I've had both and now I have front loading for about 7 yrs now and I love it. Saves on water and the dryer is so much faster. It senses the wetness of the clothes and adjust the timing. Most of the time it is done about the same time as washer if not before. I used to have to either wait for the dryer to get done or do a couple of loads washing while waiting for dryer. I have lots of kids clothes going thru mine with little socks and even though none of them have went into the pump, ( I did have problems with them disappearing in top loader) there is an area in the the front where I check to see if they got caught in there. Its really good because with animals and pet hair and then kids socks and the other stuff they put in thier pockets, most of them get caught in this clean out area in the front and then the stuff that shouldn't be in the dryer (like crayons) usually don't make it that far. There have been lots of topics on the subject here. I will advise you if you use color catchers then pin them to a washcloth, they have been known to get into the pump and back it up. I no more than heard about it when it happened to me. I still use them when needed but do pin them so they come out when they should. Good luck for your search.