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Thread: Washing machine longevity advice please

  1. #31
    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    Don't think if you buy one now that you'll get the same quality. Maytag, like Kitchenaid, used to be a very good appliance brand. Now they're definitely in the lower end for durablilty.
    The Maytag repair man died a few years ago. I don't know who's on the watch now.

    I fifth the recommendation for Speed Queen, BTW. I bought a set four years ago (top-loading washer) and if you can afford them, (they don't cost _that_ much more) they are sweet machines, no matter what Consumer Reports says (they are IMO idiots when it comes to this type of gear.)

  2. #32
    Just looked up Maytag washshinamasheen. Current top load ....top rated.

  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    Just looked up Maytag washshinamasheen. Current top load ....top rated.
    Consumer Reports seems obsessed with whether a washing machine makes noise. So if it didn't do anything at all, they'd rate it even higher. :^)

  4. #34
    Doug.....I'm sorry. Please choose one of our lovely "parting gifts". And the second runner-up Miss America will send you
    a photo.....Now let's meet our NEXT CONTESTANT !!

  5. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    Doug.....I'm sorry. Please choose one of our lovely "parting gifts". And the second runner-up Miss America will send you
    a photo.....Now let's meet our NEXT CONTESTANT !!
    So you disagree? What is, "Did you read the reviews"? :^) Judges please.

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dawson View Post
    [edited]

    no matter what Consumer Reports says (they are IMO idiots when it comes to this type of gear.)
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dawson View Post
    Consumer Reports seems obsessed with whether a washing machine makes noise. So if it didn't do anything at all, they'd rate it even higher. :^)
    My opinion of Consumer Reports has remained low for decades.

    One report gave top marks to a Montgomery Wards branded refrigerator. The same model with the OEM's badge was down low on the list.

    They gave bad ratings to some good quality cookware, which is the preferred cookware of many cooks, for being "too heavy." The top rating went to some aluminum cookware.

    Another time the Schwinn Varsity bicycle was given a top rating. At the time it was one of the heaviest 10 speed bikes on the market. They didn't like the lugs used at the joints of tubing on other bikes. Anyone who knows about bicycle riding knows it is the rider who has to work harder to move the extra weight.

    They may get some things right, who knows? For my money, it may be better to ask individuals on a forum like this.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    My dad had a gas washer. It had a pull cord to start the motor.

    jtk
    That's what I learned to repair small engines on. Dad brought home a 1.0 HP, cast iron Briggs, horizontal shaft engine from a Bendex washing machine. Told me to figure out what was wrong, and he would pay for the parts necessary to fix it. It had a rusted intake valve, so I learned how to "grind valves." Probably one of the best gifts ever, as it keeps giving and giving.

  8. #38
    Join Date
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    Winterville, NC (eastern NC)
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    No advice on which model to buy.
    But it's a sad state when even the appliance salesman tells you that today's appliances are not meant to last. I hate this disposable society.

  9. #39
    We bought a speed queen after a disappointing experience with a Kenmore. I definitely recommend a Speed Queen. We are very pleased with it.

  10. #40
    I agree they ( Consumer Reports) have unusual criteria. At times goofy criteria. They will give high marks for "easy to open", "doesn't smell
    as bad as some things", "bullet proof", "if you eat it ,you have a chance of surviving", " not comfortable but will not scratch
    a vinyl floor", "the only shoe polish that is a safe food coloring", "we like this car because the radio antena has a grease fitting". BUT they sure know washing machines !
    Last edited by Mel Fulks; 01-15-2020 at 10:32 PM.

  11. #41
    I have old school speed queens. Probably close to 25 years old, bought them used and my wife has never complained or told me to fix them.

  12. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Western Oregon
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    We had an expensive Bosch front loader washer (and dryer) for about 15 years. 15 years of trouble, that is. Finally, I lost my patience and got fed up. FED UP.

    Fed up with the electronics. Fed up with the "eco" water saving. Fed up with the buzzers demanding my immediate attention to a MACHINE. Fed up with the clogging filter in the drain, the leaking out onto the floor and the perpetual moldy smell. Fed up with "German Engineering." And, most of all, fed up with clothes that would simply not wash clean, to say nothing of smelling clean.

    I could do better than that with a washboard in a cesspool.

    Finally, I decided that I just wanted it out of my sight..... and started looking for the kind of wringer washer my mother had bought just after WW2. No electronics, no dials, no "features", no Eco water saving foolishness, no manuals in three languages, none of that. It just worked. It got the clothes clean. That was fantasy, but I found something nearly as simple.

    A Speed Queen top loader. Entirely mechanical with no electronics. And, guess what.....clean underwear.

  13. #43
    Join Date
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    I'd love to even entertain the idea of a Speed Queen, but the closest dealer I can find is in the USA - all sorts of nightmares with that, including the possibility of warrantee service.
    Sigh, of to picking "second best".
    Young enough to remember doing it;
    Old enough to wish I could do it again.

  14. #44
    I guess this could be considered an interesting read. It's basically a direct rebuttle to the Speed Queen fans. The writer sounds like he was even starting to come around about Speed Queen (apparently the tests conducted don't necessarily reflect real world circumstance, especially for "work clothes" type of loads,) but once the 2018 models came out even the Speed Queen fans started to turn-tail.

    https://thewirecutter.com/blog/speed-queen-washer/

  15. #45
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    We have front load stacked Kenmore Elite washer/gas dryer. SWMBO has always preferred front loaders, says they use less water and being stacked take up less space. We got these in probably 1997-1998. and so far so good. One thing she insists on is leaving the washer door open for a day after use so the inside dries out. I did a search on likely points of failure after getting them and a big one was the 'star' that supports and turns the washer tub. It is prone to corrosion, letting it dry out between uses helps with that.

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