sewingpup

During the covid appliance panic, I decided my washer and dryer needed replacing as they were both very old and it did not seem like the washer was spinning the clothes out enough. So off I went, they had exactly 4 in stock. One had an agitator and was very small. There were actually two of the next ones they had, the basket was huge with no agitator but yep, I could reach the bottom if I stood on my toes. The last of the four was even larger and no way could I reach the bottom of that basket. I had wanted a top loader. So, I got one of the middle-sized ones which actually were actually large and an ugly grey color. Yikes who puts dark grey appliances in a laundry especially in the basement. Well, it will take any large quilt I toss in it. I have had a little bit of a problem if I put a big one without anything else with the balance, so I throw a couple of lap quilts or towels in with it too. I can choose a lot of options as to type of wash I want, and I usually chose to do a "deep" fill and a "deep rinse" on the settings. The dryer is large too and most loads dry in 35 minutes with a lot of cycles to choose from. One thing I have learned is that I have to use "timed" dry if I have a small load as it turns out the drum is large enough that the dryer moister senser thinks things are dry when they aren't.

cashs_mom

I'm in Texas, too. You're correct.

cashs_mom

My top loader has sort of an agitator. There's a post that fastens to the center of the basket, but you can wash larger things without it. I'm not really sure what the purpose is. I can wash a king sized quilt in mine with no trouble. I usually toss some smaller stuff in at the same time. It seems to keep it balanced better. I don't have a lot of really dirty clothes to wash, but if I used the heavy soil setting and a long cycle it seems to do a good job.

I love the crinkled look! I wash all my quilts before I use or gift them just so they look that way. They remind me of the quilts my grandma made me

Karamarie

I have a Maytag with an Auto Refresh cycle. It is perfect for blankets, quilts, curtains, etc. I have also washed quilts in my washing machine - it doesn't have an agitator so isn't so hard on quilts, etc.

Stitchnripper

I have one. Big tub. Fill feature. Doesn't lock on filling so I can put that stray sock in. I put my big quilts in with a color catcher and wash like anything else. Washer does fine. Then put in dryer. All seems to work fine.

NZquilter

I just washed my queen size quilt that I finished this afternoon. I put it in my basic Amana top loader with an agitator. We bought it last year from Menards for something like $500. It washed, rinsed and spun just fine. My normal LG dryer dried it perfectly and the new quilt is on our bed now, ready for it's first night of use. My quilt was about 93"×93" before washing, so I don't know if that is considered a small queen or regular queen.

Peckish

Oh good grief. I have a king size quilt with wool batting and wash it regularly in my Speed Queen with a center agitator. It does not come anywhere close to "shredding" my quilt, which is 10 years old and other than being crinkly and soft, looks as good as the day I finished it.

Yep, I LOVE my Speed Queen. I watched and listened to other quilters talk about washing machines for 2 years, biding my time. I did a lot of research and watched YouTube videos that showed the entire cycle of every washing machine I was interested in. It's amazing what people will post on YT, lol. I picked the Speed Queen because the tub will fill all the way to the top, and it has the best warranty in the industry. When my old Kenmore finally died and wasn't fixable, I jumped into action. Insisted on the SQ, despite my husband's protestations. I finally won the debate when I asked who did the laundry, me or him? If he promised HE was going to do the laundry from now on, then HE could pick the washing machine. Otherwise we were getting the SQ. He finally acquiesced, lol.

Karamarie

Those husbands, aren't they something. Gotta love em though.

Peckish

Absolutely, lol. He unquestioningly bought into the salesman's pitch about highest rated, etc. I turned to the salesman and asked "Highest rating based on what?" He replied that the ratings were based on energy efficiency, water efficiency, etc. I said "What if I don't care about efficiency? What if I want one that actually fills the tub all the way? What if I want one where the clothes actually smell clean when they're done? What if I want one big enough to handle washing a quilt?" He said "Oh well then you want a Speed Queen!" 😁😁😁

cashs_mom

Yeah, I'm not a fan of "highest rated" anything. Highest rated by who? For what? It means nothing without qualifications. The dealership that wrecked my car and then tried to say there was no diminished value was "highest rated" by GM. Mostly because they sold a lot of cars. Not because their service was actually good.