OT -Looking to buy new washer and dryer

[Luke]

We're looking to buy a pair of new machines and have been looking at the new front loading washers. There seems to be a lot of new technology and redesign compared with our old machine.

My wife bought the consumer report for these machines, but I'd like some feedback from users. Anyone out there buy a new set in the last year or so? What should be considered/ avoided?

It seems that these new washers are quite efficient at spinning the water out of the clothes. I was thinking of converting from an electric dryer to gas, but because of this efficiency may not need to do this. The new washers have a cycle time of ~80 minutes and dryers run for ~30 minutes and have a moisture sensor over the thermostat.

As a maintenance guy, I have to ask how long are these machines going to last. Will I see a 10+ years of use out of these? I have read of numerous troubles with Maytag’s Neptune line and am not interested in an investment plagued with leaks and electrical troubles.

Of the units I looked at last night I thought the Bosch units looked well made –the doors “chuncked” shut and the controls looked like they might last more than a year.

As we were walking through the store last night I had to wonder why now one had come out with an "all-in-one" machine. I did a bit of browsing this morning and see that there are a few of them out there.
http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php/All+In+One+Combo+Units/N~290
Anyone own one? Or even heard of these things?

I suspect that this will easily cost us $2500 by the time we are done. Any advice or donations are certainly appreciated.

Luke

 

[John Michael]

We still have the old style but I wonder how they justify the 2X or 3X price difference between the top loading old style and the front loading new style. I used a front loader washer in England several years ago and it was excruciatingly slow.
With all the mergers in the industry I wonder how much difference there really is between brands?

 

[JRouche]

We bought a new front loading Frigidaire when we moved into this house eight years ago. Never had any maintenance issues. Dunno about water savings because I could not compare it to anything. It sounds like a jet turbine when spinning the clothes dry, and I mean dry. The soap consumption is very low which is cool cause the price of good detergent is high. We use regular Tide liquid, no special front loading soap. We have a water softener so that also helps with low detergent use.

Now, I dont actually do the laundry so as for easy of use you would have to consult with another. JRouche

Oh yeah, the dryer? A Sears Kenmore, the work horse of residential dryers....

http://www.frigidaire.com/products/laundry_affinity.asp

 

[Toolznthings]

Hello,
Talked my wife into a Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer front loader and we haven't looked back.
Just the two of us and we saw a decrease in our water bill alone. Handles quilts and blankets good ,too.
Yikes ! A machinist off course on a washer and dryer !

 

[Jim McIntyre]

When our old washer died, I stopped by a local laundromat/commercial laundry supply business and talked to them. They sold me a pull-out Speed Queen Supermate. It's a front-loading commercial washing machine, commonly seen in laundromats. About the same size as a home unit, but much more nicely built, stainless in and out. No computers. No trouble in 10 years.

The only down side (for some people) is that it needs to be bolted to a cement foundation. Well that, and having to put in 3 quarters to do a load But hey, every few years, I clean out the money bin and buy my wife something nice!

 

[SND]

Just before Christmas we bought a new washer and dryer, stackable Maytag. It's the smaller model, MAH2400, probably is the Neptune series. They're still working fine. Sure it isn't the highest of quality but it seemed fine for the 2 of us. We plan to move in a couple years and they'll most likely stay here anyway. Being that they're apparently all meant to fail within 10 years, we couldn't justify paying 3X the price for a large model from something like LG. These horizontal machines definitely take longer to wash the clothes compared to the old vertical machines. The clothes don't seem any cleaner or dirtier, but it does take less water than the older machines. It sure has quite the spin cycle, and if the load is too far off balance the machine stops, goes backward a bit to mix things up and tries again. (thats what it looks like anyway)

If you are willing to put the $ and you want the best, Miele is supposed to be the best there is. I looked at them and they seem well built. Probably what I'd want in the next house.
www.miele.com

 

[winchman]

We like the Fisher-Paykel set we bought in 2004. Trouble-free, quiet, easy to use, and they do a good job.

www.fisherpaykel.com

Roger

 

[Ox]

I have never seen one run - and they are prolly like the big ones in laundromats (?) but it sure seems that sealing the door would be a liability - but one thing that really has had me scratching my head - is how doo they git them suckers to balance the spin cycle?

The verticals are bad enough! How would you git something that is in a tumble setup to even out?

We have had our HD series Kenmores since very soon after we were married and I fealt that if they lasted 10 yrs we did alright. These units are prolly a good 15 yrs or so old now! There are four of us and I run all my werk clothes through them too. Grease and all. (Wifey ends up wiping out the basket before puting her stuff in tho.)

Fingering on eventually having two worshers just fer that purpose.

Those front loads are an interesting subject - but I aint $old yet...

Chumms wifey's worsher died a number of yrs ago and there are a lot of kids there. So she bought [what she referrs to as] "The Mother of all Worshers" and was a front load. NOW she could doo worsh! ..... but the poor reg sized and old dryer couldn't even think aboot keeping up with that mother - so they had to go back out and git "The mother of all Dryers". LOL!

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Peter Neill]

I'm going to sound terribly over-domesticated now, and probably never live this down, but...

Luke, we've been using front loaders as the machine of choice over here (UK) for more than 30 years now.
As a matter of fact you'd probably be hard pressed to find a top loader in many homes over here these days, perhaps for a few reasons.

The front loaders are not so hard on clothes as a top loader as they have no agitator in the middle of the drum, and you get programs that are gentle on delicate woolens and silks.
This tends to keep the wife a happier woman - no wrecked fine lacey stuff and fewer hand washes.

In our house we've used washer dryers for years and wouldn't be without one. Throw the clothes in, program a wash and dry cycle, then just take them straight out and wear them.
About 2 years ago we replaced our 19-year old Hotpoint (brand) washer dryer, there was nothing wrong with it, but the wife just wanted a newer one.

The newer ones use electronic program controls with much more variables available for temp, spin speed and so on, so pretty much anything goes in there without coming out damaged.

One of the things to look for is a fast spin speed. Ours runs at 1600 rpm and the clothes come out practically dry just from that.
The downside of a washer dryer is that the maximum load can often be a couple of pounds less than a just a normal washer, but this is not a big problem for us.

Peter

 

[portlandRon]

Don't buy Maytag, they are not the will built machine they use to be.

 

[Peter Neill]

I have never seen one run - and they are prolly like the big ones in laundromats (?) but it sure seems that sealing the door would be a liability - but one thing that really has had me scratching my head - is how doo they git them suckers to balance the spin cycle?

Ox, there's a big lump of concrete in there attached to the drum with springs to damp and balance the spin.
I'm not kidding.

Peter

 

[Jackmo]

Don't but a Sears one!!!!

We bought one 2 years ago the door leaks and it dance's around like it had ants in its pants. I have leveled it at least 4 times and it is on a soild floor. It is a real P.O.S. We bought the washer dryer made to sit one on top of the other, I had to seperate them because it shook so much.

Jackmo

 

[appliedproto]

I was impressed with the shear large size of my sister's LG front loaded models. I myself am still at a laundromat, but I think that her LG's were around $800/ea. (?) She's had them a couple years now, and I haven't heard any complaints. I know my mother has/had problems with her front-loaded Maytag and mold...gotta leave the door open or something.

 

[adama]

over here basic good every day front loaders are about £200 upwards, front loader driers £100 up. uk has been front loader dominated for at least the last 20+ years.

the door does not seal to a rotating drum, think of a outer drum that holds the heater, water and seals to the door. a inner drum holds the clothes and rotates. the door seal is a sort of rubber consatena thing, they do age and fail but are normaly good for around 5+ years, best if u dont keep the door shut when not in use, like that they dont stretch and last a lot longer! water level never normally gets much higher than just above - level with bottom of door so they only use a little water, hence are more efficant to heat - lower h2o consumption as well as lower powder use. a lot of the more efficant ones no longer even connect to the hot water pipe, as they dont use anough for the hot to make it to the machine! they just use electric to heat the couple of gallons they hold.

 

[aboard_epsilon]

The European machines are cheap compared to yours ..
but our machines have a lifespan of only 7 years ..

So they are cheap ...but when they wear out ..you just replace with the latest model with all the latest gadgets and gizmo's and energy saving whatnots.

They also have built in heaters ...I hear, the heaters on yours are separate units that you have to buy separate .

Lots of the euro machines react to water temperature input ...increasing the length of the prog or decreasing it.

The combination machines ...that's combined washer dryers are big trouble and break down frequently ..but extended warranties are sold with them to cope with this.

If you go euro machine, I recommend separate washer and dryer.

My dryer is a condensing one and collects the water in a container underneath of it ...this means no hose outside to chuck away heat and moisture ...
I dry my clothes in the evening ...then the waste heat can be used to heat the house ,so saving energy.

Most or all euro machines are Italian designed or have Italian internals.

Hence the low lifespan, as that is the Italian way of thinking.
chuck away society.!!!

all the best.mark

 

[Owen McGee]

About 20 Yrs ago, we bought our first washer & dryer - used. I had dragged my feet for 15 years because I didn't think our well (sulfur water) would be able to keep up. Finally, my wife talked me into buying a used Whirlpool set. Much to my surprise, the well did a fantastic job. After 20 years the washer died this winter. Because we are poor again at the moment, the wife found us a used one. Like the one that died, it is a Whirlpool. With luck, It'll go 20 years, and die the same day as the dryer!!! Moral of the story...uhhh...well...maybe there ain't one!!!

OMcG

 

[dharnell]

Hi,

Still using an older Maytag washer but have been looking at the washers made by the Staber Company. Looks like an interesting design that would be easy to repair.

Dave

http://www.staber.com/

 

[dennh]

Just bought my wife a Bosch convection gas range, she loves it and I like it. Top notch quality.

The next washer and drier will probably be Bosch, LG or possibly some other Euro import (will check these carefully after Marks Euro comments

).

We currently have GE Profile series washer and dryer . Controls on both are about the sloppiest I've ever seen. Transmission failed on the washer shortly out of warranty. Talked GE into giving me a replacement at cost ... about half the normal selling price. Failure was caused by a "made in China" sealed ball bearing at the top of the trans.

Ticks me off when a POS, $0.50 bearing takes down an expensive machine.

 

[Sea Farmer]

Just about everyone I know here chooses front-loaders when they replace their old washers, because the reduced water use easier on septic systems, and nobody wants to replace a septic system in our wetlands-ridden area.

Everybody likes them. Mine is a GE and cleans very well, although the quality of the machine itself is poor and after one unhappy experience with a local repair shop I've learned that it's definitely not worth repairing. The most satisfied friends have either Maytags or Mieles.

You don't need to use expensive "high-efficiency" detergent. Just use half, or even less, of the suggested amount of regular detergent. Mine requires liquid detergent.

A high spin cycle really shortens drying time and lets you dry almost everything at the lowest heat setting. Easier on clothes and electric bill.

The concrete weights make installation an exercise. The floor under them should be sturdy or they will "walk" during the spin cycle.

 

[gmatov]

Whirlpool bought Maytag, so Maytag SHOULD be as good as a Whirlpool.

Also make most of Sears washers. I think Maytag bought Jennaire, so Whirlpool also owns them.

Since the frontloaders cost so much more than top loaders, wonder how long the payback would be on the lower water consumption, greater electric consumption (double the run time ) lower energy consumption of the dryer, from spin drying so much better.

I'll stick with my cheap top loader. Mine's down in the basement, not out where it has to make a fashion statement.

Funny, too, that they are about the same dimension, so awkward to load the washer and unload. No matter, we have this convenient matching pedestal to bring it up to height. So, do you nail the pedestal to the floor, bolt the washer to the pedestal?

Cheers,

George