I have a front loader and I do like it. If I want to add clothes to it once it has started all I have to do is push the stop button. The only thing I don't like about mine is that I don't have a glass front, so I can't see the clothes washing and I don't like that. I do see the savings in the water use and clothes do come out cleaner.
I use to have a top loading machine. Now giving you what I was told. My top loader used 32 gallons of water per wash. My front loader even on the largest load only uses 16...and it washes great. I do not over load my machine..and I use a good detergent. I also wash in cold for most things...and I am saving water and that makes me feel like I am helping out my country by doing my part.
You don't open the door on them once they are in use. Water will run all over. Anyone with common sense knows that. I think front loader washers get your clothes a lot cleaner then the top loaders do. Just don't pack the machine tight with clothes. And read the manual before you start.
We switched from a top loader to a front loader because our city not only recommended it to conserve water, but also offered us a cash rebate to influence our decision. Our front loader works great and our water bill has decreased noticeably. Our model has a feature that will allow you to open the door and add clothing during the first few minutes of the wash cycle. After those few minutes, the door locks automatically so you can't open it until the wash cycle is finished and the water drained out. So don't worry about getting wet. Plus the water does not completely fill out the entire drum area like it does in a top loader. Because of the less amount of water being used, regular brand name detergent manufacturers claim that their regular detergents would create too much suds that could interfere with sensing wash cycles in a front loader. So some detergent manufacturers also make a low-suds version of their brand name detergent marked with HE on the container for front load washers. HE stands for High Efficiency. Unfortunately they are also more expensive than the regular detergents. And sometimes it is hard to find the HE detergents in stores. So we switched back to using the regular and cheaper detergent and the cleaning action is surprisingly still just as good.
~~I love mine. I have a Kenmore Elite. My clothes come out so clean, love saving the water, and it has every washing cycle you can think of. It has been an awesome washer. I would never go back to a top loader.~~
