Thursday, July 16, 2009

What Are Your Thoughts?

Friends, I am in need of some advice. Nearly a year ago I lamented about my G.E. washer needing serious repairs. The repair man suggested junking it as the cost to repair it would come in just under the cost of replacing it. He did tell me I could run it till it stopped working. It's slowing down considerably and I've washed a few loads twice just to get them clean, but it's still chugging along. But the other day the dryer got really hot (too hot) and smelled like all sorts of fiery death (probably more like burning cat hair) and well, we just sort of encouraged her to go to the light.


Well, the weather's been good and I usually use mother nature to dry my laundry, but after a week of off and on rain and nearly 100% humidity, I had to truck my stuff to the laundromat to get them dried. I am going to have to buy a washer and dryer soon.


So I've been shopping.


And reading.


And shopping some more.


And now I wish I hadn't read so much, because now I am confused more than ever.


I pretty much decided to avoid the G.E. and Roper brands because I do not wish to replace the washer and dryer in another five to six years. While front loaders are out of my price range, I have dreamed about them for years and a good friend bought a display set, discontinued color, for a steal! After reading about front loaders' having serious and expensive computer problems, it made those grapes seem less tasty. I found a Maytag that was one or two rungs up from their intro model and thought, "this just might do!" But then a friend told me about Maytag's woes a few years back and I started reading up on them. Oh my! I found a Whirlpool at Coscto, but they now own Maytag. And I believe I read that Kenmore (Sears) are made by the same folks too!

So what I want to know from you (and please, if you're reading this post, take a minute to post a comment!) is: what brand washing machine do you or have you used and what has been your experience! What are your suggestions? Please help! While I am perfectly able to beat my panties on a rock down by the river and hang them on the line to dry, it takes a great deal of time to do so!

7 comments:

Sally Zellers said...

I have a Sears Kenmore top load washer and companion dryer. I have had them for six years and have not had any problems with tehm.

Anonymous said...

I have a Sears front loader and matching dryer have had them for 5 years and really like them. I would go back and purchase another Sears product.
In our next house I will want the top loader again they are easier to load and unload. For old people~
Good luck kiddo!
LOve Mom

Anonymous said...

While I don't have a set of machines myself, my mom swears by Kenmore and has been using them all my life. I believe the ones she has now are going on 8 years old with only minor problems, fixable by my mom or sister.

Anonymous said...

Oh, hehe, forgot to add she has a toploader, she doesn't like front loaders.

Anonymous said...

I have the front loaders and that will be the last of them, they are going with our house, I want the old fashion top loader.
Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I have a Sears large capacity, top-loader washer and matching dryer. They were purchased in the fall of 1994. After 15 years of HARD use (15 to 20 + loads per week) they are still going. The dryer is beginning to take a little longer than it used to to get the job done, but so am I!!

Good luck with your search! We have had good luck with appliances from Lowe's too.

Pam

SearsCare said...

Dear Kat,

My name is Brian and I am part of the Sears Cares escalations team. I have read this post and I am sorry to hear that your washer and dryer are having problems. I am not the world foremost expert on appliances, but we do handle escalated issues regarding them. I can say that most major appliance manufacturers have some type of collaboration with eachother. Most everyone uses a lot of the same parts and similar designs because they work. This also allows the cost to come down in lieu of having proprietary parts and patent designs that do not allow for general technical assistance and so on. There are so many other reasons for the partnerships but I just want to say that whatever your choice of purchases, most anything on the market has only about a 5 % failure rate within the first 3 – 5 years. Most people (about 95%) will not experience any problems other than normal maintenance for the natural life of the unit. Of course anything that goes through a manufacturing process has a possibility of failure no matter if it is an appliance, an automobile or a crock pot. All that being said, if you’d like, please feel free to contact our office at searscares@searshc.com and we can talk further about your concerns. We may be able to help you decide on something that will suit your needs. In your email please provide the screen name (Kat) for reference to this issue, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.

Thank you,

Brian J.
Senior Case Manager
Sears Cares