Consumer Reports: Battle Of The Washing Machines

Washing machines have dropped in price this year, some by as much as 33 percent.

There are top-loaders and front-loaders. When you're deciding on which type to buy, you need to consider how energy efficient the washer is, how much it costs, and most importantly, how well it cleans your clothes.

Consumer Reports tested more than 70 washing machines, doing eight tons of laundry in the process.

Front-loaders can take an hour, even an hour-and-a-half to run—far longer than a typical top-loader. Yet your energy bills are likely to go down with a front-loader. Front-loaders tend to leave a lot less water in your clothes. The wetter your clothes, the longer they take to dry, and that's where you really run up your utility bills!

Front-loaders do tend to cost more. They can retail for more than a $1,000. But Consumer Reports found good, less expensive ones, including the LG WM2301H for $850.

If you prefer a top-loader, Consumer Reports recommends the Whirlpool Cabrio WTW6200V. It costs $630 and did very good at cleaning.

Consumer Reports says you will see top-loaders priced under $500, but its tests show most of those don't clean very well.

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Copyright © 2006-2010 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.

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