[Marilyn]

I've had the Whirlpool Duet front loaders for about 3 years now, and I love them. LG makes a really good front loader, too. The newer ones have a steam cycle for freshening and wrinkle removing that sounds interesting. If I were buying again, I'd have to check those out. I love my Duet's!! I can get lots of clothes in them, and they seem to really get things clean. I have the little drawer unit things under them to get them to a nice height. I've seen people build their own platforms to accomplish the same thing.

Mold does tend to grow on the edge of the door seal, but a little cleaning once in a while takes care of it. One time I had a musty odor coming from the seal and noticed that a sock had gotten under it, and been there for a while. This only happened once and would not consider it a problem with the machines.

There are several other companies making good front loaders now, though. When we bought ours, they were the top rated units by Consumer Reports. I subscribe to CR online and use them when making major purchases.

Good luck with your decision. Getting new appliances can be financially painful, but love to shop for them and enjoy using new machines!! Enjoy and happy hunting!!