[23 of 23 customers found this review helpful]

LG 3.6 cu. ft. Super Capacity, 5-Program Front Load Washer (Model #WM2016CW) Review

Consider your floor before buying a front loader.

"First, it's worth noting that to get the most out of this or any front loading washer, it needs to installed on a very solid floor. I live in an apartment. The building is very old and the laundry room in my apartment has soft linoleum on top of a very old, creaky wood floor. No matter how close to perfectly level the washer is, if your floor vibrates as easily as mine does, you won't be able to use the super fast spin speeds this washer is capable of. It's nice to have five different spin options, but I can't use the speeds above medium on my floor. Medium speed on this washer, however, still spins plenty of water out of my laundry (at least as much as my old washer did). The clothes do not come out soaking wet, but I don't benefit from the reduction in drying time that the faster spin speeds achieve. This is certainly not a problem with the washer, but is definitely something to consider for anyone who may have weaker floors.



Another problem I ran into was with the water supply hoses. USE THE WATER SUPPLY HOSES THAT COME WITH THE WASHER. The laundry room in my apartment is awkwardly laid out, and the water hookups are pretty far away from where the washer should go. I purchased a new pair of supply hoses at Lowe's that were about a foot longer than the hoses supplied with the washer, allowing me to place the washer where it's designed to fit in my laundry room (The supplied hoses were about six inches too short for my hookup location.). I don't know if the hoses that come with the washer have a higher pressure rating or what, but I had my aftermarket hot water hose rupture right behind where it attaches to the washer (I will try to include a picture of the ruptured hose). When this washer fills, it fills in a series of very short, quick bursts. If you feel the hose right behind where it connects to the washer, you can feel a surge in the hose each time it does this. My water temperature and pressure are set well within the limits in the owner's manual. Maybe the hose I purchased at Lowe's was defective, but I have since switced to the hose supplied with the washer. I had to relocate the position of my washer by about a foot, but I have not had a problem with the hose since switching to the one supplied. This, again, is not a problem related to the washer itself. I'm just sharing this experience for anyone considering using different hoses. When it comes time for me to replace the hoses, I will definitely look for ones that appear to match the supplied hoses more closely (quality, length, material makeup, etc.)



The only problem I had which can be directly related to the washer itself, was with the lock nuts used for leveling. They are made of plastic. Since I have the issue of a vibrating floor, I made sure once I had the washer level, that I really tightened up those lock nuts. Well, I stripped the threads out of one while turning it with my hand. It actually stripped quite easily. I did not use any sort of a wrench or other tool to tighten the lock nuts. I ended up buying some M10x1.25 hex nuts to place between the feet and the plastic lock nuts. The plastic lock nuts are still there, and are still making the contact with the washer itself, with the metal hex nuts snugged up underneath them. The adjustable feet are now definitely locked in place, and I don't have to rely on just the plastic threads of the supplied lock nuts.



Now...for the actual review. I really am quite happy with the performance of this washer. For the price, you couldn't ask for more options. 5 regular wash cycles, 5 different temperature settings, 5 different soil levels to pick from... Plus, the option of a pre-wash cycle, quick cycle, tub clean, etc. There is also a second rinse option, and an option to add extra water. It also has a countdown timer on display from the beginning of the wash until the end of the spin. It also has a pause button you can press at any time to change settings in the middle of a cycle. These features are definitely more than enough for me. Some of the features of more expensive washers (steam cleaning, etc.), aren't features I think I'll ever be interested in. For the price, the number of customizable features on this washer is excellent. Some features of this washer that I don't rely on, are the beeper, and the child lock. The beeper has 3 settings; off, low, and high. If I'm close by, I can hear it, but if I'm more than one room away and have the dryer running also, I don't notice it when it goes off.



About the Child Lock... I have two toddlers, and while I don't plan on them really spending much time around the washer, I still set the child lock. When I first got the washer, naturally they were interested in what I was doing, and found the front loader to be way more "interesting" than the top loader...and the buttons are right on the front and very reachable for a toddler. To test the child lock, I set it, and tried to change some settings. It worked great. When the "CL" is displayed, indicating that the child lock is engaged, you can't change the settings on the washer. So... While I was watching my son stare at the new washer as it was doing its first load of laundry, I didn't think much of it when he started pressing buttons. I actually thought it was a good, real-life test of the child lock and I was quite pleased with it...until he pressed the power button. The power button is not protected by the child lock. He pushed it, and right in the middle of a rinse cycle, it shut down completely. He then turned it right back on with another push of the putton. I had hoped it would resume, but it didn't. It just sits there waiting for you to start it all over again. Of course, I was able to set it to do just a rinse/spin cycle... but it definitely won't pick up where it left off if your child happens to turn it off. :-) It€™s also worth mentioning that if it is shut off with the child lock engaged, and turned back on, the child lock is no longer engaged when it comes back on. The door unlocks, and all features are unlocked for your child to access. So... I consider the child lock to be pretty useless.



About detergent.... I read some reviews before purchasing this washer, where some people said they don't bother using the High Effeciency detergent. When I went to buy detergent, I didn't notice any difference in the price per load between the regular detergent and the HE detergent, so I bought the HE. My reason for writing this section, is for anyone who plans to use the prewash option on this washer, you will need powdered detergent for the main wash cycle. I know some washers will allow for the use of liquid detergents for all cycles, but this one doesn't do anything to keep liquid detergents from running immediately into the wash tub. Water flushes through each compartment at the appropriate time in the cycle, but if you don't use powdered detergent in the main compartment (which doesn't flow immediately, but rather, sits there and waits for the water to flush it in), when it comes time for the main wash cycle, there won't be any detergent there. It will have run in at the same time as the prewash detergent. Of course, when you don't use the prewash option, liquid detergent iis perfectly fine, since it's going to end up in the wash tub immediately anyway. I don't use the prewash cycle regularly, but if you plan to use it at all, make sure you have some powdered HE detergent on hand also.



Thanks for reading my review. I hope some of the information was helpful."