Washer/Dryer Recommendations

[Driz]

Our last washer we replaced was one of the last US add Maytags circa1994 bags dryer along with it. Trust me both were POS that I got to know intimately . The washer we had 18 years still have the dryer. Bearings and belts done twice new igniter and had some cleaning of the nozzle gun area.
1 you got half an infantry squad there size accordingly. KING SIZE, SUPERSIZE whatever you need a big machine.

2. Like old Sarge said. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. How many size loads do you need but small med large

? Fancy stuff is more to break. That’s a given. Besides , you really won’t use or need all those bells n whistles anyways, we don’t. Ours had / have the old spin dials worked till died on washer and dryer still fine 23 years on and my wife is a wasnutjob. Try to avoid the electronic switches and fancy stuff. Electronics and damp environments don’t play so well together.
3. Me I’m not such a fan of stackables for one reason, ACCESSABILITY. You might have to drop the top one to work on the bottom depending on how the front comes off. That’s just something to consider when buying as sometime or other the dryer belts will wear and the drum support wheels will surely start growling and you gotta open it up. Stacking for that reason can be a PITA if keeping long term. Dryers seem to néed the most attention / repairs so keep that in mind concerning who is on top if You have to go that route.
4. Stacking requires a front loader washer right? From what I’ve heard they tend to have more problems, leaks ect.....

Check out consumer reports and see what is holding up well and what’s not. Secondly. Hit this place . I’ve used this forum to guide me through repairs as long as they have been around.
http://www.appliance411.com/ . I can’t say enough for the help, schematics and advice I’ve gotten from them DanO in particular.
Don’t get all excited about water saving nonsense, it’s all a gimmic. You want to save water and keep your gear going then use it less. Try for full loads or nearly so instead of many small ones to make them last longer.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Get a top loader with a real agitator the rest are C R A P!


I hope front load washers are a passing fad (passing slowly) … low to the ground so sell me a $$$ lift kit for both machines? the funk some of these machines create and leaks and trapped soap you can’t get out of your clothes … I have no use for them.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: 4WD

I hope front load washers are a passing fad (passing slowly) … low to the ground so sell me a $$$ lift kit for both machines? the funk some of these machines create and leaks and trapped soap you can’t get out of your clothes … I have no use for them.


Front loaders have been around since the 50's so I don't think they are going anywhere.

We have a LG (Kenmore) front loader set that is stacked and love them. Going on 6 years now. Replaced a 6 year old LG set that only got pitched because due to a flood they got filled with sewer water. LG washers use a direct drive motor which is quite innovative.

Clean much better than the agitator junk we had before (Maytag). Use less water and soap too. Leave the door open and you get no funk. Our clothes rinse cleanly following the directions on the label.

 

[Dorian]

The new 2018 Speed Queen washers are not nearly as good as the former 2017 models. Watch videos on Youtube before considering one. We have a Whirlpool Duet pair, and it has never let us down in the 7 years we have had it. It cleans like no other. Plus, our water bill went down considerably. It is ran every single day for our family of three. LG is the only other mainstream brand I would consider.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: 14Accent
Laundry every night!?

I swear I keep trying to get on-board the "having kids" train, but every day it gets harder and harder to convince myself it's the right choice.

That being said, I would buy the most BASIC and SIMPLE units you can. All these fancy new machines with the electronic panels and "steam dry" and "super turbo mode" are just unnecessary. My bare-bones washer and dryer have plenty of settings for what I would bet is 90% of the average users cleaning loads. If you want clothes washed carefully/delicately/etc, have them dry cleaned.

Same goes for "energy efficient". It's like LRR tires getting .005% of a MPG better for CAFE. Maybe a family like yours would notice a difference, but I bet many wouldn't. So, do you want a $3k Speed Queen stackable, or a $1k Whirlpool? I would rather spend the $1k on the Whirlpool, fix it myself when it breaks, and spend the additional $2k in savings somewhere else. OR! Put the $2k away, in an envelope, taped to the back of the washer. Then if/when it breaks, you're home free even if it means purchasing a whole new unit.



That seems to be very far off topic.

Personally I would buy the $3k Speed Queen (or any other commercial grade stuff) instead of a fancy $1k consumer grade stuff. My time is worth more than dealing with constant break down and repair over the 25 year expected lifespan.

 

[UncleDave]

Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Get a top loader with a real agitator the rest are C R A P!


Disagree.

Speed queen is great, but lacks internal heating elements.

Miele is even better - if you have the money.


UD

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Driz

4. Stacking requires a front loader washer right? From what I’ve heard they tend to have more problems, leaks ect.....



Some small residence like one of my condo has only a small area for laundry, so you have no choice but a stack. The good news is you can still get those combo with top loaded washer at the bottom, but opening of the lid is only 45 deg. Repair would be a pita though, and expensive to repair both if you decide to give up.

 

[UncleDave]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: Driz

4. Stacking requires a front loader washer right? From what I’ve heard they tend to have more problems, leaks ect.....



Some small residence like one of my condo has only a small area for laundry, so you have no choice but a stack. The good news is you can still get those combo with top loaded washer at the bottom, but opening of the lid is only 45 deg. Repair would be a pita though, and expensive to repair both if you decide to give up.


Had one of those in my first condo- "repair" was a throw away.

UD

 

[IndyFan]

I just had an LG top loading high capacity HE washer bite the dust after only 3 years. It would never balance correctly for spin, so it would just fill up, drain, spin, fill up, drain, spin, over and over. It jacked up my water bill. Ultimately, it quit spinning altogether and sprung a leak. When they came to repair it, the boxes of parts had more volume than the space the washer took up!

I just had a new Maytag Bravos delivered today and ran its first load. The LG never, even when new, performed as well or as efficiently with water as this Maytag just did.

I'm done with LG. The last good washer I had was a Whirlpool, which now owns Maytag.

I have high hopes for this Maytag.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: IndyFan
I just had an LG top loading high capacity HE washer bite the dust after only 3 years. It would never balance correctly for spin, so it would just fill up, drain, spin, fill up, drain, spin, over and over. It jacked up my water bill. Ultimately, it quit spinning altogether and sprung a leak. When they came to repair it, the boxes of parts had more volume than the space the washer took up!

I just had a new Maytag Bravos delivered today and ran its first load. The LG never, even when new, performed as well or as efficiently with water as this Maytag just did.

I'm done with LG. The last good washer I had was a Whirlpool, which now owns Maytag.

I have high hopes for this Maytag.


We have those Maytags ~ 3 years now and happy so far …

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: 4WD

I hope front load washers are a passing fad (passing slowly) … low to the ground so sell me a $$$ lift kit for both machines? the funk some of these machines create and leaks and trapped soap you can’t get out of your clothes … I have no use for them.


Front loaders have been around since the 50's so I don't think they are going anywhere.

We have a LG (Kenmore) front loader set that is stacked and love them. Going on 6 years now. Replaced a 6 year old LG set that only got pitched because due to a flood they got filled with sewer water. LG washers use a direct drive motor which is quite innovative.

Clean much better than the agitator junk we had before (Maytag). Use less water and soap too. Leave the door open and you get no funk. Our clothes rinse cleanly following the directions on the label.


IIRC ~ used my first front loader 37 years ago and have worked overseas for 27 years so very familiar with front loaders of various makes. LG? Even had them when I lived in Korea … one LG washer and one Samsung fridge went out in 3 years. My family is big in rental property … they are past the LG phase and buy one notch above bottom Kenmore now … knobs but have some anti wrinkle features … a few selections. That’s what I do in my two weekend places … At home ~ Maytag already mentioned above …
In my apartment overseas FLW are in closets (normal abroad) … prefer to keep closed. My utility here is long and narrow = not ideal to leave machines open.
Glad your machines are working out but ~I just like top load.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: 4WD
We are letting SK companies fill our box stores after getting caught price dumping … wake up already …
KORUS was a bad idea …


My problem with a lot of these new exotic brands (to us in the US) is that they are still NEW to our market, the repair / remodelling industry is not yet 100% used to dealing with them.

My LG dish washer has different than usual drain / inlet location than the original domestic GE / Whirlpool, we need to drill new holes in the cabinets to get it route through. Same for the LG micro hood I got once, the mounting holes on top actually stick outside the 12" deep cabinet, You can't really mount it even if you want to drill new holes. I was surprised that they are trying to sell it in Home Depot, because most people won't be able to mount it with their 12" deep cabinet.

IKEA appliances on non IKEA kitchen will likely have the same problem, but at least you can buy them as a set vs just the appliances.

 

[alarmguy]

I think we are forgetting the OP asked about "Stackable".

But otherwise choosing separates is easy.

Whirlpool midrange top loader $350 and dryer each. Always on sale everywhere
Cheaper try Roper.
They just wash clothes, never understand why people think its glamorous to spend over $1000 to wash clothes, not only that, the expensive machines are cash cows for the manufacturers and they break down far more frequent.
Yes, its true, we spend money on what makes us happy )