What brand of clothes dryer is best

[Doug]

I just had a Sears repairman come out to fix my Kenmore dryer and he said, "I've been working on washers and dryers for 35 years and there all pretty much the same. Heater and a motor to tumble it, whatcha pay for is the options on the panel. There's not much to them, so buy one with the options that are important to you and nevermind the name on it."

After having it simplified to me, the washer is really the same way, a motor, water valves and panel options. Of course there's a LITTLE more then that but basically that's it. Your paying for the options on the panel.

Don't know if this helps but thought I'd pass this along.

Doug

I can get one out quickly. If the repair is not too costly, I'll have it repaired. Otherwise we are considering a newer washer-dryer set.

think she is looking for anything too fancy with every bell and whistle. We have had poor luck with GE products, so normally we avoid buying them unless alot of people here suggest they are good quality.

[An Metet]

Hi,

Our clothes dryer broke and I am going to have a repairman check it out if I can get one out quickly. If the repair is not too costly, I'll have it repaired. Otherwise we are considering a newer washer-dryer set.

Can anyone suggest what brand(s) are the best and which to avoid. I don;t think she is looking for anything too fancy with every bell and whistle. We have had poor luck with GE products, so normally we avoid buying them unless alot of people here suggest they are good quality. Thank you for any suggestions and information you may provide.

[Michael Baugh]

Without naming names, I think that a true humidity sensing is very important. So that clothes are dried according to dampness rather than trying to estimate time for a load. We had one that did great, the next one we got was dismal.

And after it's dried, I'd like for my next one to shift immediately from drying to a 10 minute air-only mode to cool the clothes down while continuing to tumble them, so that clothes aren't given wrinkles by being piled up while still hot. Is that available? Certainly hope so.

If you're gonna have a repairman out, you're going to nearly pay for another dryer. Pretend it's dead, forever, and go find another one that suits you. Then when there's not a press, check out a book on appliance repair from your local library, fix it if it's fixable, and then sell it for the price of the repairman that you didn't really need.

So how did it 'break'?

I can get one out quickly. If the repair is not too costly, I'll have it repaired. Otherwise we are considering a newer washer-dryer set.

think she is looking for anything too fancy with every bell and whistle. We have had poor luck with GE products, so normally we avoid buying them unless alot of people here suggest they are good quality.

[Art Begun]

Go to the library and check Consumers Reports. They found a best buy electric Sears Kenmore for around $350. My parents bought it and it does a great job. Better than my expensive Maytag dryer at removing wrinkles. Buzzer is noisy though.

out if I can get one out quickly. If the repair is not too costly, I'll have it repaired. Otherwise we are considering a newer washer-dryer set.

don;t think she is looking for anything too fancy with every bell and whistle. We have had poor luck with GE products, so normally we avoid buying them unless alot of people here suggest they are good quality.

[Terry]

Don't know about brands except to say that our Kenmore (Sears) dryer is 41+ years old and has needed 5 minor and 2 major repairs on seven occasions during that time. All of which we have done ourselves, for a maximum total repair cost of probably around $200. I would suggest, based on experiences within our family group with a total of five dryers that those with the air blowers mounted high are less prone to damage to the impeller blades than those where the blower is low. For example; in the case of the dryer of one of my daughters, coins fell into the low mounted blower and smashed the plastic impeller blades; the blades came out in handfuls! Along with some coins, paper clips and the odd nail! Another daughter has a Kenmore style, like ours but newer and larger and it works well. We prefer the 'simpler the better' approach with as few controls as absolutely necessary! Interestingly the humidistat or "Are the clothes dry" sensor has failed on two dryers owned by my daughters. Our only experience with a large GE appliance was a dishwasher and I would not buy that brand dishwasher again unless the design has since changed and been proven. Again washers; Kenmore (Canadian Sears) seems to work well; however we have encountered a) A corroded tub after about 25 years, which we replaced with a tub from another scrapped washer. That washer had been scrapped because (and this was learned from an appliance repair business here) about 12 to 15 years ago there was a batch of shafts (that's the piece that sticks up and twists the agitator back and forth) made from inferior steel. What happened was that the agitator would get a bit loose and the owner might or might not tighten it; but eventually the poor steel would cause the agitator to become loose and impossible to tighten! Exactly what had happened to the scrapped washer! Any help? Terry.

[AJScott]

A few months ago, we replaced our old gas washer and dryer set with a gas Maytag Atlantis washer and dryer set. I totally LOVE the dryer because it has something called an IntelliDry sensor. Instead of you having to time-dry everything on the timer portion of the dial, the sensor senses when your load is dry and then shuts the dryer off. That way, you don't end up over-drying your load (and racking up your gas bill), or trudge downstairs to find your load of jeans still wet or damp after an hour. Th Atlantis still gives you the option to time-dry stuff, but I've found it completely unnecessary.

Plus it's a wildly quiet appliance. I'm totally happy with it.

AJS

[Don Wiss]

Such a feature is a standard feature on all dryers over say $350 these days. They go by moisture. Older dryers also had the feature, but they went by temperature. By moisture is considered better, as getting the clothes hot causes shrinkage.

If your old dryer only had a timer it was either incredibly cheap, or incredibly old.

Don .