The LG WM4200HWA (available at Best Buy for $1,349.99) front-load washing machine looks great on paper. It has an attractive design, decent cleaning performance, effective spin cycles, and comes with steam features for wrinkle removal and sanitization. Its flaws are relatively minor. We didn’t like its digital dial, which isn’t particularly responsive and makes selecting a cycle more difficult than it should be. The washer is slightly more harsh on clothes than average, although this is splitting hairs. Our real gripe is its price: If this washer cost $800, we would whole-heartedly recommend it as a great mid-range front-loader. Unfortunately, its current price tag is over $1,200, meaning it’s competing with the best washers we've tested—and it doesn’t have the impressive test results necessary to do that successfully. If you can pick this one up for a deep discount, do it!
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About the LG WM4200HWA front-load washing machine
What we don’t like
Should you buy the LG WM4200HWA front-load washing machine?
More wear and tear on gentle cycle than is typical
The LG WM4200HWA won’t be unfamiliar if you’ve used another LG washer. Front and center on its console is its large cycle selection dial. To its left, the dispenser drawer has two detergent compartments, one for bleach and one for fabric softener. To the right of the dial is the touchpad, where you can customize your cycle settings.
Opening up the washer’s main door reveals a 5-cubic-foot stainless steel drum, which has squat paddles for agitation.
The dispenser drawer has two compartments for detergent, one for bleach, and one for fabric softener.
Dimensions: 39” x 27" x 33.25" (H x W x D) Capacity: 5 cubic feet Finishes: White, black steel ($100 extra) Cycles: Normal, Heavy Duty, Bedding, Bright Whites, Sanitary, Allergiene, Tub Clean, Delicates, Perm Press, Towels, Sportswear, Speed Wash, Drain + Spin, Downloaded Cycle options: Steam, Turbo Wash, Pre-wash, Cold Wash, Delay Wash, Extra Rinse, signal on/off, 5 temperature levels, 5 spin intensities, 5 soilage levels Dispenser: 4-way dispenser that can accommodate two rounds of detergent, plus bleach and fabric softener Matching dryer: LG DLEX4200B User manual: LG WM4200HWA washing machine manual
The LG WM4200HWA has a 5-cubic-foot drum, which should be enough room to handle a small family’s laundry needs.
We don’t have any problems with the WM4200HWA’s cleaning performance. While the results aren’t anything to pin up on your fridge, it also means you won’t get a poor quality clean.
Its Normal cycle is able to remove 1.48% more stains than average, its Heavy Duty cycle cleans an additional 4.15% of stains, and its Delicates cycle cleans 3.43% better than average. The Normal cycle also finishes in an impressive 34 minutes, significantly faster than the average time of 53 minutes.
The one cycle that falls slightly below average is Speed Wash, which is able to clean 1.64% fewer stains than average. However, this cycle also takes about half as much time as the average quick cycle: 16 minutes compared to 31 minutes.
After a wash cycle is complete, we weigh the cleaned laundry to see how much water has been retained through the machine’s spin cycle. This is key, because it takes your dryer significantly more energy to remove water than it does to spin it out.
On its Normal, Heavy Duty, and Speed Wash cycles, the WM4200HWA is able to spin out more water than its competitors. Its normal cycle is still more or less within the scope of average, but will get out 1.31% more water. Its Heavy Duty and Speed Wash cycles are much better than average, and are able to remove an additional 10.85% and 10.77% of its laundry’s water weight respectively.
The cycle-selection dial is digital, and feels a bit laggy and cumbersome to use.
The LG WM4200HWA has a few extra features based on steam that provide some great functionality. Enabling the steam feature can help remove wrinkles—it’s like ironing, but without any of the work on your behalf. The Allergiene cycle also leverages steam, this time for its heat, and can help you sanitize your laundry. This feature could be a boon for newer parents, or those who suffer from allergies: LG claims this cycle can remove over 95% of pet dander and dust.
Eco-conscious consumers (as well as those trying to shave down their budgets) can rest assured that the WM4200HWA uses less water and energy compared to the rest of the field.
The average washer uses about $0.15 per wash, or about $57.29 per year when you account for the cost of both water and electricity. The WM4200HWA only costs $0.09 per wash, or about $37.47 per year (44.49 kwH and 4690 gallons of water per year).
While an extra $20 in your pocket isn’t the biggest windfall, the savings (and unspent resources) add up over the course of the lifetime of the machine.
The cycle-selection dial is digital, and feels a bit laggy and cumbersome to use.
We do not like how the WM4200HWA’s controls feel to use. The cycle-selection dial is digital, and scrolling through cycles feels slow and unresponsive. When the machine clicks on, it automatically selects Speed Wash as the default setting, even if that’s not the cycle you used previously. The Normal cycle is five clicks away, so if that’s your preference you’ll need to dial it up each time.
This issue isn’t a deal-breaker, but small things like this can affect how the machine feels to use and nobody wants to make their laundry even more of a chore.
In our lab, we measure how rough or gentle washers are with mechanical action strips. These swatches of fabric have a hole punched out of their center, which allows harsher cycles to pull individual threads free. By counting how many of these threads are pulled away from the main piece of fabric, we can get an idea of how much wear and tear the washer is putting on your clothes.
The average washer will pull about 51 threads free on a normal cycle and 30 threads free on a delicate cycle. The WM4200HWA’s Normal cycle pulled 57 threads free and its Delicates cycle pulled 41 threads free. These numbers aren’t significantly higher than the average amount, but they are high enough to cause wear and tear faster over time. In general, if you don’t wash a ton of delicates, you won’t notice a problem here.
Owners generally love their WM4200HWA, awarding it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars across major retailers. Those who love the machine cite its quick and quiet cleaning cycles more than any other factor. Complaints about the WM4200HWA mostly cite the controls as the top complaint.
The industry-standard warranty for appliances is one year for parts and labor. On top of this, LG offers a three-year warranty on drum parts, and a 10-year warranty on the motor.
We like seeing extended warranties on the important parts of an appliance, as it can help consumers feel comfortable that they’re making a solid investment in the product—especially for a product as pricey as the WM4200HWA
The LG WM4200HWA is a solidly above-average washer with a lot to like. Its cleaning cycles put up some solid numbers, though they don’t blow us away. Its spin cycles beat out its competition when it comes to getting water out, and we also like its steam and Allergiene cycles for the additional functionality they provide. While it does have its flaws—the cycles were slightly less gentle than average, and we don’t like how unresponsive its touchpad can be—these issues are relatively minor in the face of the positives.
The real issue here is the WM4200HWA’s high ticket price, when compared to other washers on the market. It can’t stand up to the best of the best in its price class, which offer significantly higher cleaning performance and most of the same features.
If you have the budget for the WM4200HWA, but want a better performer, you can get the excellent Electrolux EFLS627UTT, which has significantly higher cleaning power and also offers steam features. It’s currently our highest-rated washer.
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Mark Brezinski is a senior writer with over ten years of experience reviewing consumer tech and home appliances.
Beckett Dubay is a product tester at Reviewed and a magnet for corner cases. Working as a lighting designer for several years has left him with strong opinions about overhead lighting. Beckett just wishes it was always fall.
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