The Most Reliable Front and Top Load Washers for 2023

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Besides a refrigerator and perhaps a stove, a dead washer is the most inconvenient

Laundry piles up with sweaty clothes from the gym, loungewear, and baby clothing.

I can only imagine how many loads of laundry a family of five or more goes through. So yes, a reliable washer is essential.

In this video, you will learn the reliability of the best brands based on just under 40,000 service calls logged last year by our service department.

Your local appliance store is likely to push you into buying a top-load washer instead of a front load based on reliability. That's a mistake as you’ll see.

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Interested in learning more?

Related Articles:

Models featured in this video:

Speed Queen Top-Load Washer TR3003WN
Speed Queen Top-Load Washer TC5003WN

LG Top-Load Washer WT7400CW

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Chapters

0:00 Intro
0:32 Reliability Calculation
1:07 Front-Load Washers
1:17 GE Front-Load Washers
2:03 LG Front-Load Washers
2:36 Top-Load Washers
2:52 Speed Queen Top-Load Washers
3:08 GE Profile Top-Load Washers
3:31 LG Top-Load Washers
3:51 Which is Best for You?

[Its_Me]

Thank you. My top load Maytag, purchased in 1985 continues to run flawlessly. Only one service call since 1985. I'm blessed.

[bigphillyed]

Steve, well said. I always point my customers towards LG, as they have been a reliability leader for years now. Thanks for the hard work.

[oopszie]

I got a five year extended warranty on an Electrolux washer and dryer.

After four years they just gave up on the dryer and gave me a check for $900 to buy a new one.

[sirr]

As someone who worked for whirlpool and also worked with Maytag washers when we partnered with them I’d like to tell everyone to stay clear from them both! My own boss told me to buy LG and would refuse the discounts from the company and would rather pay out of his own pocket and get something that would actually be worth the money

[awatogola]

I have a strong impression that washing machines are designed today to fail costumers within 4 or 5 years ( while the manufacturer warranty promise 10 ) . Stores do not allow to buy more than 5 years warranty ( is it a planned scheme?) . Anyway, we work hard for our dollar and can’t get a vacation because of this

[avagrego]

I was satisfied with my top loader Maytag for 40 yrs. We were a family of 5. It needed one repair hubbie easily made. I regret leaving it at the house when I sold my last house.

[forgiven]

I bought a Whirlpool a little over a year ago. Nothing but trouble. It goes straight from "sense" to "done". I miss the days when things didn't automatically break down the day after the warranty expired...

[winston]

I like the convenience of top load.
In the past twelve years I have had Maytag, GE, Whirlpool, and LG.
Each failed iwithin weeks of the warranty giving out.
I now have had a Speed Queen TC5000. Better cleaning performance and better reliability.

[PawsWithBentley]

Very useful information. Do you have reliability statistics over the last 5 or 10 years, not just the initial year of service?

[katisugarbaker]

I’ll never buy a GE anything ever again. I still have ptsd from the failure in which the top load clothes washer hot water didn’t stop filling and flooded the whole front of my house. I’m glad I had a policy of not leaving the house with either the washer or dryer running. Every appliance in this townhouse was a GE profile. And we are replacing them all. Throwing them in the landfill. Never again. Never again. (It is a model that allows to preset the fill level, NOT an auto fill. The fewer sensors, the better. But when it refuses to work at all, this is total disaster).

[Appytail]

30 years using front load. Never smell anything. No mold whatsoever. 1/2 second door cleaning after each use pays off apparently.

[motoman]

Not sure why you're pushing LG. Just saw a guy have to replace the spider arm and bearings on his LG front load machine, and he said it was only about 8 years old. We have an Electrolux front load machine that we purchased in January 2014, and it just died on us today (didn't quite make it to the 10 year mark). The drum doesn't spin freely and there was a lot of smoke in our laundry room, so most likely the spindle wore into the bearing seal. Moreover, our Electrolux washer was used constantly. Also, why would we want a washing machine with Microban or Triclosan? Last I checked, these are hormone disruptors.

[pjmarlon]

Does higher percentage means higher reliability? Or higher repairs/service calls?

[Jhihmoac]

Speed Queen is best if you want an extremely reliable, old school top loader, like the standard washers in a laundromat... As for front loaders, besides Wascomat or Miele, I have absolutely no idea... Maytag used to be good, but not after Whirlpool bought them out, and Samsung is probably the worst because their temperamental computer systems tend to fail prematurely, and putting in a new computer will usually cost you more than the machine is worth!

[joeyscleaningladys]

speedqueen has been proven to be the most reliable hence used in laundromats

[edarcy]

All I can say is to stay away from any high efficiency (he) washers.
Clothes come out dry and still dirty.. Not very efficient if you have to wash three or more times and clothes still comes out dingy. Every setting I tried made no difference, only some more wet than others. The actual washing motion is weak even with an agitator. I just returned a Maytag with extra power button and made no difference. HE just simply aren't worth it, nothing better than a good old traditional washer.
Even my old Kenmore washer which had a broken agitator was still leaving my clothes super clean comparing to these HEs.
I'm even considering going to look for an old traditional Kenmore at a used appliance store. These HEs should be taken off the market.

[oscorpiono]

Modern machines are junk "digital Inverter" "Digital Motor" as if that's meant to impress ?

Here in Europe our 3 year old Samsung washer is a write off, the main board is fried, previous to that, our Bosch, also lasted 3 years due to the drum leaking and frying the main board.

The Samsung has menus and touch sensitive "buttons" junk, who wants to go through menus ?

All this digital electronics mean more profit for the companies, the digital boards are made on assembly lines far faster than the old mechanical timers could. The old mechanical timer was far superior, it controlled everything including the motor, the motor needed no electronics, it had 2 sets of windings for the spin and wash and the timer just switched over to each set it needed, that's it, simple and effective and it worked.

Washing machines don't need 300+ sensors, fancy displays and menus, all junk we don't need and more to go wrong, give me an old mechanical timer machine any day to this modern digital junk, and what's more is that all this modern junk plays havoc with AM

Next think you know gone are all the buttons and knobs replaced by a touch screen which will have internet connectivity and you'll have to watch adds before you can start a wash !!!

Even in my car it's got a touch screen and very few buttons, no knob or button for the radio, it's got tonnes of menus though, ridiculous and very distracting when driving.

What's worse, environmental laws are going to get stricter with washing machines and white goods in general meaning more electronics for more control and more to go wrong.

Anyway, I decided to buy as cheap a washing machine I could find with no screens and menus, but it's still got the digital motor and inverter rubbish but it's got real knobs and buttons and it's very simple to operate.

I'm not ever spending over 400 Euro's on a washing machine ever again, they can advertise all the digital crap they want, I would buy into it.

[nawarmofti]

Hi, I am confused between Samsung and LG front-load washers in terms of reliability. Any advice?

[brendak]

Why did Speed Queen front load not make it in your ratings? I need to buy a washer soon and was leaning that way. I'm replacing a 10-12 year old LG (2 person household) that had motherboard issues right after warranty expiration (which cost a lot to fix & took ages to get the part). The problems I'm experiencing now lead me to believe that's what's going bad again. That makes me wary of LG. Thanks!

[kuko]

I do not understand at all why in some countries a type of top-loading washing machine with a drum rotating around a vertical axis is still sold and manufactured. It is an outdated design, it washes worse, it uses much more water, it is too big.
In my country (and in Europe in general) only type of top-loading washing machine with a drum rotating around a horizontal axis is sold. They are smaller even than the slim front-loading washing machines, and just as economical :)