We had a pretty informative thread back in July 2019 on the topic. At which time I reported "LG front load. 10 year’s old. No service calls. Wife always leaves the door open. Very happy with it."
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-vi...nswer-1195585/

Ours is now 13 years old and today the drum suddenly sounded like it was eating itself. Given the short life span of today's appliances it's probably not worth repairing. I am debating with myself to bother with a service call.

Since a replacement is likely, any recommendations would be welcomed. I would be interested to hear what Consumers Report is saying if anyone still subscribes; although the publication doesn't rank anywhere near as high with me as it did say 30 years ago.

 

We moved and bought a new washer. Got a Samsung top load. So far we like it but cannot speak for reliability as we just bought it. I have probably heard more bad than good with LG personally. Everytime I shop and look for appliance reviews Samsung, Whirlpool and Maytag seem to have the fewest complaints. I can say that the Maytag stuff I have owned has always lasted a very long time with no issues. I have not owned LG stuff, but have had horrible luck with GE for what it is worth. Had a GE fridge that broke about once a year (control boards) and had a GE dishwasher that filled my floor with water twice in less than 3 years. Replaced it with a Maytag and 5 years later it was still humming along fine when we moved recently. I will likely never buy another GE appliance.

As for the washer, we researched a lot and stuck with a top load. The front loaders are nice but require more attention to maintenance to prevent issues and overall did not see the benefit over the top loading ones. Also found a LOT more complaints about the impeller top loads than the agitator style so we went with the agitator. The last top load agitator style we bought has been running for 10+ years (again, Maytag) with zero issues but it sold with the house so had to buy new stuff.

 

I bought a Samsung washer and dryer in 2016. Just a standard top load washer and front load dryer. The washer never had a problem but the dryer was a giant POS. The belt tensioner pulley melted itself 2 years in. I repaired that, then the heating element went out the following year. I repaired that. Then the drum started making metallic rotating noise like a bearing was going out the following year. Probably an easy fix but I was tired of taking the thing apart and being without a dryer for days while the parts came in so we just bought an LG stackable unit. I can't comment on its reliability as we just got it last week, but the 5.5 years I got out of the Samsung dryer didn't set the bar very high.

My in-laws went through 2 Samsung refrigerators over the course of a couple years. The first one had a compressor failure that warranty technicians tried to fix but for whatever reason deemed it easier to replace the refrigerator. Then the icemaker quit in the second unit and after multiple service calls, Lowes eventually just refunded them their money and let them keep it with a broken icemaker because the technicians couldn't figure it out and the only control board left that hadn't been replaced was on backorder.

Needless to say, I won't be purchasing another Samsung appliance.

 

We bought new Maytag washer and dryer about three years ago. Washer is top load, agitator and the only problem is a short wife and deep tub. No problems or issues with either machine. We replaced older Maytags that came with the house. They must have been 20 years old and worked fine, but were very tough on clothes.
if your dryer stops drying as fast as it did, clean out the pipes to the outside. When I did it, I could have stuffed a large pillow with the fluff that came out. Also can be a fire hazard.
if you want model numbers, I can supply.

 

I've often heard not to buy the Korean brands due to reliability issues and/or parts issues/costs, etc. I have no direct information so I can't say one way or another if they are less reliable. If you got 13 years out of yours then that sounds pretty decent. After 10 years they owe you nothing these days.

We've always used Maytag or GE and they have served us well, all front loaders. Our GE was an awesome machine but it had a control board failure, since then we have put our machines on surge protectors, I don't know if that will help but it can't hurt. Having to fix machines that are anywhere near 10 years old is a tough gamble, you are usually out a couple hundred bucks before the repair is even started, so putting that towards a new machine with a warranty might be a better investment in the long term. We had a squealing drum repaired once, it worked for about one year and then started up again, not a long term fix.

 

I will say since I have owned a Samsung stove, microwave and now washer/dryer, that you will have to get used to them singing when done lol. I actually like it better than the loud ass beeping that some stuff does but my wife gets annoyed by the little songs they play. I am pretty sure you can turn that off but have not bothered yet. But all my Samsung stuff has been recent years purchases so again, not much to say on reliability. Now, on TVs, I have had a 55 inch Samsung LCD since about 2010 I think that has never had an issue at all. Have a newer Samsung LED as well but it is only a couple of years old now.

 

You can probably find a copy of the CU ratings at your local library, My last look at their "ratings" gives what I consider undue emphasis on energy and water savings (50% of the rating?) and not cleaning ability nor just how long a load takes to wash. Only experience with a front loading washer 4 or 5 years ago prevents me from that type ever again. Not only was capacity minuscule but it left dirty water in the front door seal that required mopping with a towel to avoid dragging clean clothes thru the puddle (and then the towel had to be washed) and washing took foreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever. At least it had an end of cycle alarm.

Not sure when these were reviewed but with 3 or 4 dozen machines reviewed getting a copy of the ratings will be much better that what can be put in a message reply.

The top six (6) top loading HE washers are all LG brand followed by several Samsungs. (I think the HE washers have giant drums and no agitator.)
Conventional (agitator) washers were headed by LG and Samsung but were rated lower than the HE washers in overall scores.
Top seven (7) front loaders were LG. These all seem to have very small capacity.

I run at least 15-20 loads thru my conventional builder-provided Whirlpool top loader washer every week. Darn thing lacks a lint filter and the agitator kills the capacity. A set of queen sized sheets is about all that can be washed and they frequently get twisted into a large tight rope which requires a rewash after the rope gets untangled. No end-of-cycle alarm. My next washer will be a large drum HE top loader with a glass lid.

My Whirlpool electric dryer seems identical to the Sears dryer I had 30 years ago. Works fine. No need for anything exotic in a dryer.

-- Chuck

 

When we moved into our house five years ago I purchased both a Maytag washer and driver. When I went shopping I later brought the wife to check out the depth of the tub. She complained about the old washer (Kenmore) as she could not reach the bottom of the tub without a step stool.

We are very happy with the Maytag units we have.

 

We've got a LG toploader with high speed spin. very large capacity. Spin cycle routinely is out of balance and needs to be rebalanced several times.
LG dryer has had service here a few times.

I can't say I repeat the exercise the same way.

 

FWIIW: In November of 2019 I bought a Samsung washer and drier from Costco. The good news is that Costco doubles the warranty and that turned out to be a good thing. Because the washer stopped working due to a clutch problem and Samsung did not have the part. After going back on forth for over a month they sent me a check for the purchase amount. I went to CNET and searched for washing machines and settle on a GE that was highly rated.