Panasonic 9.5kg Top Loading Washing Machine $898 @ Harvey Norman

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Harvey Norman NZ

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  Firremann on 05/06/2020 - 13:25

  +2

  Get a front loader. It will save you a lot of money over time.

  • 

    HappyChipMonk on 05/06/2020 - 13:42

    really ? I had no idea

    • 

      AleBeerenhoff on 05/06/2020 - 15:51

      Yeah, better for clothes, better wash, better on water, better on power, etc etc…when I saw this initially I wondered why people still buy these top loaders…maybe its for capacity and speed - as that is the only downside I know of with front loaders.

      • 

        CheapAzChips on 05/06/2020 - 20:19

        Ok, I'll bite.

        I still prefer top loaders. Yes, capacity and speed are definitely two main reasons (family of 7 here, often doing 2 loads a day in our 8.5kg). Other reasons:

        • weight (front loaders all have concrete in their base to stop them moving around when spinning). Granted, this is only a limited problem, but still, moving them is really hard work!
        • mould/slime growth is a major problem over time in many models. When I did use front loaders for a few years, the best advice I read was to never use liquid detergent. This helped but didn't solve the issue completely
        • In some cases (mainly heavy duty cycles) wash quality isn't as good. Yes, they're gentler but sometimes items need a good agitation they can't provide.
        • one of the best conveniences of a top loader is the ability to chuck in an extra item or two after the drum is already filled with water and washing has commenced. Not being able to easily throw in that single soccer sock that you realised dropped on the way to the laundry, when kids have soccer the next day? Extremely frustrating.
        • 

          Ytdeals on 05/06/2020 - 20:37

          @CheapAzChips: From my experiences, mould was problematic for both types. You can minimize this by keeping the doors open and running drum clean every so often. But you will most likely have some mould. Top loader is not an exception to this. I have disassembled my top loader and still found mould despite airing out and even using laundry room specific demhumidifier.

          Agitation may be better in top loader though. However front loaders come pretty large these days, and if you underload (or properly load following the manual) a 9kg front loader, it usually does the trick.

          Price, well that can't be beat.

        • 

          parlane on 06/06/2020 - 15:55

          @CheapAzChips: FWIW, I can chuck a sock in after the machine has filled with water in my front loader. The water basically always stays below the door line, a good indication of how it really uses a lot less water.

• 

  dkiwi on 05/06/2020 - 14:18

  +1

  Front loaders are far more effective than top loaders

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  Jaxson on 05/06/2020 - 16:11

  We went through both styles a few years back.
  Front loaders used less water but we don’t pay for that anyway.
  We found the front loader turned our towels rock hard.

  In the end we sold it and got a Samsung top loader that didn’t feature the centre column, so was gentle on the clothes still. Wouldn’t go back to front loader again.

  • 

    Firremann on 05/06/2020 - 16:45

    Well, if you heat up more water, you still pay for more power to heat it ;) We are running out of water in Auckland and it will get expensive in not so far future.

    Never got a problem with towels being hard. Could be due to the fact, that front loader gets rid of the washing powder more efficiently or centrifuges at a higher speed?

    • 

      Jaxson on 05/06/2020 - 17:54

      I'm not that passionate about either technology personally, but just pointing out some first hand experience with both.
      Pros and cons either way, like many purchasing decisions.