Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler What do y’all know about washing machines?

As of last night, I have found myself out of my element and in a clueless, what the heck to buy situation. I need to buy a new cloths washer and dryer set and figured what the heck, I might as well ask the Axiom board members for non A/V advice again (it’s always been helpful so far).

I fixed the dryer a month ago to where is ‘should’ hold out for a while yet, but then the washer crapped out yesterday afternoon. I tore it apart yesterday, and the parts needed to fix the stupid thing cost more than half the cost of what it was new. If I’m buying one, I might as well pony up and buy a set.

When the girlfriend moved in a couple years ago and I continued to do what I always did with the pile of cloths that would accumulate, she firmly told me to leave the cloths washing / drying to her. I don’t know what the big deal was, I always separated them into two piles (one pile of whites and sorta whites and one pile of not so whites) and then used hot for one pile and cold for the other. Well, she didn’t like that and fired me. I didn’t complain about the termination too much.

So now I have to buy a new set and fifteen minutes later on Sears.com, I have a raging headache.

Has anyone suffered through the misery of picking out a washing machine and dryer lately and can recommend a set to me?? This is simply too agonizing for me….. Why in the world would anyone ever want or need 16 friggin presets?? And what’s up with these steam washers/dryers?? They claim to be efficient, but how can a washing machine with an electric boiler be ‘efficient’?? I can’t think of a more in-efficient use of electrical power than a steam boiler.

All I know is that I need front loaders. I built an 18” shelf with drawers for them to sit on when I built the house. There’s cabinets above the machines and not enough room for top loaders.

.....errrrrr... so much for upgrading my projector this fall... dangit.

Kenmore Elite and LG are a couple highly rated washers. I have the Maytag Neptune that I've been very satisfied with, but I believe they are not rated as high.

Mike, my wife and I were in your boat just a couple of weeks ago. Our washer started leaking, and a technician told us that the new transmission to fix it would cost almost as much as a new washer, so we went to Sears, Lowes, and Costco to compare.

We ended up going with one from Sears, I'm pretty sure it was this one. Sucker is huge, the wife likes how she can wash a whole comforter in it PLUS a few towels.

Working like a champ so far.

Good luck!

I would check Consumer Reports, I have liked Bosch and Miele for washing items, dish or clothes.

Thanks guys. I heard Whirlpool bought Maytag. Actually, I think Whirlpool makes most of these things. Friggin consumer reports wants twenty bucks to register. I just can't be bothered with that....

I supose I'll just have to go kick some tires...gee, that sounds sooooooo fun....Can't wait. Oh, look at this one, it's red!!! YE-HA!!

OK Doc, your avitators are starting to get me to wonder about you.... Is that premeditated?

We went through this about 5 years ago when our old <whatever> finally died. I did a lot of wandering around with my wife as she tried to decide what to buy. We didn't want a front loader because all of the ones we looked at were either too small or too expensive. Spent hours at Sears, Best Buy, and other shops. Looked at Consumer Reports, etc.

We ended up finding a Fisher & Paykel at a local appliance store. They sold us on it's combination of extreme efficiency, very few moving parts, and interesting features. There's no belt or transmission to ever wear out and they are designed to be extremely efficient.

My wife is the primary laundry-doer, but she absolutely loves it. Hands down the best washing machine she's ever used, so she says. Seems to be gentler on clothes as well, as things seem to last longer now. Actually made a difference in our monthly water & electricity bills. It uses a minimal amount of water necessary and dries the clothes so well with it's super fast spin cycle (like 1000RPM or something absurd like that - sounds like a jet taking off) that we barely have to use the dryer. We did not, however, buy their matching dryer as it seemed really overpriced for, well, just a dryer.

From a 'manly-man' perspective, it's got a lot of buttons and LED displays. It is also mildly entertaining to watch it run through a cycle as it figures out how much water to use, properly washes things, re-balances the load, etc, etc. For a washing machine, anyway.

So if you've got a local store that sells them, take a look. It was a little bit more expensive than a 'regular' top-loader, but significantly less than most of the front loaders we looked at.

Edit: I didn't read your last sentence about needing a front loader. Nevermind! Oops.

If you're single... The LG washer dryer combo machines can't be beat. Put in a load in the morning and fold it when you get home. We got my mom a Miele and it is very nice as well. My sis is an interior designer so she got a REALLY good deal on it. Supposedly like $2000 new. Oh ya, the combo machines are much less expensive over seas...(stupid USA) I could have gotten a top of the line LG in the UAE for about $600 while a similar machine here is $1800.

I buy the cheapest piece of crap I can get away with. I think we are on our second set in over 25 years so it seems to have paid off so far.

Wid's laundry room...

The philosophy of my friend who has sold Maytag ("Not the same machine anymore", He says.) for 35 years says buy the top model without the electronics.

We've only bought 2 washers in 31 years.

I agree with Doug and Rick ... we've stuck with the old tried and true and have been through two washers in our 27 years of marriage.

Consumer reports top seven.

FRONT-LOADING MODELS
LG Tromm SteamWasher WM2688H[WM] $1500

• • • •
LG WM0642H[W] $900

• • • •
Whirlpool Duet Steam WFW9600T[W] $1600

• • •
Miele Touchtronic W4840 $1900

• • •
Kenmore (Sears) Elite HE5t Steam 4778[1] $1600

• • • •
Kenmore (Sears) Elite HE5t 4708[1] $1300

• • • •
Frigidaire Gallery GLTF2940F[S] CR Best Buy
FTFB2940F[ ] (Best Buy) $650,
LTF2940F[ ] (Lowe's) $650 $650

Holy crap those are expensive.

I still want to have hookups so I can drop that money...

I bought my wife the Whirlpool Duet system a few years ago and it is fabulous. We moved about four months ago and left the appliances as they were part of the house sale. At the time they were all top of the line Whirlpool products. I wouldn't hesitate to buy the duet system again. We are waiting for the washer and dryer in the new house to pack it in so we can replace the old units with the Whirlpool system. YMMV.

I bought a Whirlpool(something) front load washer and dryer a year ago. One thing to keep in mind is that now those suckers do 1000-1,200 rpm on spin cycle. Make sure they are on a firm floor, our laundry is on the 2floor and it shakes the whole floor. It isn't that bad at home but I read reviews of people returning them because they shake too much.

We have nothing quite that new.

Cool link Peter. My dishwasher is slowly dying (13 year old maytag) so I need a replacement soon. Trouble is, normal dishwashers are too big for a single guy.

I'm gonna check out their single drawer models at a local dealer.

Oh, don't just go with the cheapest. spend the $20 for the consumer reports membership or go to your local library.

Cheap appliances are exactly that. They now last 6-8 years max.

In this case, you get what you pay for.

I bet the expensive ones have a nice deep bass rumble when they run.

You're single Fred? Check out compactappliance.com I got my LG washer/dryer there and saved $400 over WorstBuy. I think they have small dishwashers too.

My wife and I are still running a 1972(there are stickers on it from that year) Maytag, it was her dad's, it just won't die. It looks to be the same one that the Foreman's had in their basement on That 70's Show.

Mike, what I know about washing machines from personal experience is just about the fairly old Kenmore that I have, but I wouldn't suggest that you give much weight to my limited personal experience(or anybody else's). This is one of the areas where Consumer Reports does a good job with thorough testing and I'd rely on their results rather than anyone's suggestions.

Michael has already pretty much saved you the $20 by listing some of the results from the February issue(which I have). The Frigidaire Gallery washer is the front-loading best buy for around $650. The companion Frigidaire Gallery dryer(GLER104FS)is middling in the ratings, but very good, and at a good price around $400. The GE Profile dryer for around $500 was rated slightly higher.

Yeah, they make other neat appliances as well. Neat ideas, anyway. The washer wasn't that bad, but some of their stuff is very pricey. Good luck!

I just spent an hour in agony on the phone with saleswomen. Nice lady who seams to know "her" machines. The Kenmore Elite 5t is in the lead (she likes it and they have it in stock and I can get 22% off)..... I'll sleep on it some. Damn this is painful. I'm soooooo not interested in appliances. I might just have to go look at new trucks or camera glass to help ease the pain when I'm in the city picking these things up. I’m definitely hitting the wine warehouse.

Thanks for the tips / advice fellas. As usual, it’s very helpful.

So Ricky, I had asumed you use a washboard and Ivory soap. Or are you somewhere between what Richard posted and that?

Pretty close Mikey, the wife now uses a stone with her washboard

We have the LG Tromm Steam-wahser and we love it. We've had it for about 2 years now with no problems. I have heard that some people have problems with front-loaders however. The front seal is usally damp and sometimes causes a mildew buildup that can make you clothes funky smelling. We have not had that problem though (we usually leave the front door of the washer cracked open when we are not using it to let it really dry out). Also, the machine tends to spin really high by default to get as much of the water out as possible. Some people complain of vibration or noise during the spin cycle. But, if the washer is on concrete, you will not hear it. Ours is not on the concrete foundation, but the vibration is not that bad.

The energy savings of the front loaders (and water savings) usually pays for itself in 3-4 years (espcially if you have a couple of little ones running around; we do at least one load of laundry a day).

We just bought an LG washer and drier and have been quite happy with them. The washer is crazy quiet while running. The only two things you need to be aware of is don't put in really small loads as it'll get off balance and make one heck of a racket when spinning, and second, don't leave your damp clothes in the washer unattended very long (over a day). The clothes can get musty smelling...I never had that problem with our old washer. ??

And if you DO do that... the stank gets into the pump and stuff - easiest way to get rid of it is with a hot water wash (empty) with a cup of bleach and a cup of Borax... run it empty and the reek goes away.

Bren R.

skills with a washing machine, decoupage.... wow.

Where ya going with that Peter?? Come on now, don’t be bashful.

I ended up buying the Kenmore units. The Elite 5T washer (without steam) and a 3T dryer with steam. The selling point on the dryer with steam is no need to iron. Bonus!! I hate ironing. The reason I ditched the steam in the washer was that when using that particular cycle, it apparently takes about two hours.

I now know more about washing machines and dryers than I will ever wanted to know.

Again, thanks for all the tips, humor and great advice.

What, I've always had more female friends than male ones.

Bren R.

That's because Bren has them all tied up in his basement.

I charge extra for that.

Bren R.

I can just see women reading through Bren's menu of knots.

He favors the double sheet bend.