Looking For A New Washer?

my_genre · 01-22-2006, 12:14 PM

My husband and I purchased a new washer about 6 months ago and I thought I would share my thoughts on it in case anyone is looking to upgrade, be it tax return season or whatever.

My husband and I are appliance snobs I guess. As expensive as they are, we want the bells and whistles we need and we want them to work like they should. I do laundry for a family of five, two of those being kids and one being a baby...needless to say our laundry really adds up.:faint: We are also very cost and environmentally concious. We started looking for a new washer about 6 months before we purchased one and I will say that I am EXTREMELY pleased with our decision.

We ended up purchasing a Fisher and Paykel Intuitive Eco model at Lowes. http://usa.fisherpaykel.com/laundry/...E6D6895FDD418A

This is buy far the best washer I have ever owned. I had a bit of buyer's remorse when we got it home because they are a little spendy and they do not work like other washers. I was like...what the heck did we do????? I have to say though, after reading the simple manual and putting it to use properly, it is excellent.

The reasons I like it are:
* It has double the manufacturer's warranty as all the other washers we looked at.

* It has one of the best energy star ratings.

* I can honestly do one load of whites or jeans a week for a family of five, instead of 2 or 3.

* It spins out at 1000 RPM, so it cut my drying time in half without damaging our clothes.(It has a safety feature so it locks while spinning so no one loses an arm)

* It is a direct drive motor, no belts, no gears, no pulleys, or transmission.

* It takes half the detergent.

* Special loads for handwashables and other things, I can even fit our thick winter king size comforter in there without blinking an eye.

* It auto senses the water level and the fabric type...even how dirty your laundry is.

No, I do not work for this company or any company that sells these. I am just a busy mom with a friendly opinion that I thought might help someone else. Hope it does help, these are really worth checking out.

-Debra

Jessiebear · 01-22-2006, 11:51 PM

Thanks Debra! Sounds like a great washer!

Anwyn · 01-23-2006, 01:47 AM

Thanks for the info Debra! DH and I are going to be looking for a new washer/dryer in the next month or so. I'll check out the link. I love the thought of not having to take my king comforter to the laundromat... :)

Jachut · 01-23-2006, 02:06 AM

Sounds like a good one. I had an enormous hoover top loader that died after over a decade of service - and I do about three to four loads a day with 3 kids so it gave plenty of service. We bought an LG frontloader, man what a piece of utter crap that is. It's been fixed 3 times under warranty in 12 months. The minute the warranty finishes we'll buy a new washer.

MyKdsDad · 01-23-2006, 05:01 PM

Debra, I considered your post and decided that I would not be a good person to answer that one. My DW and I made one of our first major purchases right after we got married and that was a Kenmore washer and dryer from the Sears store in Yuma, AZ. We just recently celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and we still have that original washer and dryer. And yes, I just did a load of my work clothes in both.

MollyMolly · 01-23-2006, 05:07 PM

Amen Randy -- we've got a Kenmore Elite large capacity front loader and it's fantastic.

Although it takes huge loads of jeans or towels and does a great job on them, I do have to say I'm jealous of Debra's machine that it will take a fluffy king sized comforter. Ours will not take our heavy king sized quilt (which is oversized, it hangs over a lot on all sides) -- that is the one thing we are stuck having to take to the laundromat for a professional high-capacity washer. After having the cat first pee on it and then barf on it, our quilt has been tucked away for now as DH is pissed enough at the cat that I dare not tempt him further. :nervous

my_genre · 01-23-2006, 07:23 PM

Randy,
That is awesome that your Kenmore has lasted for so long and is working well. They must not make them like they did thirty years ago or we just had a weak model....because the washer we just got rid of was a Kenmore. Ughhhh.

MyKdsDad · 01-24-2006, 11:42 AM

my genre, we've had our moments....a broken belt, a busted mixing valve. We even had to go to a junk yard to find a knob when ours broke. They don't make one to fit this model any more. But it's been a good one.