August 23, 2010 - The original Anti-Vibration Pad still the best GVI was the original anti-vibration pad on the market and it took a whole year of research and development to find the right density and size of pad to solve the vibration problem of the front load washing machines. It was truly remarkable to learn from their founder the difference small changes made with regard to absorbing the vibration of these heavy washing machines. What GVI learned was the smaller, less dense solutions did not have near the same result (as you can see from the video on the home page) - yet I am always surprised when I see the new products on the market... it is obvious that there is an effort to offer a less costly solution, but as GVI learned - to lower the cost means cutting out performance. The GVI pads are thick, dense, and heavy because they need to be. This does increase the cost in both material and shipping, but it provides our customers with a solution and it feels good to have ONLY 1 in 100 of our pads returned. June 21, 2010 - Our First New Zealand Order! We have received orders in the past from Australia, but this is the first for New Zealand. I believe it qualifies as the furthest our Front Load Toad Pads have ever shipped in the world. The shipping cost was considerable, but when you have this vibration problem you need help and the GVI Pads are the only proven solution on the market thanks to their size, weight and density. May 11, 2010 - Wrinkled Clothes? We received an email from a customer who is experiencing more than usual wrinkled clothes when using her Front Load Washing Machine. We thought it might be helpful to see what she has found helps to reduce the problem. If you have experienced this problem and have a better solution - please email us at sales@frontloadtoad.com and we will share your solutions with our community as well as this customer. Don't ever fill the machine. Always leave about half the space full. January 29, 2010 - NEW Smelly Cleaner Product Coming! Smelly Washer Cleaner is coming out with a new product called Smelly Towel Cleaner. This product is made especially for use with your load of towels. It only takes 1 cap full per load of towels and that musty smell disappears and never comes back. The bottle will last a long time. We have not tested the product yet, but we have read reviews and they seem very positive. We purchased the product in bulk - and will pass the savings to your Front Load Toad customers...I am fairly certain we will have the lowest price on the web once we add the product. Until then, you can click on this link to see a review from one blogger. We expect to have the new product posted with a price within 1 week. January 6, 2010 - Size and Weight of GVI Pads We receive a lot of questions on the height and size of the GVI pads. Please find below the dimensions and weight of the pads. You will find that the GVI Pads are heavy and substantial - the density of the GVI pads is a large contributor to their success. The GVI Pads are the heaviest and most dense pad available for the purpose of removing vibration from the washing machine. Imagine placing a heavy 2000lb washing machine on a mushy anti-vibration pad...the weight of the washing machine alone removes the ability of the pad to function. Height: 1 3/8" (will raise the washer/dryer 1 1/8" due to the indentation) Pad Diameter: 3 1/2" Diameter of indentation (where the feet go) = 2" Weight of 1 Pad = 10oz
Only 2 pairs of jeans at a time and fill the rest with smaller stuff
Only dry on the low temp setting. Use permanent press cycle for everything except towels and jeans.
Remove jeans and cotton blouses when slightly damp and let air dry on a hanger
November 30, 2009 - Happy Holidays!
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Front Load Toad is now going on our second year of operation and the GVI pads are selling strong! There have been over 4000 sets of the GVI Pads sold since the beginning - and Front Load Toad itself passed the 1000 set mark many months ago. We receive emails from customers who tell us that Appliance Managers at Home Depots are recommending people purchase these pads when they buy a washing machine... the pads might be a little expensive, but believe me when I tell you that the cost is in the material...they are big, heavy and dense. You will be happy you purchase them as nothing on the market compares.
October 22, 2009 - Using a Pedestal with the GVI Pads?
We receive many email questions with regard to the use of Pedestals and the GVI Pads. The GVI Pads should be placed on the floor under the feet of the Pedestal and they are very effective against vibration. If you study the video on the home page where we test the GVI Pads is using an LG Pedestal. I hope this helps!
August 17, 2009 - We added a new product - The instaHANGER!
(Dec 1, 2009 update. We removed the instaHANGER from our page. Sales were not strong enough with this product)
Please check out our newest product the InstaHANGER. My wife has been asking me for a solution in our laundry room where she can immediately hang clothes that wrinkle when the dryer is complete. The problem we have is our laundry room is too small for a permanent clothes hanging solution - the only place for one is above the washing machine and dryer where my wife is not able to reach due to the height of the new front load washing machines. So, we at Front Load Toad found the solution and purchased the product in bulk and we are passing most of the savings to you.
The InstaHanger we are selling at Front Load Toad comes with an over the door mounting bracket and is shipped free to your home for $19.99. Google AH12 (the model number) and you will see that this is the lowest price on the web...be sure to add the shipping that other sites will charge you to get a fair comparison!
Click Here to see a Video demonstrating the InstaHanger!
July 22, 2009 - Why is there no Phone number for Front Load Toad?
(UPDATE: Dec 9, 2009. We have added a phone number! See Contacts Page.)
Although the business of selling washing machine vibration pads is brisk...it is not brisk enough for us to quit our day jobs. We have considered enlisting the help of an answering service, but we would have to pass that cost to the customer and typically the service from an answering service is not good. If you are not comfortable making a purchase via the web page - send us an email (via the Contact Form Page) and we will provide you with a phone number where we can be reached to take your order over the phone. We can typically reply immediately to your emails.
June 30, 2009 - Samsung WF328 Front Loader
We received a testimonial that I wanted to share with others - especially those who purchased the new Samsung Front Loader. Please see the email below.
Customer inquiry:
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Subject: Very happy with your GVI pads.
Hi Kevin: Thanks for the great product at a reasonable price. The 4
washer feet have solved the remaining vibes of my new Samsung WF328
front-loader. The Samsung VRT technology does quell ordinary shakes. It
senses them and slows down the spin speed. During the few seconds of
sensing shake, the 4 pads damp out 90% from reaching the floor. The
pads also allow for up to 1 inch movement, by which time the washer has
sensed that and slowed down below the bad speed point. Probably a
resonance of the good suspension. With the pads, I only have to stop
severely unbalanced loads. As Samsung notes, very small or very large
loads can vibrate the most. MJR
June 16, 2009 - Pad Dimensions
We have received many questions about the size and dimensions of the GVI Pads. When compared to Pads now on the market, I think you will find that the GVI are much more substantial in size - which is a significant element to their success in handling the vibration from the heavy front load washing machine. Please see below for actual dimensions:
Height: 1 3/8" (will raise the washer/dryer 1 1/8" due to the indentation)
Pad Diameter: 3 1/2" Diameter of indentation (where the feet go) = 2"
Weight of 1 Pad = 10oz
April 13th, 2009 - Protect Your Floors with GVI Pads
I recently had a customer call me who purchased a Front Load Washing Machine recently. Of course he was experiencing the massive vibration problem and seeked out Front Load Toad for the GVI Pads. However, in the course of the conversation I realized that this gentleman was realizing a benefit of the Pads I had not considered before. Because of the vibration of the Front Load Washing machine, his floor was becoming scarred by the feet of the washer. He had linoleum flooring and the feet of the washing machine was beginning to dig into the flooring. The large rubber footprint of the GVI Pad will be used to protect his floor. I asked this gentleman (from Canada) to send me a picture of his floor so I can post it on this web site. Once I receive the picture, I will post it below this blog entry.
The vibration problem with the Front Load Washing machines are compounded many times due to the lack of hardware (screws or nails) builders used when fastening your laundry room floor to the joists. We recently received an email from a customer who said he removed his linoleum flooring and found that the builder had used about a dozen screws in his laundry room. He fixed the problem by adding long floor screws every foot until his floor was tight and silent. He said the washing machine still caused too much vibration, but the combination of the GVI pads and a floor that is actually fastened down correctly fixed that problem. Of course, if you have tile or hardwood flooring in your laundry room, this procedure does not need completed.
Febuary 25th, 2009 - Front Load Toad is Now Accepting Credit Cards!
Due to the many requests we received - and the fact that our sales volumes now justify the additional cost. Front Load Toad is now accepting Visa, Master Card, and Amercian Express for payment. Once you select a product to order, you will be taken through a few steps in which we confirm your order, receive your invoice address and then finally payment information where you will be able to now use your Credit Card or Paypal.
Feburary 5, 2009 - Safety Issue: Front Load Washing machines.
I read yesterday that a small girl climbed into a front load washing machine and her brother started the machine. The Mother came to the girl's rescue too late and her daughter died. Follow this link to the story. I am writing about this as a warning to all who own these units and have small children. The tempatation of a child to climb into one must be very strong - and the space inside one of these machines easily accomodates a small child, especially since there is no agitator bar as there are in the top loaders. To make matters worse, the door locks as soon as the machine starts - therefore a sibling/friend who may start the washing machine could run in panic...and not be able to figure out how to stop the machine and open the door.
Please take this safety risk into consideration and teach your kids the risk and danger of climbing into this machine.
January 22, 2009 - Stackable Washer and Dryers
We receive many questions from folks who have stackable washer and dryers and are wondering if the GVI Pads will work with these units. The answer is simply - yes. The GVI Pads are very heavy duty pads with a built-in recessed area for the feet of the Washing machine. Therefore, you should have no concerns of the units walking off of these pads.
December 3rd, 2008 - Using a Drip Pan
We have had some question related to using a drip pan with the GVI pads and still reduce the Front Load Washer vibration, so I wanted to address this in the blog. We have several users who are using the pads in drip pans. The concerns have been whether the pads would fit in the drip pan - and the answer is they do because they are flush with the side of the washer. The BIG ADVANTAGE of using the GVI pads with a drip pan is that they raise the washer up so that if you purchased a shelf with a drawer - you can use the drip pan AND pull out your drawer! Some customers have had issues with the drawer hitting the edge of the pan, but the pads raise the washer enough so that this is not a problem.
November 30th, 2008 - Using Credit Cards
We have many requests from customers who wish to use Credit Cards when checking out. We are looking into adding this as an option to PayPal. However, you should be able to use a Paypal Account and have it go to your Credit Card. We do understand some people are more comfortable with Credit Cards than Paypal, so we are taking this into consideration. If you are one of these people - please send us an email and let us know.
Thanksgiving 2008 - Sub Floors?
We hope everyone had a great Holiday break from work and school! Front Load Toad was active over the weekend - many people picked up the GVI Vibration pads over the break. We had one question come in from a customer who had his front load machines stored in a cabinet with a sub-floor. He asked how the GVI pads worked in this situation. I have not heard from anyone who has tried using them in a cabinet and could not provide an answer. If there are any Front Load Toad customers who have this configuration, please send us an email and let us know your experience and we will post the info in this blog. The alternative is to remove the sub floor of the cabinet and place the waching machine directly on the floor. This would be a lot of work and hopefully is not necessary.
November 12, 2008 - Hardwood Floors in the Laundry Room?
Today, we had a customer send us an email and ask how the GVI pads would do on hardwood floors. This question came from the Husband who made sure we understood that he was not in favor of putting hardwood floors in their laundry room - for obvioius reasons. However, his wife won this debate and they have hardwood floors. With that said, he was wondering how the GVI pads perform.
The answer to his question is opposite of what you might think. The smoothness of the finished hardwoods actually adheres to the hard rubber of the GVI pads and prevent movement while reducing the Front Load Washer vibration. As strange as it sounds, we have many customers with hardwood floors - despite the risk of water damage. These customers have reported great results and are very happy with the GVI Pads.
History of Washing Clothes (short version)
The act of washing clothing has been going on since the beginning of civilization, we know this through our study of ancient civilizations thousands of years ago. However, in those days they didn't have the luxury of electricity and would utilize the rushing water in rivers and creeks to rub and pound their clothes on. Then they would place them in the dryer and set permanent press...err wait, I mean they would place them on hot rocks in the sun.
Later, wash boards were invented to take the place of rocks and soap was introduced as well as frangrance. The Romans used Fullers (or walkers) to walk on the clothes, stretch them, and pound them. Also, mentioned on the home page - they would bleach the whites using a bucket of urine and stomping on them. Urine was valuable to the Romans, it was even a taxed commodity!
Prior to the invention and adoption of electricty, a gasoline engine would be used to agitate the agitator...but finally, somewhere near the 1930s we received electricity and the invention of the first electric washing machine.
