
Customers recognize the 4.7 Cu. Ft. Smart Top Load Washer's excellent cleaning performance, ease of use, and large capacity as significant advantages. Many appreciate the effective agitator and the powerful spin cycle, which reduces drying time. However, some customers find the washer to be noisy, and there are reports of reliability issues after a period of use. The size of the washer is also frequently praised.
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Love it! Bought with matching dryer. It’s big and has a lot of settings for the type of wash you’re doing. Has sensors for the weight and water level needed. Clothes come out clean. I use pods so it rinses thoroughly. Have not needed to use 2nd rinse cycle. Handled a comforter with no problem. We use the fast spin option to get the clothes wrung out as much as possible so that they spend less time drying. It was necessary to use zip ties on the drain hose and water lines since our space in a laundry closet is limited. If they touch the back of the washer, they will bang against it during the spin cycle and will make a lot of noise. The zip ties did the trick and a U-clamp on the drain hose prevented rattling also. With the laundry closet doors closed, the washer is fairly quiet and this is important because it’s right next to our living room. This model was also a best pick by Consumer Reports.
Posted by SueD
Top loading washers like this one are simply no match for front loaders: the competition isn’t even close. The problem is physics. We tested 3 new washers (2 top loaders and 1 front loader) and want to pass on what we learned (sorry, this is going to be a long review). Old timey top loaders filled the tub with water and an agitator pushed the clothes through the soapy water. The clothes were completely submerged in water, which helped. On the other hand, they used a ton of water, which was not great. The new high efficiency top loaders, use a lot less water and don’t have an agitator. Instead, there’s a rotating disk at the bottom of the tub that kind of pushes the clothes around. However, the clothes don’t move very much. That lack of movement combined with the lack of water leads to subpar cleaning performance. We first bought an LG WT7300CW top loader. I washed a bunch of cotton t-shirts and jeans in that machine using the deep fill option. After the cycle, several shirts were covered in lint and other debris (see attached photo). You could see where the residue collected in the folds. The folds weren’t rinsed out because the machine didn’t move the shirts around enough to remove the folds. That’s not good from a cleaning/wrinkle perspective. Next, we tried a top load washer with an agitator (this machine). Most HE top loaders have the option to add an agitator. The problem is the agitator does almost nothing. It’s not like the agitator in the old machines. The main source of movement is still the rotating disk at the bottom of the tub. As far as I can tell, the agitator is just for show because it certainly doesn’t move the clothes around much. The results were similar to the LG: shirts covered in lint. Front loaders are a completely different story: they use gravity to wash your clothes (science!) First, they saturate the clothes with soapy water. Then they tumble them by rotating the drum and allowing gravity to drop the clothes. This causes the clothes to rub against themselves and each other, which is a good thing. That movement is what makes front loaders so much more effective at cleaning. If I had to guess, I would say the clothes are moved around 1000 times more than in a top loader. Front loaders are also better at spinning. They can spin faster, which means laundry will be drier. And there are fewer wrinkles because the tumbling action removes any existing folds. Plus, I never experienced an out of balance spin in 7 years of using a front loader. But we had multiple loads in the top loader that started knocking and showed an out of balance warning. Front loaders aren’t without their problems. Our previous front loader developed a mildewy smell, which is why we tried some top loaders. But that problem could have been easily avoided if we were more careful: with a front loader, you should make sure the gasket and drum are clean and dry. The easiest way to do that is to leave the door open after a load and occasionally wipe down the door and gasket. We ended up with a GE Ultrafresh front loading washer. It tackles the mildew problem by using a microbial-resistant gasket and a venting system that can dry out the drum with the door closed. The venting runs for 8 hours (you can do it overnight) and leaves the gasket and drum completely dry. Plus, it has an automatic detergent dispenser which I love. TLDR: Front loading: good. Top loading: bad. Note: I don’t normally leave 1-star reviews. But given the cleaning performance, I’m honestly not sure why anyone would buy a top loader. I guess the only saving grace is that a lot of the lint left by the washer will come off in the drier. However, the lint/residue is a sign that the clothes aren’t getting cleaned as well.
Posted by robchronos
Cleans very well as has a lot of cycle choices. It is too noisy however. We do not have a laundry room - our laundry is in our kitchen. So the noise is heard in the living room. My husband thought it was broken the first time he heard it running.
Posted by JulieJ