Washer and drier questions

[Chitowngirl]

Yet another thread about washer and driers although I did a search and didn’t see these specific questions asked before.

We need new washer and driers. My husband went and purchased a matching LG front loader set at good pre-black Friday pricing. He bought the pedestals with them, but they haven’t been delivered yet so those can be canceled. I’m not sure how I feel about the pedestals. Our laundry room isn’t very big and I tend to use the top of the washer and drier to fold clothes and do things. Without this space there is a tiny corner we may be able to put a small folding table, but I don’t really like the idea of that. Anyone buy a front loading set and NOT put it on pedestals? Any negatives about doing it that way?

Also reading online says the front loaders can mold but that leaving the door ajar can help with that. Reading other places say to never leave the door ajar around with small kids as they can go inside and get stuck. Consumer reports said some kids have even died. Since many people on this board have small children I thought this would be a good place to ask how people with young kids have dealt with this problem.

Thanks for the advice!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Philly Mom]

We originally went without the pedestals after having them in our old model. We ended up purchasing them. Hurt my back to do laundry without them.


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

[mom2binsd]

Can you do side by side instead, then you can use the tops for folding if you don't have room.

I have an old set that is still going strong that is not fancy but is now 15 years old, the set was 500 back then.

I do not like front loaders, I think they take forever, we stay with a friend who has a set and I am not a fan and we do quite a bit of laundry at her house.

[AnnieW625]

I was not vigilant about keeping my front loader door open and I didn’t have a mold issue. If you have young kids maybe just open it up at night and let it air out if you are really concerned about mold. We kept our laundry in an open area and not a laundry closet. We have a top loader now, but still have a front loading glass door dryer and neither of my kids ever tried to get in there.

We did not have pedestals because we didn’t have the height clearance for them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Philly Mom]

Yet another thread about washer and driers although I did a search and didn’t see these specific questions asked before.

We need new washer and driers. My husband went and purchased a matching LG front loader set at good pre-black Friday pricing. He bought the pedestals with them, but they haven’t been delivered yet so those can be canceled. I’m not sure how I feel about the pedestals. Our laundry room isn’t very big and I tend to use the top of the washer and drier to fold clothes and do things. Without this space there is a tiny corner we may be able to put a small folding table, but I don’t really like the idea of that. Anyone buy a front loading set and NOT put it on pedestals? Any negatives about doing it that way?

Also reading online says the front loaders can mold but that leaving the door ajar can help with that. Reading other places say to never leave the door ajar around with small kids as they can go inside and get stuck. Consumer reports said some kids have even died. Since many people on this board have small children I thought this would be a good place to ask how people with young kids have dealt with this problem.

Thanks for the advice!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

why can't you use the top of the washer and dryer if you use the pedestal? I do it all the time.

Also, we have had small kids and always left the door open. I can't imagine my kids going in the dryer. That said, we also did not really baby proof our house so I may not be the best gauge on that issue.

[Chitowngirl]

Thanks for all the responses. To clarify a few things. We are doing side by side - not stacked. There is a cabinet above the washer and drier. With the pedestal there would be no way to use the top of the washer and drier as they would slide beneath the cabinets. I heard the older pedestals were shorter, but with the pedestals, the top of the washer/drier would be 54inches. The cabinets are at about 60 inches.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kestrel]

My mother has the pedestals, and she likes them. We chose to have the units stacked instead, which than gave us folding space. This might be an option for you, also. (The "stack kit" was extra, maybe $30? Still way less than pedestals.) They are attached together, not wobble-y at all. The installers did the stack kit, also. Our old front loader was small, but the new ones hold a ton! They do take longer than top loaders, but generally use less water. A wash load set on normal takes about 90 minutes.

We have a door on our laundry room, and just keep the laundry room door shut and the laundry machine door open.

For reference, our machines are :Maytag W11184585B & W11156983B.

[khm]

I'm on my second front-loader. I've never had pedestals. We have a shelf running over the top of the units. I like to keep laundry baskets there and pedestals would make it too high to do so (would hit the upper cabinets).

A negative is that it is pretty low to move the wet laundry out, I guess. But, I've just always done it that way and it doesn't bother me at all. I don't have a bad back or anything though.

The doors of both washers that we've had have been on the dryer's side (and aren't changeable), so I usually just plop all the wet stuff into a basket and close the washer door and slide the basket over to the dryer. I don't see how it'd be much easier if it was higher up. (shrug)

Mold was never a problem in our old unit, nor in this unit. I'm so-so about remembering to keep them propped open. The new unit has kind of a sweet-spot where it'll hold itself open an inch or two, the old unit was hard to intentionally keep open without it being wide open.

Our laundry rooms in both of our houses are situated where I didn't stress too much about the kids getting to them I guess. I wonder if there is some sort of childproofing item available for front-loaders?

[twowhat?]

I'm not a fan of pedestals for a couple reasons: 1) I like to fold on top of the W/D and though you can still do that with the pedestals, it's higher and awkward and we also have cabinets above and so folding on top with pedestals isn't really practical at all and 2) The pedestals make a room feel tighter so if you have a narrow laundry room that's also a walkspace, consider that the pedestals will essentially take away from your elbow room

We've always kept our FL door open...if safety is a concern then I would use a baby gate to block access.

We're also on our second FL (our first one lasted 13 years!) and we currently have an LG set that has the TurboWash feature that I really love...gets a normal sized load of laundry done in just over 30 minutes and IMO it comes out just as clean.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I don't really know all your lingo. But we are buying new ones soon for our new house and were debating front vs top loader. I'd heard of the mildew issues but had no idea how AWFUL they can be until I used my in-laws' set a few weeks ago. Gag! I am 100% top loader now. It also took FOREVER. We are going for a Samsung set when we move.

eta- both my parents and ILs have no pedestals. For sure, they are low to the ground. But, no big deal. I could absolutely live without pedestals.