Frigidaire GLTF1040SA Washing Machine Review

A few years ago my 11 year old washing machine started leaking (I had bought it used when I bought my home) and I was thus in the market for a new washing machine.  I live in a fairly arid state where water use is an issue (cost of water goes up based on amount used, especially in summer) as well as energy...so I was interested in going with a front-loading washing machine, since they are known to use less water than a typical top-loading machine...I shopped around, and ended up going with the Frigidaire Model GLTF1040SA front loading washing machine, after I found a good deal on it at a retailer (I also bought at the same time the "matching" Frigidaire Model GLGQ332A51 gas fired dryer which I'll review separately).

 The Frigidaire Model GLTF1040SA has controls only on the front, which allows you to stack the matching dryer if you want, using a kit to mechanically hold them together...if you don't want to stack them you can still use them side-by-side and have a nice top to fold clothes on (with no control panel protruberance to get in the way)...however, things can fall behind the washer/dryer if you're not careful, since there is no control panel at back to prevent them from falling behind the appliances.  Best to build a counter that covers the gap and use that to fold your clothes on.

 The washing machine senses how much water to use based on amount of clothes being washed.  Note there is no central agitator like a top loader would have, and although the door to the washing machine is small, you have entire capacity available and don't have the space taken by agitator to consider.  Still the capacity isn't huge, though it will do a king sized comfortable alone if needed.  You put special HE detergent (high efficiency) in a  small pull out drawer along with bleach and fabric softener if you use them, and set the cycle, push in the knob and about an hour later you will be able to get at your clothes.  Note you can add items in between but the door does lock at times, so you may have to wait, and also endure a small amount of water that might exit the door area if you open the door to add any clothes during the cycle.  Also good idea to check pockets for coins, debris, etc. before washing to avoid damage to the machine.   It has a stainless steel tub, and appears to be well made, but front loaders tend to be more pickly about debris, maybe partly because they do have a very fast spin cycle (much faster than top loaders typically have)...that helps wring water out of your clothes.  I mention this also because it will tend to reduce your use of the dryer, saving you energy there, and of course drying time (since the washing time tends to be longer than for top loader, the drying time in dryer tends to be shorter because of this effective water wringing by the fast spin cycle at the end of the wash cycle.  It seems to save water, and likewise energy to heat that water, so you are doing your part to save scarce resources compared to conventional appliance.

One thing to note is that quite a lot of packing material comes with the washer, which you'll want to keep in case you move the washer, supposedly you have to secure the drum to avoid having it get damaged...so be aware you should keep this somewhere you can get it in case you have to move the washer...This is only true for the washer, not the matching dryer.

 Other than inconvenience of having to find HE detergent, which is also more expensive than "regular" detergent, I would say the washer is conveinient to use.  One thing to be aware of is that without some sort of base or pedestal to mount the washer and dryer on, you will be bending over more to load/unload washer/dryer compared to top loader, so those with bad backs may want to think about this or try it out before buying...this not unique to this model, but all Front Load washing machines and dryers would have similar ergonomics.