HE Washer

[Frank]

Mine which they still sell may not have this control panel problem:

I'd worry about these things too having to put $300 into a stove control panel repair.

[Malcom "Mal" Reynolds]

same here

[Percival P. Cassidy]

We bought a Kenmore (Frigidaire under the skin) front-load washer about

12 years ago and added the extended warranty. After about three years it quit, and the circuit board had to be replaced; repair guy said the board would have cost more than we paid for the warranty.

When the bearings and seal went (after the warranty had expired), I replaced them myself. I wrote about it on this ng at the time.

Uses very little water and detergent but washes well.

Perce

[krw]

Out top loader only went five years before leaking all over. It had been getting noisier for several years. I figure five years is about all a modern washer is good for. Dryers probably twice that, so every other one, we'll buy the set.

[krw]

Some top-loaders have high-speed spin cycles, as well.

There should be no difference. They should actually do better because they don't tend to knot the clothes.

Water is a trivial component.

[Lee B]

I just (as in 3 days ago) got a new washer. I'd been thinking of getting a HE, but eventually decided against it. The old (how old? inherited when I bought the house) Whirlpool suddenly started violently banging. That's when I noticed the water coming up in the toilet with each bang! So after getting my sewer line replaced, I went for the cheaper machine! Figured that for one person who does one or two loads a week, it would take a long time before I noticed any savings on the water bill. Plus when I thought it through, as high tech as it looked, I wouldn't use 18 settings for laundry. I'd probably use the same 3-4 I've always used (medium, large, cold, warm). Being gun shy with things breaking lately, I did get the EW, but for this machine it was 100 for 5 yr, and the local repair guy charges $90 just to come to the house.

[Moe DeLoughan]

My Maytag toploader is from 1985 and so far has only required one service call.

They don't make 'em like they used to, which is why I'll hold onto this one as long as possible.

[Cindy Hamilton]

In 1989 we bought a Speed Queen top-loader. It had a couple of big dials that you cranked around to set the various cycles. It lasted

17 years before it started acting up and Himself thought it was time to replace it. We'd replaced a few things over the years; belts and whatnot.

We got a front loader of some sort. The control panel looked like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. After about three years, it stopped spinning properly. After some Web investigation, he said "Well, it could be this; it could be that; it could be the other. I could go through several hundred dollars of parts figuring out what it is."

We got a Speed Queen AWN432, outwardly just about like the one we bought in 1989. I believe it uses a bit less water. And was about half the price of the Starship Enterprise. Maybe it won't last 17 years, but I'm pretty sure it'll see 10.

Cindy Hamilton

[Cindy Hamilton]

My Speed Queen (about 2-3 years old) takes about 30 minutes for a load.

Cindy Hamilton

[krw]

I thought I'd get ten years, too. I thought it being a top-loader would help (front-loaders are notorious for early death) but apparently it's not a design issue, rather, they're all designed to fail. I've resigned myself to replacing the washer every five years and the dryer every ten. So be it.