Posted on 11/01/2014 7:56:22 AM PDT by A Cyrenian
We have a Maytag Bravos washer and I hate it.
It takes to long to wash a load, no matter what the size of the load.
The lid locks and you can't open it until an undetermined time period expires (seems to take forever).
While doing a load of laundry, the machine just sits there and doesn't do anything. A complete waste of time.
What type of washer do you have and do you like it? Would you recommend it?
On top of all that, most washers nowadays no longer fill with water. They just spit water at the clothes. Many no longer have agitators. I have no idea how you can wash clothes in a washer without an agitator. The clothes don't come out clean and they don't rinse properly
I bought a GE washer and a Whirlpool dryer. The GE was the only top loader with an agitator that still filled with water. I bought the Whirlpool dryer only because it was the only one where the door pulled down instead of opening sideways. I hate sideways doors. Neither the washer nor the dryer has all that digital nonsense that breaks down easily.
I suspect though that this set will be the last of their kind. If you can't find them new (I bought mine at Lowes), get them second hand. Resist the digital garbage for as long as you can.
Those old Maytags were awesome, and often good for a “lifetime” of use.
Sadly ours finally bit the dust recently (combination of the transmission wearing out and the tub rusting at the bottom connection to the drive mechanism).
I don’t know about where you all live but our water is so hard I think it tears the machines up pretty fast. We had the dishwasher repaired a year ago and now it’s sitting on the back patio waiting on a new one to be delivered.
The washing machine is on it’s last leg but we’ll run it until it stops. At that time we’ll gamble on buying the $150 warranty. If they can’t fix it, we get a new one (which is how we got the one we have now). If they fix it for the $150 we’ll hang onto until it quits again.
We have made a promise to ourselves that with the new equipment we will run a little CLR through it now and then to try to keep the pipes and hoses and pumps clean.
Boy does that bring back memories! My mother had an old washboard and an old wringer washer. Dad bought her an automatic washer and dryer, and while she used the dryer all the time, she seldom used the automatic washer. She claimed the automatic didn’t wash clothes like Dad’s dirty overalls very well.
Mom finally had to use the automatic when her last wringer washer died and she could no longer find another. But she still had the old washboard.
Kenmore 800 series. It’s 10 years old, though. It has never done anything wrong in all that time. Love it.
My family has owned a Western Auto store which sells appliances since 1974. We know washing machines. I had a fancy water-saving, agitator-less Whirlpool. The new machine made me crazy. The sound was horrible. It was an intermittent nightmare and did not clean my welder husband’s clothes. To say that I hated that machine is an understatement. I sold it and bought a Crosley old time machine with an agitator. It is a water guzzler, but it gives me clean clothes which smell nice. It also creates a smoother washing sound that doesn’t make you want to leave the house. Find a regular agitator machine with a stainless steel drum. I told my family to stock every conceivable replacement part for this machine because I will never get a fancy machine again. We no longer sell appliances.
Is it a “green” friendly washer? If so there’s your answer there. It reminds me of the regulations that brought about the smaller capacity tanks on commodes. Now it takes two flushes I stead on one to do the job and 1 1/2 times as much water. Congrats liberal control freaks. Good job (proving what idiots you are). Liberals are good at envisioning grandiose ideas and telling others what to do but not so good with reality and actually doing any of the labor themselves...
My original pair was a Sears Kenmore. They were the best. Wouldn’t buy Sears brands now. They look cheap and are made cheap.
The one problem with repairing really old model appliances is that after so many years it becomes difficult if not impossible to find replacement parts. There was a business not far from me that sold parts for old appliances, but the owner passed on and no one took over the business. A shame. As long as you can get the parts and have someone who knows own how to do repairs, you can get a lot of mileage out of your appliances instead of having to replace them every few years.
Have a large capacity Samsung front loader. Hate it because it not only takes a long time but it is almost always banging during spin due to unbalanced load. When it gets too bad, the machine stops/slows down the spin which can result in sopping wet clothes. Doesn’t have a spin-only cycle so you can’t balance things out and just re-spin. Once it beats itself to death will get a quality top-loader - when they get unbalanced, they usually stop and allow you to re-position the load to get a good spin going.
Not associated with http://www.appliancepartspros.com/ but have to say they are great. We've used them twice. Regular shipping is on your doorstep in 2 days. Excellent how-to videos that repair dummies can easily follow. Site super easy to follow.
First of all, did you actually READ the owner’s manual on the washer? I know that is a massive ego blow to people who think they instantly “get it” just by looking at the product, but believe it or not, you can learn something from reading these. You’re probably doing something wrong.
We have a modern, top loader with a big tub that has a clear windows on top, and has the ability to add liquids without opening the top (if you wish).
Also, it runs very quiet.
It saves us time, because we can wash larger loads. It uses less water (the only good thing about that is not the reduced bill or the “green” benefit, but less water means it’s not pumping a huge amount though our household sewer system - and that’s the time if you have a clog, you find out the hard way).
We looked at the front loaders, and they have smaller tubs, and door interlocks, etc....Too much to go wrong.
We got ours at 40% off,it’s a Whirlpool Cabrio Platinum. We essentially got it at the price of the next model down, I think it was on sale at Lowes.
At best buy (below) it’s a 1000$ washer. We paid 585 or so. It was are “return”.
I have a 10-year-old Maytag washer and dryer. Top load washer with no digital stuff and no lid lock. It has a delicate wash cycle and a heavy duty extra rinse cycle. Never had a problem with it and I love it. Simple settings. The more electronics you have on an appliance, the more likely it is to malfunction within a few years.
We bought a Whirlpool Cabrio topload watersaver washer about a year ago (with matching frontload dryer). This is the type without the standard tall upright agitator. It has a 2” tall agitator at the bottom of the drum. It uses water sparingly and never fills the tub completely.
Washer sucks. While there’s a great variety of washing settings (normal, whites, bulky, heavy duty, quick, etc), we use the “bulky item” setting the most because it appears to pump the most water into the tub...and gets the clothes the cleanest. It takes almost an hour to wash.
Main complaint...very difficult to wash large items...bedspreads, large blankets, quilts, sleeping bags. The washer tends to roll up the item into a tight donut shape that gets stuck at the bottom of the drum and doesn’t get agitated around. The agitator at the bottom rotates relentlessly underneath the “donut” and has even damaged items.
We weren’t particularly interested in “saving” water when we bought the water saver version but figured “what the heck, can’t hurt”. If we had it to do again, we’d buy a cheaper topload, tall agitator, full water version. Just something very satisfying about seeing your clothes sloshing around in a drum full of water.
Dryer does a good job. It dries the clothes. One good thing...It has a steam cycle. Does a decent job “refreshing” clothes. But you have to hookup a water line to it. If both units are upstairs, you’ll need an overflow/leak pan with drain pipe under both machines.
After investigating both front and top loading machines to replace our dead Kenmore Elite frontloader, we settled on a high end Electrolux front loading pair. Couldn’t be happier. The machines are quiet,vibration free,thorough and quick in both washing and drying cycles. Great machines from the European company that just bought GE appliances.
Every appliance nowadays is “energy efficient. “ Really doesn’t save energy. My last washer was like that. Had to run a load through 2 or times because the washer used so little water, the clothes weren’t rinsed properly.
About toilets: I had one of those water savers. I think it was the original version. You’re right. Had to flush it 2 maybe 3 times. Where are the water savings?
However, when I had my bathroom remodeled last year, I bought an American Standard. Still not a lot of water but it has some sort of suction mechanism that sucks everything down. I have not experienced any problems getting the toilet to flush.
We have a Bosch front loader and I love it. It has the fastest spin cycle on the planet. Other than the shaking it’s fantastic.
Buy European appliances. The junk made under American brand names is made in Mexico or China, not exactly known for precision products. They are made to break after 5-7 years...not like the fine old US made Sears Kenmore we had for 26 years that lasted without a repair until our three children were grown. Those products were produced in the golden age of American manufacturing.
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