Replacing a washing machine

Pretty sure that ao.com do this for a small fee. They did our dishwasher, also in a tight space. They disconnected the old one, moved it out, put the new one in and connected it up. In our case we got that free, as there was a 'special offer'.

They took the old one away, again for a small fee. Look on their website.

Euronics unplumbed and took away the old one then fitted the new for me, there is a fee but they seem a helpful bunch and if you explain up front when ordering it I'm sure they would help.

That is quite youthful for a Miele. Have you investigated a repair?

When you buy a machine, you can pay for delivery and there's an additional fees for taking away the old one and for installation. Likely if there's stacking involved then the fee is higher than the fee for plugging in a ground level machine. You will likely need to buy a stacking kit too. If it's an 'integrated' appliance there's typically a higher fee for fitting the door panels - this may also cover a stacked installation.

It may be worth talking to a local appliance firm as they might be more flexible than the national chains (eg can easily rustle up a second person to help with lifting where the national van might be a lonesome driver).

Theo

I think they will if you pay them

Try the "official route" first with the retailer of the new washing machine.

If you can't get anywhere, when the new one is delivered ask the delivery guys if they'd take the tumble drier off, fit the washing machine, and put the tumble drier back on top. At the same time wave a £20 note in front of them. I'll be very surprised if they don't accept - a few months ago we had a new fridge-freezer delivered and although removing the old one was on the invoice, unboxing and installing the new one had been left off by mistake. I waved a £20 note and it was all done in a few minutes.

There's a bit of an 'if' here. Is the tumble dryer sitting on a suitable plinth? Or is it resting on top of the washing machine? I had mine just resting on top - but it was fairly lightweight. And hardly ideal. I'd have thought the vibration from the washing machine wouldn't do the dryer any good, and it did tend to move a few inches over time.

If it's not on a plinth the delivery people may well not want to get involved in case the washing machine or dryer get damaged in use.

There are stacking kits. The manufacturer ones tend to involve the two machines being screwed together so they act as one. The 'universal' ones are more like a giant ratchet strap that goes over the dryer and under the washer to hold them together.

I'd expect the installer wants paying extra for installing a kit, as it'll take longer than putting the machine in place and plugging it in.

Theo

Ah <googles> didn't know about those - so much for my theory, they pretty much couple (rather than isolate) the two machines.

Yep

According to the OP, it was stacked with a (heavy) tumble drier on top. If it's "stacked" it's directly on top. As to vibration, once again according to the OP it's hemmed in by other stuff, so how can it move other than perhaps forward? That, though, is unlikely as vibration from an unbalanced load causes movement in the plane of rotation.

Why should they care if you're offering them money to do it and telling them what you want done? What would happen if they said "That's dodgy, guv, as either or both machines could be damaged", but you tell them to go ahead anyway?

If you get Miele's own repair service they have a fixed-price deal where if they find it's beyond repair they give you what you paid as a discount off a new replacement. We did that 6 months ago with a 25-year-old Miele dishwasher, it needed a part that's no longer made so we took the replacement deal.

The small print in my washing machine instructions say that things like tumble driers should not be directly stacked on the top of the machine. A new machine may have the same limitation.

H&S may dictate that a single delivery driver cannot remove/re-install a stacked item. For some deliveries there may be a 2 man team for such deliveries situations such as this but probably you need to state this before delivery and may incur a higher delivery cost.

I would think that most, if not all, white goods are two man deliveries. A washing machine and a dishwasher from AO, separately, were, and so was a double-height fridge from Marks a couple of years ago. (Marks are only just over a mile from my house but they didn't arrive until about 7.00pm. Turns out they do one van load and go back for a second load.)

Yes, but this will/would be its second repair and the combined repair costs would be around 50% of the price of a new one. If we are going to have all the domestic upheaval of either a repair or replacement, we are inclined to bite the bullet.>

There is already a stacking kit in place, so that can simply be re-used. Part of the problem is that, like a lot of utility rooms, there is very little spare space and the tumble dryer has to sit somewhere whilst the old WM is taken out and the new one brought in.

Connecting (and levelling) a new washine machine is a trivial task. The real issue is un-stacking and later re-stacking the dryer - which is %^&*ing heavy!>

That I have tried. I can't find 'a local appliance firm', only national concerns which claim to be local - pretty much wherever you happen to be.

Understood (and we have used Miele service before), but you need to take into account that Miele's list price for a washing machine is usually a fair bit higher than that of... AO.com, J Lewis, Gillman's etc. etc. So the discount Miele offer you needs to be offset against a lower price elsewhere for the same item.

No plinth (if there was, this discussion would have been unnecessary).

Both the washer and the dryer are Miele appliances, and are stacked using a Miele stacking kit.

P.S. This _isn't_ a lightweight tumble dryer.

In many cases deliveries of white goods are direct from the manufacturer. One advantage of using AO is they use their own delivery fleet and will use a smaller vehicle in a rural location rather than something that cannot get down lanes marked unsuitable for HGVs :)

A near neighbour's washing machine was delivered by one man in a drop lift tail truck and using a largish motorised sack barrow. In this case it appeared that it was delivery only.

I have found in the past few years AO not to have been competitive in pricing if you include delivery and are not buying multiple (large) items in a year. They have an optional membership fee which gives free delivery for a year and lower prices on some items. This may benefit those buying 3 or more items a year but for a one off purchase their higher non-member price and delivery make them more expensive than some of their rivals.

OK...

Check compatibility with the new machine. I think some of the stacking kits screw into the lid of the washer, which won't work if the fixing points have changed.

Euronics is a network of local appliance shops. They tend to be moderately competitive on price with the big chains, although the local shop only keeps pricey models in stock - for cheaper ones you have to order them from the national warehouse.

Theo

Got rid of the Miele washer we had cost a lot in spare parts and when the drum started rattling off up to the scrappie it went got all of 7 quid for it a W1914 model IIRC!.

Replaced it with another machine an AEG prosense something or other from John Lewis their blokes were very helpful it cost around 375 all in and works very well not that i use it that much but the house maintenance exec likes it!..