Washer & Dryer recommendations

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Bubblegum_IHB

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Alrighty, our Kenmore front-loaders w/d are near their end of life. We've been shopping and asking our friends what they use and it seems like nearly all the american brands, especailly Maytag went from good to horrible in less than a decade.



Go to Home Depot, Best Buy, Great Indoors or other appliance stores and the you'll see lots of LG, Samsung, some whirlpool and maybe, maybe a GE and a couple of maytags. We're considering Miele at the point but was wondering what everyone else ended up with and if they're happy with their purchase.



Capacity isn't that important but the dryer needs to be gas..
 
<p>What do you need in a washer/dryer versus what do you want?</p>

<p>You can spend $400 each and get completely functional or you could get a high end, steam clean, high efficiency version at close to $2000 a piece.</p>

<p> </p>
 
I seriously don't understand the need for 18 different wash cycles, but that's just me. What's important to us is quietness, minimizing vibration (2nd floor laundry room), reliability, and clothes come out clean and sanitary. Steam clean is not important as long as the wash cycle has a heater to heat the incoming water to safely sanitize clothes, kill dust mites, etc. Must be front-loaders, must be a gas dryer.



Anybody have good or bad experiences with LG? We've had problems and horrid service with our Samsung refrigerator, so we're a bit gun shy on another Korean appliance.
 
I just go to Pacific Sales or Home Depot and get either the least expensive units or close to the least expensive units. I doubt if the $1000 - $2000 units would get our clothes any cleaner of dryer.
 
Generally, I've been happy with our Whirlpool Duet. The only problem I had was that a few days after the 1 yr warranty expired, the thermistor blew, and the service call was ~$120. I haven't had any problems since.





I will admit to be tempted by the w/d that offers steam cleaning, though, with all the "dry clean only" clothes we have.
 
We just bought the LG Tromm with steam clean (the red one) that my wife insisted on getting. We had an older LG prior to that, and it was excellent. I never realized W/D's made that much of a difference, but it does and the different cycles (I don't know about 18 of them) do matter for the durability of the clothes. Ours do have steam clean, but I'm not convinced that is going to be worth it. We'll find out soon enough, I guess. I also heard the Whirlpool Duet is excellent.
 
I think I read in Consumer Reports there was some new water restriction law that bunged up a lot of the W/D's designs. Can't remember what was good, might be worth going to Consumer Reports (ex. library?) to figure it out.
 
I think you can go to Consumer Report's website and pay a $5 or $10 fee to check out what they had to say on W&D. It may be worth the small fee.
 
We have the LG Tromm with steam clean, too. For the most part it is great. A couple of things to keep in mind (which are generalizable to all front load machines). I've found it hard to get it perfectly balanced, and it seems to vibrate a fair amount during the final spin. It's otherwise very quiet. Also, leave the door to the washer open between washings. The seal on the machine is very, very good, and the trapped moisture can result in a not so good smell when its warm out.
 
I remember reading in consumer reports that their best buys for washers were <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/laundry-and-cleaning/washing-machines/reports/ratings/ratings/99017796.htm">Frigidaire</a> Gallery GLTF2940F CR Best Buy and <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/laundry-and-cleaning/washing-machines/reports/ratings/ratings/99017820.htm">GE</a> WJRE5500G[WW] CR Best Buy $650 and $480 respectively.





Dryers? <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/laundry-and-cleaning/clothes-dryers/reports/ratings/ratings/99012015.htm">GE</a> DBVH512EF[WW] ($650) and <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/laundry-and-cleaning/clothes-dryers/reports/ratings/ratings/99016079.htm">GE</a> Profile DPSE810EG[WT] CR Best Buy ($500)





PM me if you need more info, I have that issue of CR.

 
Thanks for the comments, I checked out my local library (Heritage Park) and the latest feb 2008 issue was checked out... of course they had every other issue but the one I was looking for.



I've been searching through gardenweb's laundry forum, talk about hard-core laundry talk!! My parents subscribe to the magazine, it looks like even print subscribers don't get free access to the online version. Sheesh... It looks like the LG Tromm scored the highest in the Feb 08 consumer reports issue according to the folks are gardenweb.
 
IMO, <a href="http://www.consumersearch.com/" target="_blank">ConsumerSearch</a> is a great resource to check out.





They have sections on <a href="http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/washing-machine-reviews/index.html" target="_blank">Washing Machines</a> and <a href="http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/clothes-dryer-reviews/index.html" target="_blank">Dryers</a>.
 
<p>my 2 cents: </p>

<p>I swear by my GE washer (just get the Energy star-marked one). I got it at Sears. Cheap, reliable, has all the options you might need. </p>

<p>For those people who know my love of organic/back to nature lifestyle it would come as no surprise that I don't own a dryer, I dry my laundry on the line in my laundry room, saves lots of money in energy bills and clothes smell fresh as opposed to clothes right from the dryer, which always smell to me like something burned in there :)</p>
 
<p><em>>>For those people who know my love of organic/back to nature lifestyle it would come as no surprise that I don't own a dryer, I dry my laundry on the line in my laundry room, saves lots of money in energy bills and clothes smell fresh as opposed to clothes right from the dryer, which always smell to me like something burned in there :)</em></p>

<p>Clearly you don't live in an HOA regulated home. Every CC&R I've seen does not allow clothes to be hung. If the State Legislature wanted to do something useful they would pass a law rendering all those provisions void or unenforceable as against public policy.</p>
 
<p><em>If the State Legislature wanted to do something useful they would pass a law rendering all those provisions void or unenforceable as against public policy.</em></p>

<p>x2 if they do the same with rooftop solar power. </p>
 
To <a href="http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/account/26/">EvaLSeraphim</a>

<p>You are right about that, but actually, I do live in a townhome with CC&Rs, but I hang the clothes on the line in my laundry room (nobody can't see it from the outside), and if you open a window and the door, the draft works just as well as the wind :)</p>

<p>When I just started doing that, I would hang them on my balcony, and my neighbor (the nicest guy I've ever met) offered for me to use his dryer any time I want :) So, I got the hint and started to hang them inside...</p>
 
<p>"clothes smell fresh as opposed to clothes right from the dryer, which always smell to me like something burned in there"</p>

<p>I notice that is the difference between an expensive dryer vs. less expensive. I know exactly the smell you are talking about and the LG does not give off those odors. Guess there is some merit to mortgaging your house for a W/D? No pun intended... I actually like the natural dry myself, except for the stiffness that it creates when it drys.</p>
 
that's interesting, I kind of always assumed that all dryers give that burnt smell, I'll check into that :)

To avoid that stiffness (I know exactly what you are talking about), just don't leave it on the line for 2 days, as soon as it is dry, take it off, it could be as little as few hours for some clothes :)
 
Bubblegum--Per consumer reports latest edition:



Washers:

For performance and efficiency--

LG WM0642H[W] , $900

Frigidaire Gallery GLTF2940F , $650, Best Buy

LG holds more but Frigidaire is faster.



For budget buy--

GE WJRE5500G[WW] , $480, Best Buy

Estate ETW4400T[Q] , $400

Both budget buys were considered relatively noisy.



Dryers:

Best moderate price dryers--

GE Profile DPSE810EG[WT] , $500

GE DBVH512EF[WW] , $650

Both were considered Best Buys and cost hundreds less than competitors with similar scores.
 
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