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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:39 am Post subject: Washing Machine Recommendations?

My Maytag washing machine bit the dust and I have to get a new one. I'm not against trying a different brand so does anyone have any suggestions?

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:50 pm Post subject:

Whatever brand you decide, I recommend a front loader. I love mine. I have had it three years and no problems.

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 2:18 pm Post subject:

I have no problems with the way my frontloader washes, but I hate the fact that I have to have the door open all the time so it doesn't get musty and mildewy.

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:00 pm Post subject:

We bought a Frigidaire front loading washer and a dryer 5+ years ago when we bought our house.
We bought the storage drawers that go underneath them too which has been nice.

Have had no problems.

As was pointed out, you do have to keep the washer door open on the front loaders so that's something to consider depending on you set-up.
Our laundry hook-ups are in the garage so it's not a problem.

I have a couple of cousins who hate their front loading washers.
One of the complaints is the noise but since ours sits on a solid concrete floor, the noise isn't a huge issue.
Though I can hear it in the living room but not the family room which is strange because the other side of the family room wall is the washer and dryer.

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:15 pm Post subject:

I got a front-loader about three years ago and I HATE IT. It's on the second floor (sadly, not the basement) and the vibrations from the "super spin" can be felt throughout the house. It "walks" -- every seven or eight loads I have to push the heavy thing back into place so it doesn't walk far enough to pull out the water connections.

And it doesn' really clean well. I got the message about using HE detergents, etc., but even when I'm so careful about loading just the right amount of detergent/bleach, I can never get my white dishtowels really really clean.

And the cycles! An hour forty-five for "whites/heavy soil" (the dishtowels). Two hours and forty-five minutes for the "Stain" cycle? I could clean them better on a rock in a stream in less time.

Front-loader? I may have gotten a lemon of a model (forget the brand name), but NEVER AGAIN.

Sebsmom

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:44 am Post subject:

Last yr our washer and dryer died at the same time. Then the Frig died so it was a busy yr for appliances.
I did a lot of research and for our needs, I decided against the front loaders. I heard a lot about mold and mildew which at the beach is a battle anyway. Plus, I heard a lot of people complain that the seals go bad in not much time. I like to soak a lot of loads so I was afraid of seals going bad.
The other concern was water usage. I went with a HE low water model that only uses 18 gallons of water as opposed to the usual 50 or so. we have septic here and living waterfront have an extremely high water table and an exceptionally small drainange field. So low water usage was important to me.
I went with an LG Top loader. I love it. It's been a wonderful hard worker for me. I do more laundry than is humanly possible it seems and so far it has kept up no matter what I ask it to do. And I do about 4 loads a day with pets. Lots of heavy items like blankets, beds, rugs etc. I also love that it has no agitator so it is just an open basket inside with stainless steel. Living with the salt air, anything not stainless rusts very fast here.
I also love the matching dryer. has a cool sweater rack and tons of cycles so I can choose which works best.
HE machines are great but the detergent is more expensive and I find I have to run a clean machine wash more often than with my other machine as they do tend to get smelly sooner. On my to do list today,lol.

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:47 pm Post subject:

I'll second what sebsmom said.

I got my mom a front loader a few years back. Again, maybe we got a lemon but - it arrived, did 11 loads and died. The repair guy came, took it apart, said he needed to order parts (that would be delivered to her house) and call when they arrived to get back on the list. I was NOT happy. I called back to Sears & complained - they delivered a new one 2 days later & took away the old one - in pieces. It worked for about 11 months & died. Still under warranty so free fix but still a pain. She then got extended warranty - and it died after about another 10-11 months. This time it was the seal. If the seal is bad the whole machine shuts down.

It also takes forever to do a load. My biggest complaint is it decides the load size. If I want to soak something in a lot of water - I should be able to do that. Also, since it weighs the load & determines water amount I sometimes end up tossing rubber balls in with a load of curtains or sheers just to up the weight enough to clean.

My husband is determined to simply keep rebuilding our old one to avoid buying a new machine. Since the new machines all choose your (warm) wash temp for you - and adjust accordingly - I don't ever want to get a new machine. I really don't want any machine thinking for me.

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 8:05 pm Post subject:

I had a Maytag set. It conked out after 5 years. Really! a Maytag? Upon getting it looked, the repair woman told me that Maytag is now made by Kenmore. If I wanted the original Maytag to get a Whirlpool basic. No bells or whistles. That is the original Maytag. Needless to say, I have not had a problem with it.
On the subject of frontloaders,...my problem is you can't open it once filled to put a forgotten item in with the rest.

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:21 am Post subject:

I had a whirlpool at our old house. When we sold the house, we left the washer and dryer in place of doing any repair work. So when we moved into the townhouse we had to get a new washer and dryer. We were a bit tight on money also. So did some looking and research before moving and ended up choosing to go with another Whirlpool top loader. Looked at the front loaders, but decided against them for several reasons. I we moved close to the coast, so battling mold and mildew is already a built in problem don't need to add to that, I prefer being able to open the lid to add stuff to the washer once it's full just in case I forgot something (which can and does happen), and there were some other things we didn't like. We ended up with a smaller washer and dryer than what we'd had before due to finances, and that can be a pain at times, but otherwise no issues with ours. Also with where our washer and dryer our in our house and the townhome we were renting we could not leave a door for a frontloader open without having major issues.

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:40 am Post subject:

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:09 am Post subject:

Thirteen year old Whirlpool, still going strong at our house. It's an apartment sized-full size drum, smaller cabinet. 4 depth settings, analogue dials(no control boards). Parts available most places if needed and with basic tools, most repairs can be done at home.

Every additional feature is one more thing to break.

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 4:30 pm Post subject:

It does seem as if the seal on the washers door may be starting to go but you actually can open the door midcycle, I do it all the time.

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 4:37 pm Post subject:

I have had Sears washer/dryer sets for over 20 years. all functioned flawlessly, except for a minor repair needed on the dryer. now, perhaps they functioned so well because they were older. I truly believe that things are created today with "planned obsolescence" in mind, even with warranties attached. I always found it strange that things worked fine till the warranty ran out.....

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:47 pm Post subject: It is what is it is

PF frends:

Hey, at least I get the laundry done. I am grateful that I have the resources to do that -- so many do not have even a home machine or the outside resources to B--ch on the subject.

I love my local laundromat ---two minutes down the street, clean clean clean, supervised. When one of my dogs
chooses to upchuck on the king-size comforter, where do you think I go?
Sebsmom

Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 12:32 pm Post subject: Re: It is what is it is

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