odor problems.
Final Thoughts:
We've used this washer almost daily for well over a year and have had no mechanical trouble with it. It has performed reliably and is easy to operate, in spite of a large number of options and settings. It is quiet and handles large loads well. My main complaint is that it doesn't get clothes as clean as our old top loader. If I were shopping for another washer today, I think I would but a conventional top loader.
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