Why My Front Loader is the DEVIL...

At first I was thrilled to get a front load washing and dryer. Think of the space! Think of the money I'll save! Think of all the good I'll be doing for the environment! HA.

Sure, the front loader is great for saving space. It's great for saving money on water usage and hydro, it's great that it uses less energy and water, and therefore helps reduce my carbon footprint. It is also a great pain in the azz.

The following are the reasons my front loader is the devil's plaything.

5) The size. Sure, it saves space, but the barrel is too small! I have to take my heavy duty washes to my mother's house. I can't fit the dog's bed in there! I can barely fit all of my bedding in there! The duvet MIGHT fit, but I've always washed it at my mom's. Troy's winter coat is a load in it's own!
Now, I know you can buy front loader with a larger drum, but it's not the same. They just don't soak your stuff the way a traditional washing machine does.

4) Heavy Duty Cycle my arse. Do you know the difference between the heavy duty and the delicate cycle on a front load washer? Me neither. Water usage? The speed at which clothes are gently tossed in the bare minimum amount of water to clean them? I think it's all a ploy on behalf of the washing machine companies to get us to buy two washing machines. A front loader for regular, or delicates, and a normal one for everything else. Clothes need a better beating to get clean!

3) Washing cloth diapers is a pain. They need more water and a better beating than any front loader could possibly provide. I hate it. My diapers never smell as clean as they did after a wash in my mom's washing machine. My diapers just lounge around, gently dancing in my machine, with barely enough water to penetrate. They need the heavy duty, full barrel of water, bashing around that my mother's machine gives them. Man I miss that.

2) Washing vomit. Miss S has been throwing up since around 2am. I have done A LOT of laundry in the past 16 hours or so. OK, score one for the front loader, because it didn't drain the well. HOWEVER, I can still smell the vomit in the "clean" clothes. Like the cloth diapers, vomit filled clothes need a super soak and a heavy duty beating. I washed on heavy duty on the largest load I could with as much soap as I could...they still stink. Gross.
It's not just vomit either. Mud, heavily soiled clothes (poop, food, dirt), none of it comes out as nicely, easily, or quickly. I have made good use of my laundry sink, that's for sure. I am forever soaking clothes in there before washing them. Pain.In.My.Azz.

1) The stupid rubber lip thing. This is the number one reason I hate my front loader. If my husband "forgets" to shake out the poops before throwing diapers in the wash, if a stray piece of food (or vomit) is left attached to clothes/bib, it ends up the rubber thing. GROSS. DISGUSTING. VOMIT INDUCING. Plus it STINKS if you leave the washer door closed. Which means it is open, and an apparently perfect spot for Miss S to put things or climb in.

So there you have it. Now, the worst part of all of this is that I designed my laundry room around the front loaders, so they are here to stay. HOWEVER, I am in the market for new ones, just a washer would do, one that has more cycle...maybe I could trick it into adding more water or a soak, because my current regime of standing at the washer and pouring extra water in the detergent slot is getting old.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I am off. I am praying that Miss S got the bug out of her system and gets a full night's sleep because I am teaching kindergarten tomorrow and going on a date night. A night with NO CHILDREN. Oh my GOD, I can't wait.