STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE MONTHS

A week after I purchased my LG washer/dryer pair, I called my salesman to tell him how crazy I was over our new machines. He had put up with too many questions, concerns and opinions culled from dozens of web sites, not to hear of my great satisfaction with my purchase.

I am now here, 8 months later, to tell you that all the users in my house find that these machines and all their functions are awesome, easy to use, and more than worth the price.

I had read of concerns of vibrations. Our laundry room is on our second floor with our bedrooms. This should, theoretically, cause more vibrations than a solid cement slab of a basement or a first level. We feel nothing. Our Maytag top-loader used to dance across the floor until it bashed into the wall. So comparatively this is a huge improvement.

Because of concerns of added vibration and height, the sales rep cautioned against purchasing the pedestal. I am not a tall woman, so with the pedestal the front-loading door is just below shoulder height. Nearly each day I experience that moment of thankfulness and joy at not having to pull up another pair of heavy, wet, gansta-sized jeans from the bottom of the washer tub. Another huge improvement to my wash day, though my chiropractor isn't as happy as I am. Definitely invest in the pedestals.

Another important concern was that with a front loader, I would be unable to open the door once the cycle commenced. Both machines have a pause button, plus the door of the washer is set high enough above the water line to allow for pausing and adding to the load, which is inevitable in my house!

I love all the higher engineering aspects. I can do any size load I need (I'm a bit anal in my separating, adding fabric type and weight to my color categories) with the knowledge that the machine will work out the details using weight and balance to determine the size load and amount of water needed. Plus we use all the bells and whistles: the stain cycle removed make-up stains that had been imbedded in our cotton wash cloths and towels for years; Rosario loves the Spanish language mode; and we don't hesitate to use the steam fresh for all sorts of items, even some items otherwise destined for the cleaners.

The machines are so quiet we can use it when our teenage son is still asleep, even though the laundry room is right next door to his bedroom. This used to be the cause of several weekend arguments when I'd try to sneak in a load before noon. Now we launder day and night with the handy delay function and the knowledge that the first noise we hear will be the gentle beep once the cycle is complete. I often use it as my alarm clock, setting the wash to complete at 6:30, prompting me to actually get out of bed to get the clothes in the dryer rather than hit the snooze button. It kind of gets my blood circulating!

I recently broke down and purchased the remote, so that I didn't have to run up and down the stairs to see if the laundry was done -- it's that quiet. Also well worth the price.

And finally, I have to mention the speed of drying the laundered clothes. Because so much of the moisture is removed, the drying time is cut in half. Which is good, because the washing time is increased substantially (doubled in some cases) from the 32 minutes I was accustomed to with my top loader. I think the shorter drying time is keeping my clothes looking new longer without the additional heat and friction of a longer dry time.

My clothes are definitely cleaner. My lingerie is all machine washed without any wear and tear (though be sure to use a lingerie bag so bra straps don't get too stretched from the additional twisting of the front-loader). My clothes look better. I'm saving hundreds of gallons of water per month and the family is actually doing more laundry because the machines are so cool.

Though I can't speak about the longevity of this equipment, I can honestly say after eight months that this is the best money I've spent for years!!!