Can Front-Load Washer Doors Be Reversed? (Find Out Now!)

Have you ever gone appliance shopping, only to find the *perfect* machine, only to notice that the door doesn’t open well for your home? This often happens with front load washers that open up in a way that hits a corner of your home. I understand that feeling, especially since I live in a smaller apartment. This leads to a common question. Can front load washer doors be reversed?

The front door of a washer cannot be altered. This includes trying to switch the way that it opens. If you try to reverse the front load washer’s doors, it will fail because of the damage it will do to the door sensors. Since the sensors are meant to be in one particular position, trying to rewire them rarely ever works.

Front-loading washers have a lot of flexibility, but not when it comes to getting their doors reversed. Before you assume you can tinker away at this issue, let’s talk about why it is a bad idea.

Front-load washer doors are specially built into the washer straight from the get-go. This includes having sensors that can tell whether or not the door is open or shut. The sensors have a very specific and sensitive layout that has to remain intact in order for them to work well. Trying to wire it the other way around puts those sensors at risk

Even if you are good at rewiring items, the truth is that a front load washer will prove to be extremely difficult to rewire. Most washers don’t have extra space where you can re-route wiring safely. Since there may not be any room for the wiring to be reworked, trying to reverse the washer doors is often a good way to break your washer.

It’s worth pointing out that you will not be able to find a door that opens up the opposite way on the market. So, the parts that you need in order to make sure that you can open your door properly probably don’t exist. Moreover, even if you do manage to reinstall it successfully, it’s still a big risk. You never know how it will react to those mods!

Most people don’t realize this, but there are industry standards that happen to codify the norms in washing machines. These standards are often done as a way to make washing machines easier for people to repair. One of the lesser-known norms in the industry deals with the way front-loading washers are made to open up.

Due to the industry standards, front load washers are all expected to open up from the left. This means that trying to find a front loading washer that opens from the right probably won’t be a successful endeavor. When finding a new washing machine, it’s crucial that you remember this little fact. It’ll help you plan ahead properly and will help prevent time spent looking for a washer that doesn’t exist.

Yes, it’s not ideal, but it’s a true-to-life option. Many brands, including GE and Maytag, have washer models that are almost identical except for the way that they open. If you want to make the most of your money, you might want to keep shopping around. You may be shocked to find out how many models have this quirk.

For example, you might have seen a front-loader that has a great set of aesthetics. Unfortunately, it opens to the left. This is going to be the case with all front-loaders. However, you might be able to find a top-loader that has the same look.

Sometimes, this is the easiest way to make your front load setup look better and also get more ergonomic. By putting your dryer near the area you wanted to put your washer, you might be able to make a larger space for the transfer of your clothes from one to another. It’s not quite a “feng shui” type of thing, but it will often get the job done.

This is a good option if you have enough space and connection ability to make this happen. However, if you are in a super-small setting, then you may not have this option available to you. This is doubly true if you don’t have much leeway in terms of plumbing.

Another option that you can consider is reversing the door on your dryer. Unlike washers, which often rely on doors to keep the clothing inside from having water leaking out, dryers don’t have as much of a requirement for water tightness. As a result, they actually have fewer restrictions on modifications.

Translation: the vast majority of front loader dryer doors are capable of being reversed.

Dryer manufacturers occasionally do make a point of creating toolkits for people who want to reverse their doors. Even when they don’t, you can usually find some tutorials on the net to show you how you can do it. At times, reversing the direction of your dryer door is all you need to do in order to get the right access to your washer that you need.

Related Questions

What is an LG EasyLoad door?

If you are tired of having to deal with a washing machine door that doesn’t load on the right, you might want to check out LG’s newest feature. The EasyLoad door is the only washing machine door that can open from both the left and right. This door is currently available on many of the mid-tier models and upper-tier models in LG’s arsenal. With hope, we will be able to see this feature spread to more names sooner rather than later.

How wide do washer doors swing open?

As you already know, washer doors all open up from the left. What you may not be aware of is how wide they swing open. Most modern washers will have an opening degree between 130 to 160 degrees. In other words, the doors do not open at a 90-degree angle in most cases. You do have a little bit of leeway to make sure that you can stuff everything in your washer door.With that said, this is not a standard, codified part of washer design. We strongly suggest that you open up the washer door in-person to make sure that it opens wide enough for your liking.

Is there such a thing as a top-loading dryer?

While they are not as common as front load dryers, there are a handful of top-loading dryers on the market. Many people tend to believe that these are pretty dangerous because of the chance of having lint fall into a portion of the dryer that cannot be reached via a filter. However, this is more a thing of the past than anything else.These dryers are totally safe today thanks to upgrades in safety. They’re just a bit rarer than the more common industry standard.