Hey… time for the “what have I been up to” report.
Yes, I see you sitting there with bated breath going… “ah, no, too busy with my own load of bull, but, okay, give ‘er a go - I’ve got, like, a minute”.
What BRAND is your WASHER and DRYER?
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Yes, I do wear heels and an apron when I do laundry!
What? You don't? My, my… tsk, tsk. |
I’m in the market and need a new set - you know, a washer that can actually take a full load and “wash” it, and a dryer that doesn’t groan as the door opens, then continues groaning for the duration. (Like some old guy wishing his dose of Viagra would finally wear off - really, four hours, come on, who are we kidding - even as a young buck he’d be lucky to hang in for 10 minutes.)
Consumer Report was rather useless - only big ticket brands seemed to warrant their time and attention.
Here’s what I want in a washer and dryer.
SIMPLICITY - no fancy computer dashboard. I want nobs, just ordinary, simple nobs! The kind that do their job for at least two decades. (My nobs still work by the way, it's everything else that's on the fritz.)
And, doesn't dear Bettie Wallace just lay it out for us… see… she's HAPPY - gotta go with the happy folks on this one!
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(BW is a Speed Queen success story - for real!) |
I enjoyed reading the "success" stories featured on the Speed Queen site - click HERE if your up to some honesty.
GOOD AGITATION - this is one of those times when being an agitator is essential and in washing machines it’s a must. (There was soooo much potential to add my penny's worth about good agitation, but… you've only got a minute, remember!)
TIME FACTOR - I don’t want to stand around (or sit watching TV and thinking about my laundry) for an hour and a half - which seems to be the time HE (high efficiency) front loaders take to wash a load. Now that’s a full load of bull right there!
Last, but equally important is COST - they should be affordable. (I don’t want to sell the first born (my only born) as I’m thinking she might come in handy down the road when I can’t find my dentures or my wig!)
Anyway - I’m leaning toward SPEED QUEEN. They’ve been around since before electricity - well, close - 1908! Wow! And, they are the major supplier of commercial machines. And, (yes, another and) they use the same industrial grade components for their retail line.
So, after reading THIS C/NET ARTICLE (particularly the comments, which are way more informative than Consumer Report) and watching the following video I think I’m making a wise choice.
HERE ARE TWO OF THE COMMENTS THAT GOT MY ATTENTION…
This first confirmed my fears that front loaders "could" have their share of problems. The comment had a lot more chronology but this will give you the gist - plus the author has a link to her complaint website if you really have that much extra time. (Like, what happened to only having a minute, eh?)
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In this next comment, it was the bit about Speed Queen which spurred me on the path of due diligence… and do it I did.
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A FURTHER BONUS - their warranty is three years, parts and labour - that’s right THREE years - not the piddly one year that is the norm. Well, that speaks volumes too!
Here’s that video that sold me…
Another thing that worked in Speed Queen’s favour, while calling around, was the recognition HUEBSCH (Speed Queen’s name for their product in Canada) received when I asked about it at three different stores.
And… (yes, yes, the stand alone, out front, and) one of the sales folks even owns a set - well… that’s it for me. I use the face product I sell and believe if it’s good sales folks will use their best products too.
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My circuitous ramblings are now complete, I am back to where I started...
What BRAND is your WASHER and DRYER?
And… do you love them!
Would you recommend them?
Cheers, Jenny
PS - A post-post note. Here in Canada the set retails for $1659-1798 + tax. Delivery is $60-80, removal of old W/D is $20-30.
