LG WM3700HWA Front-Loading Washer Review

If you're doing laundry for the whole family, the LG WM3700HWA could delight you with its ease of use, roomy tub, and numerous cycles available to deal with different types of dirty clothes.

About the LG WM3700HWA front-load washer

Capacity: 4.5 cu. ft. Dimensions: 27" x 39" x 30.25" (W x H x D) Cycles: Normal, Heavy Duty, Bedding, Sanitary, Allergiene, Bright Whites, Permanent Press, Delicates, Towels, Speed Wash, Tub Clean, and a specialty cycle you can download

What we like

This washer is loaded with sought-after features:

• Simplicity and ease of use, with a rotary dial, smooth-sliding detergent drawer, and a door you can open with one hand.
• The spacious 4.5-cubic-foot stainless steel tub that has room to wash more of your family’s clothes in fewer loads.
• An ingenious door stopper, which props the door open between cycles to let the interior and gasket dry out, reducing the chance for mold to take hold.
• LG’s 6Motion technology has six different washing actions that the brand claims does a better job removing dirt. Where most front-load washers tumble back and forth, this model's movements include scrubbing in figure-eight and heart-shaped patterns, and rolling laundry below the water to make more contact with the tub.
• The steamy Allergiene cycle that destroys pet dander and dust mites.
• Speed Wash, which gets the laundry clean in 18 minutes.
• The Add Garments button, so you can pause the load, open the door, toss in that last sock, and resume the cycle. If you press the button, don't add another garment, and shut the door, the washer will add more water to the tub, which might please some users.
• The TubClean cycle that uses high heat (149°F) to sterilize the tub.
• The LG SmartThinQ app that lets you select a cycle, and start or stop the laundry, all from your smartphone.
• Pedestal compatibility with LG’s TwinWash pedestal, which includes a tiny, separate washer with room to wash a couple of garments at the same time the main washer is running.

What we don’t like

Not to get too fussy, but no washer is perfect. Here are a couple of issues that we saw in our testing:

• High water retention on the Delicates cycle: When a washer leaves a lot of moisture in your clothes, your dryer has to pick up the slack. The WM3700HWA can be gentle on fragile clothing, but it left the laundry we washed on the Delicates cycle waterlogged, retaining 79.6% of the moisture in the clothes. The Normal and Speed Wash cycles did fine, leaving 50% of the water, and the Heavy cycle delighted us, spinning out all but 37% of the water.
• A hard-to-read control panel: Every feature you might want could be available on the panel, but without being backlit, what you can’t see, you won’t use.

Warranty

LG offers a one-year overall warranty on parts and labor, a three-year warranty on drum parts, and a 10-year warranty on the motor.

What users say

Owners have awarded the WM3700HWA an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars across a number of retail sites. Users praised the large drum, which allows them to wash lots of clothes in each load. The main complaint from users was the same as ours, that the control panel is hard to read.

Should you buy it?

Yes

A front-load washer is your best bet for cleaning power, stain removal, and efficiency. Like many LG washers we’ve tested, this one is a stellar performer and is reasonably priced for everything it brings to the laundry room. The WM3700HWA is easy to use, zaps stains, and gives you options to personalize the way you wash each load. It’s up to you—adjust the temperature, soil level, and spin speed, or just dial up a cycle and let the washer do its thing. There's a reason it's one of the best front-load washers we've tested.