Washing Machines Reviews

We found the most thorough, credible and up-to-date washing machine reviews at Consumer Reports. Its website also has a moderated discussion board that allows subscribers to ask questions and exchange information about washing machines. Its methodical testing in several categories helps buyers to choose the best washers currently on the market. Although we also found excellent hands-on evaluations and extensive testing of washers at Australia's Choice and Britain's Which? magazines, most of the models in these two publications are not available in the U.S., so these articles are of less help to American consumers.

Good Housekeeping magazine used to be a good place to find reviews on major appliances, but we didn't find any recently written information on washing machines. However, we have found an increasingly large number of owner-written reviews for washing machines, which are extremely helpful when it comes to gauging noise level and reliability. Sears.com, BestBuy.com and HomeDepot.com are all great places to check for user reviews on a given washing machine.

In January 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy phased in tougher efficiency requirements for washing machines. New washers are required to use 21% less energy. While that seems great in concept, the end result has been dirtier laundry. Consumer Reports has the most balanced information on the effects of these requirements. For many conventional top-loading washing machines, models must now use less water and lower wash temperatures, which can affect performance. Although we found some heated debate on this topic, Consumer Reports is the only publication that backs up its opinions with product testing.

We found many websites that rate washing machines based purely on efficiency, but with no performance testing. These include the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), EnergyStar.gov and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). All of these websites have good explanations of technology and related articles despite the lack of performance testing.

Samsung SilverCare washing machines (*est. $1,200 to $1,400) use a unique cleaning technology. These models have two small silver bars that scrape together to release tiny silver particles that are supposed to help kill bacteria and sanitize clothing. Samsung says that the silver bars should last ten years, or 3,000 cycles, before needing replacement at a cost of $50 to $75. The resulting silver ions are injected during the wash cycle. Performance reviews find that the Samsung SilverCare washing machine performs very well overall and does actually keep laundered clothes smelling fresher for a longer period. Consumers rave about the SilverCare, writing that it does an excellent cleaning job and is a very quiet machine. However, there is some concern about the impact of silver on user health and the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency feels that the "silver in wastewater could harm aquatic life." Samsung is conducting its own tests to show that the silver technology has minimal risk.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

We found the best, most recent reviews dedicated to high-efficiency front-loading and top-loading washing machines. However, it's important to note that for most of these, we also found significant negative reviews from consumers regarding durability. The LG TROMM SteamWasher and LG WM0642HW washers get slightly better reviews from owners for durability and reliability. The user reviews we found for the front-loading Frigidaire Gallery GLTF2940FS aren't quite as good as those for LG, but this model is among the least expensive front-loaders on the market and it gets good ratings in professional reviews. Among top-loading HE washers, we found better reviews for the Fisher & Paykel Intuitive Eco than others.

We didn't find any reviewer that says traditional-top loading washing machines clean better than high-efficiency washers. However, owners do not seem to mind, and we found similar owner ratings for washers costing less than half the price of some fancy models. This may indicate that performance differences discovered in professional reviews may be less noticeable to owners.