OK…I know.. Borrrrrrringggggg but I need to buy me a pair. A washer and dryer. After all they usually stay with you for decades. Saw the article in the new FHB about the Fridgedaire front loader. Kinda a small load capacity but wonderful specs as far as Kwtz. Expensive but I reckon in the long run…….This was one persons thought in the article not Consumer Reports. For those of you that have had any experience with this washer please speak up. I need some help here. I had my last washer and dryer almost half as long as I had my wife…..and the washer never gave me any trouble…..lol..A G.E.
Ugh.What a stupid thread I started. Sorry for the inconvenience…..
Be clean…..I mean well
Namaste
Andy
It’s not who’s right, it’s who’s left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Replies
Andy, one of my sons bought a front loader and swears by it. Don't know the brand but can find out. The old ones do seem to be good for about 15 to 20 years. Seems like they cost about the same as they did 20 years ago too. Joe H
I have a set of those Whirlpool Duet HTs, they are the cats meow. Id buy again in a sec.
I've got the Whirpool Duet. They're pricey, but they appear to be extremely efficient. Besides the water savings, they wash and dry bigger loads and use about half the detergent. They have a lot of settings, so you can tailor the run time to suit what you have to wash or dry. I highly recommend them.
I live in the foothills (too high for a well, 4400') we have a 3000 gal cistern. Water is always a concern. My old topload washer used over 50gals per wash. The new frontload washes more laundry per load and uses 6-8 gals of water. The final spin is so fast the clothes are almost dry to the touch. I can't tell you how pleased we are. My son loves it, my wife loves it and we're saving so much water, I'm thinking about bathing regular.
Andy, if you're not bored by the whole subject yet, try reading this Appliance Forum. An overwhelming amount of discussion on frontloaders by people who are a bit, ummmm...fanatical about their laundry.
...get an up-north attitude...
Cami....thanks. I just popped into that site for a few minutes and it made me want to get a scrub board and tub. WOW! Total insanity. Had me cracking up. Are people THAT anal? Whiter whites? I was kinda mainly concerned about energy. Delicates? I aint got any clothes that really need whiter whites or gentle cycles. I'm just happy wit the clean cycle....lol. Whewwww. Seems theres a site for everything. It was helpful actually so thanks again
Be well, and white (as in clothes not as in people lol)
Namaste
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
They don't call themselves "laundromaniacs" for nothing....A scrub board would be historically appropriate for your house, anyway. ;)
...get an up-north attitude...
One thing I learned long ago....You will never ever ever have a complaint or issue with Maytag. Expensive? Yes. I have been down the Sears road...No more, Had Amana once...till they refused to ship a part to my appliance guy...Maytag....just say it over and over, write the check, and live happy.Wine is God's way of capturing the sun.
Have had the fridgidaire front loader and matching dryer for five years. Never a problem with either and the wife LOVES them. She is always raving about the washer and being able to have a full counter above them is a nice plus as well.
My neighbor has a front loader. Her only complaint is that it's hard for her to get the wet clothes out as she has back problems.
"A completed home is a listed home."
A couple of months ago, I replaced a 1989 washer with a Kenmore front loader, and I really like it. It uses very little water and not much detergent, runs quietly, and spins out the clothes so they're almost dry. Ain't cheap, but energy-wise it should pay for itself in 6 or 7 years, I think. Ruth DobsevageTaunton New Media
I believe the Kenmore front loader and the Whirlpool front loader are essentially the same machine although the Kenmore is a little more expensive. I'm not sure if that is due to extra features since I haven't looked at them in depth. We'll be buying a new set in the next year and it will probably be the front loaders for the water and energy savings so we've been reading up.
Our current washer/dryer is the maytag stacked unit which we had to buy when we had our first, very small house. The washer wasn't working and the repair guy said it was the transmission, about $400 to fix. He mentioned that Maytag is the only mfg that still uses all metal parts, the others have switched to plastics. Because of that Maytag has a 7 year warranty on it. We found the receipt, it had been 6 years and 50 weeks since we bought it. Got a new transmission for free.
Apparently your transmission problem was quite common in that vintage of Maytag since they changed the design around 93, 94. It took them a few years to discover the flaw and had since been retified. That may explain their expedience in sevicing you washer. How lucky you were to find the receipt, I would never have such luck.
Tom
Maybe a bit off topic, but.............
Anyone out there have more than one washer/dryer? Seems like it would make sense for larger families, and/or where both parents work. (Mom needs to crank out the laundry quickly)
Someone gave me a second dryer to hook up, but I haven't gotten it done yet. Our dryer is quite a bit slower than the washer, so I figured that would speed the process up some.
Actually, it seems like the ratio of 2 washers and 3 dryers would be about right. But I don't figure I'm gonna go that far. People usually get what's coming to them. Unless it's been mailed.
Boss
For years my mother kept using here Speed Queen (if I remember the name correctly). It had a tub with an agator and separate smaller tub with the spins cycle. And had a couple of levers on the front to operate the clutches for the two tubs.
There reason that she liked it was that she could be washing the 3rd load, while spining the 2nd load, and hanging up the first load.
In one house I have the top-loading Fisher Paykel set. Runs well, and the washer spins so much water out of the laundry that the dryer hardly has to work. No complaints. Supposedly the washer conserves water...but how much, I do not know.
In the other house I have a top-loading set from Sears. A 10-year old Kenmore dryer and a newer 2-yo Kenmore washer. I think they work "average". No complaints, no worries, but they're nothing out of the ordinary. Again, the washer is a conservation model, I think mostly via the rinse cycle.
In both of my apts in Manhattan, I have the stacked Maytag Neptune frontloading units. I like them very much. They do use less water, they spin the clothes fairly dry before drying them. My initial concern was the smaller wash load. If I recall, the full-sized stand alone Neptune washes something like a 3.3 cu ft load, the stacked 2.9 cu ft. Not a big difference, but I have to have something to gripe about. T'was not a concern.
If the set in my house ever goes south, I'd likely pick up another Neptune stacked set. Works well, handles load generated by a family of 4, and the stacked set would free up a little more room in the upstairs laundry room.
If it matters, we're not much of a laundry family. All we need is one setting for water level (HIGH) and one setting for wash cycle (CLEAN THE FRIGGIN CLOTHES). We always have enough laundry in the hamper where partial loads are not an option, and gentle cycles are not required.
In all cases, the laundry rooms are located near the bedrooms, and all of the units are quiet enough where noise is not a bother.
I whirlpool duet HT has an internal water heater for the "sanitary cycle" simple 1000watt element. This boots the temperture for the sanitary cycle.
Only drawback is the extra high spin cycle sounds like a Jet turbine, and the thing will shake a bit.
I would rather have a second dishwasher than a second dryer. You never have to put your dishes away. I thought of it more than fifteen years ago and it's catching on now. So your second dryer idea may catch on... shall I say... in fifteen years?
Tom
I tend to use the dryer for as dresser unless my wife messes things up by putting my clothes away so she can do more laundry.
I nearly turned into a laundromaniac while looking into front loaders couple years ago.
With three young boys and almost daily runs of the washer, this is becoming a major concern for us.
(I even looked into commercial front loaders but found out they need to be bolted down to the floor for their spin cycles.)
Several things I found out besides front loaders being a U.S. invention;
Miele, considered the most durable and best machines, requires 220-V supply because it incorporates a water heater to bump up the supply temp to a much higher level.
This, they claim, launders the whites cleaner and eliminates the need for bleach and requires less detergent.
So...besides the less water usage and tumbling action, this may be a consideration for some folks, which none of the U.S. units incorporate.
The best price I could find was a pair of washer/dryer on display the store owner was willing to let go for the special price of.....$2500 !!
Also, condensing type dryers that does not require an exhaust vent is common overseas but he recommended against this option unless there is no choice but to do so.
The first generation of Maytag Neptunes were problematic with the off-axis drums and mechanisms. These are not true horizontal axis machines.
The drums are slightly angled upwards.
The latest models may have all the kinks worked out.
Asko, the Scandinavian units, are not as beefy/sturdy as the Miele (German !) and the store owner has gotten comments from customers that they are a bit "tinny" during operation.
I have a cousin in Canada who appreciates the fine things in life (and can afford them) and he gives his thumbs up to the Miele. Oh well.
We determined some of the very bulky/large loads can be take down to the laundromat and stuffed into their FRONT loaders for $1.50/wash and come out ok in the long run. The 30-minute run time is convenient and we live only a 30-second hop from the house.
The loads are brought back to our dryer.
It does appear the choices are getting better among U.S. made units and this is very encouraging. The Frigedair unit does look very tempting.
Saw a front loader (can't remember the brand) at Lowes that has controls on the top like the typical top loader, which I thought is dumb for sacrificing the ability to install the unit under a counter.
Alan
Edited 11/1/2002 3:37:13 PM ET by Ahneedhelp
We replaced our 20 year-old Maytag top-loader with a Fridgedaire front-loader a year or two back. It was less than 1/2 the price of a Maytag front-loader and is really a fine machine: quiet, low water usage, 1/2 the detergent required, really easy on clothes, and I can even do my down parkas and sleeping bags in it.
If you look at them side-by-side, you will discover that this same machine is also sold under the Sears and GE brands (watch the feature mix if you're comparing prices, there's a bunch of options on these things - get the auto-temperature and the "extra rinse"), and I think we saw one branded Whirlpool - they all come off the same manufacturing line. Pick based on warranty and service availability.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Fridgedair guts in GE/Whirlpool/Sears...
Interesting information.
I was told by a Sears rep the Kenmore is either a GE or Whirpool, the latter being the higher priced Kenmore models.
This was for dishwashers and washer/dryers about six years ago.
So, just to confirm, would the Fridgedair be the "original" to get among several U.S. models ?
Thanks,
Alan
Figuring out who exactly makes which appliance is not always easy; per this site http://www.appliance411.ca/purchase/make.shtml the front-loader washers and matching dryers are made by Fridgedaire.
PS, it's not just the guts, if you look closely at the machines, they just change the front pannel with the logo..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Thanks, Phill -
Visiting that site now.
Alan
Phil, remember that Canadian appliances are different from US. There is one mother appliance manufacturer in Canada, Camco (canadian appliance manufacturing co) that makes 90 percent of the washer/dryers. It is mostly owned by GE. Makes almost every washer and dryer out there. Maytag and Whirlpool still have their own, if i recall.
My thoughts about Frigidaire, based on my observations and an architect friend who has spec'd a lot of stuff over the years ... NEVER buy anything with the name Frigidaire on it.
re - NEVER buy anything with the name Frigidaire on it.
----
Holy crap.
This is a jolting statement.
I hope the stainless top island stove/oven we have doesn't start
falling apart on us. Came with the house and we use it a lot.
It's the only Frigidaire appliance in the house.
Alan