Washer and Dryer

[TwiceHorn 31587]

I have a 40? year old Whirlpool washer and dryer that has finally quit heating up drying.  Full size, reasonable capacity.

I don't think I have any interest in a front loader.  Top load seems fine, as does agitator versus the impeller type.

I also don't seem to need a bunch of different cycles and whatnot.  The old school several temps and rpms seem to do the job.

Am I missing anything?  Should I be looking at places other than Home Depot or Lowes?

Thanks in advance.

Edited June 29, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[Da Fino 2785]

Speed queen. They had a couple of off years lately, but I've heard they've got all their issues fixed now. 

[horn4life 3784]

Heating element?  

[Nueces River Rat 5554]

Stay away from Samsung and LG….. 

Not only are they pieces of crap.   When you need service you will wait forever for parts.   
 

Pay extra for Maytag or Whirlpool. 

[Gil Bang 26053]

12 minutes ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Stay away from Samsung and LG….. 

Not only are they pieces of crap.   When you need service you will wait forever for parts.   
 

Pay extra for Maytag or Whirlpool. 

100% correct about Samsung and LG.  

I've had both, and they both took a shit after a couple of years.  And LG warranty is dogshit.  The motor went out on mine.  Fucking sticker on the machine says motor has 10 year warranty.   I call LG, they say they'll come fix it for $250 IIRC.  I'm like, uh, OK, but if it's the motor it's no charge right?  Wrong.  It's $250 to repair it regardless of what's wrong.  Fuck that.

And, I've told this story before.   I ended up buying another LG, because we already had the pedestal, it matched the dryer, it was cheap and in stock, and I could buy a 5 year warranty for another $100 bucks.   It's still running and it's been about a 18 months I'm guessing.  But yeah fuck LG.  

Oh, and my kid's LG 2018 LG fridge took a shit and was declared un-fixable by the repair company.  Luckily, it was covered by his home warranty policy, and they reimbursed him for a new fridge. 

 

 

[Celery Man 21004]

I would also avoid GE.

We moved across the country, our GE washer started shaking violently at the new house, washer guy said it was unclear how but that fluid had leaked from a balancing hoop, but it didn’t really matter because the washer was about to shit the bed completely for unrelated reasons I’ve forgotten (except for the guy referring to the model as a lemon).

 Anyways, independent washer/dryer repairman recommended whirlpool and also recommended against lg. I bought the pretty low frills whirlpool set from Lowes and it has been fine so far (not long enough of a sample to demonstrate anything except that it functions as expected).

[CooterBrown 18034]

I replaced front load LGs with top load Maytag. Clothes are cleaner and wash/dry cycles are much shorter. Never going back to the “fancy” machines.

[CooterBrown 18034]

I replaced front load LGs with top load Maytag. Clothes are cleaner and wash/dry cycles are much shorter. Never going back to the “fancy” machines.

[DalTxHornFan 3119]

Top loader guy here.  Not a fan of all of the bells and whistles on the fancy Asian brands. 

We didn't buy the cheapest Lowe's machine, but we've been really happy that we went the non-agitator route.  Lots less wear and tear on your clothes.

[Nonbryan 173]

Maytag has a commercial line I believe

[TwiceHorn 31587]

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

I replaced front load LGs with top load Maytag. Clothes are cleaner and wash/dry cycles are much shorter. Never going back to the “fancy” machines.

Is yours agitator or impeller?  I see that impeller models may have some of the same type of problems as front loaders.

I fully get that agitators are hard on clothes, but that has never really been a big issue for me.  About the worst problem we have with laundry is that whites seem to get just kind of dingy over time, mostly tshirts.  Not sure any washer solves that.

I've had good luck with whirlpool appliances over the years.

I notice that SpeedQueen, in addition to being spendy and maybe not living up to past rep, has a seven year warranty, but it seems comprehensive.  Most of the Whirlpools (including Maytag) have 10 year warranties.

[Nueces River Rat 5554]

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

I replaced front load LGs with top load Maytag. Clothes are cleaner and wash/dry cycles are much shorter. Never going back to the “fancy” machines.

Did the same with my dryer  when I replaced the Samsung dryer from the set we bought in 2014.   The washer is still hanging on, but who knows how much longer?  Anyhow I bought a simple Maytag dryer without any of the digital and sensor crap, and yes it dries a full load of towels faster. And  it doesn’t think a load is dry when I have mixed laundry items  and end the cycle prematurely .  That used to drive me nuts. Also the Maytag doesn’t  generate as much lint as the Samsung did.   

[MNLonghornFUKM 8823]

Don’t over think things. Top load whirlpool is the most user friendly, most reliable and cheapest combo there is

[TwiceHorn 31587]

15 hours ago, horn4life said:

Heating element?  

Yes, most likely.  And probably fairly easily and cheaply replaced.  But, the pair is old.  I had a compact set that I gave away after my parents passed and took this full size set, which was oldish then.  We've had it since I was in high school.  The washer is susceptible to horrible banging with out of balance loads.

It is easily 30 years old and probably more like 40.  It is probably time to replace, even though it will be replaced with a comparative steaming heap of shit.

Pretty sure I'm going with a Whirlpool or Maytag agitator top loader.

Anything special I should look for in dryers?

[Gene Parmesan 4016]

I prefer the impeller with the top loader.  Not so much that I'm worried about beating on my clothes, but drawstrings from gym shorts and kids clothes constantly get twisted up around the agitator. 

[baboso 6057]

Even the top loading Whirlpools still take an hour for the wash and an hour for the dryer.  

Celery Man, your washer got fucked up in the move because the movers piled a bunch of shit on top of it when they packed the truck.  I had the same thing happen when I moved a few years ago.  Last move, I sold the old set and bought a new set when I got my new place.

[Celery Man 21004]

2 hours ago, baboso said:

Even the top loading Whirlpools still take an hour for the wash and an hour for the dryer.  

Celery Man, your washer got fucked up in the move because the movers piled a bunch of shit on top of it when they packed the truck.  I had the same thing happen when I moved a few years ago.  Last move, I sold the old set and bought a new set when I got my new place.

no doubt. if we had been moving ourselves I wouldn't have moved them at all (and would have had a *much* more in depth conversation with my wife about which furniture she always hated and didn't want in the new house). If I was being relocated again, I would've done much more testing with any appliances before finalizing things with the moving company.

[Nueces River Rat 5554]

5 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Yes, most likely.  And probably fairly easily and cheaply replaced.  But, the pair is old.  I had a compact set that I gave away after my parents passed and took this full size set, which was oldish then.  We've had it since I was in high school.  The washer is susceptible to horrible banging with out of balance loads.

It is easily 30 years old and probably more like 40.  It is probably time to replace, even though it will be replaced with a comparative steaming heap of shit.

Pretty sure I'm going with a Whirlpool or Maytag agitator top loader.

Anything special I should look for in dryers?

Just go with the "simple" higher capacity Maytag or Whirlpool Dryer.... Skip the bells and whistles such as the sensors that shorten the time because at least with my now former Samsung Drier, it often detected wrong and I had to put the load on a timed dry which probably cancelled out the energy savings it advertised.    Kind of like some of the early water saving toilets with water savings if you know what I mean.

The only thing that annoys me with the Maytag dryer we have now is it has an old school buzzer that is loud as heck vs the chimes the Samsung had.  That buzzer can wake a drunk up from his nap.  

[horn4life 3784]

We had an old Kenmore washer that lasted some 25 years.  I got it from my folks and it only crapped out two years ago.  I got a great pair of Kenmore He4 for like $250, with pedestals off craigslist. 3rd floor apt... paid their movers $30 to put it into the trailer.

But... now the dryer is on the fritz and I assumed it was the "heating element." Bought the part and was going to test with voltmeter but it's battery was dead, so installed the part... still no heat.  So sometimes it's NOT the heating element.   I didn't even want the electric, as I prefer gas... so better be the damn fuse...  The voltmeter at Home depot was $6.99, the 9 volt battery at Walgreens was $6.69... I figured another pair of probes was worth the 30 cents.

[Enchubben 5512]

Top loading speed queen. No frills.

I abuse the shit out of it by overloading it and run it pretty hard and have not had a single issue since purchase 7 years ago.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8823]

Just go with the "simple" higher capacity Maytag or Whirlpool Dryer.... Skip the bells and whistles such as the sensors that shorten the time because at least with my now former Samsung Drier, it often detected wrong and I had to put the load on a timed dry which probably cancelled out the energy savings it advertised.    Kind of like some of the early water saving toilets with water savings if you know what I mean.
The only thing that annoys me with the Maytag dryer we have now is it has an old school buzzer that is loud as heck vs the chimes the Samsung had.  That buzzer can wake a drunk up from his nap.  

That’s one thing about my whirlpool dryer I hate is sensored dryness. Most of the time it isn’t a big deal, but sometimes a pair of jeans sneaks by and are pretty damp while everything else is dry

[Pato del Muerto 52626]

Whirlpool is Maytag. The extra cost is the longer warranty, but in many cases the majority of a whirlpool unit has the same parts as a Maytag counterpart. 
 

ps bought a whirlpool set 6 years ago and the dryer broke after about 4.  It was a model set with soft keys instead of a dial, which I didn’t want, but it was on sale and the best deal at the time.  I used a combination of the service manual and YouTube videos to open it up and chase voltages, and the guy me result was it recommended a full motherboard change which was like $120.  Since the only issue was temp control, I just kept using it as is and didn’t let the temp get too hot, and kept some spare thermal fuses for when I let it go too long. Then when I sold the house with all appliances, I didn’t want to leave that for the new owner so we bought a new one that we never used. 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Pato del Muerto

[NeverMarryAStripper 21969]

7 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

That’s one thing about my whirlpool dryer I hate is sensored dryness. Most of the time it isn’t a big deal, but sometimes a pair of jeans sneaks by and are pretty damp while everything else is dry

You really shouldn’t be drying jeans with anything else any way

[Nueces River Rat 5554]

12 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

You really shouldn’t be drying jeans with anything else any way

The sensors really get thrown off when you are washing a mixed load of shirts,  like Under Armor style nylon golf shirts  and your regular cotton shirts.   I usually now out of habit thanks to crap fits I had with the old Samsung  let my Under Armor golf shirts drip dry because they don't wrinkle or require an iron.  The issue that gave me the most crap fits  was my gym clothes as  most  of my shorts were nylon or nylon blend, but most of my work out shirts were a cotton blend.  I'd put them in the dryer and 15 mins later the chime is going off.   The shorts were somewhat dry, but the shirts were still very much wet.  

[Revolution512 1495]

Bought top load LG washer/dryer in 2013, no issues. They were very highly rated back then, hopefully they hang on. 

[TwiceHorn 31587]

Ok.  I have narrowed it down to Maytag or Whirlpool.  Top load.  A bit agnostic about impeller or agitator.  I do want to avoid any "slick" switches on the control panel.

In some instances, Maytag has a better warranty, covering labor out to five years, but it's hard to tell which has which.

One thing that annoys.  Our existing dryer has a door that opens down, which is nice because it catches stuff before it falls on the floor.  The Maytags all open to the side.  Not that big a deal, but keeps shit off the floor and a little less far to reach down.

Anything else to consider?

[Pato del Muerto 52626]

The one I inherited is a Samsung but the door opens down or to the side depending on which latch you use. It’s a nice feature actually. 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Pato del Muerto

[Nueces River Rat 5554]

Also don't forget to have your dryer vent cleaned out occasionally....  

Our current home we built back in 2005 has a dryer vent that goes up trough the wall up to attic with a roof vent.  I thought I was doing enough to keep it clear by being almost tyrannical with keeping the filter clean and moving the dryer from the wall occasionally   disconnecting the exhaust hose and reaching into the dryer to pull lent as well as the wall connection.   In 2019  one the repair guys who serviced the POC Samsung suggested I might want to have the the whole vent cleaned up the roof.    So I paid this guy to clean it and he extracted  about a 1/3 of a city trash cart full of lint.   I was like wow that could have been a a dangerous situation as fires have been known to get started in the vents, but I never though the lint would go all the way to the top of the vent.   Next house we build I hope we have the laundry room configured to where the dryer vent is short and discharges to the other side of the wall... Easy clean,.

[JMFP 1126]

We bought the Speed Queen Tr7 set about 3 1/2 years ago... It's piss. Uses a ton of water and doesn't clean very well. Maybe the newer models are better but they won't get any more of my money. 

[HornOnTheBayou 8952]

On 6/29/2021 at 3:16 PM, TwiceHorn said:

I have a 40? year old Whirlpool washer and dryer that has finally quit heating up drying.  Full size, reasonable capacity.

My washer and dryer turned 40 a couple of weeks ago also and I'm having some of the same issues. I mean sure the Sugar Daddy thread made me think about trading her in for a newer model, but I'm not ready to spend half my shit for that. At the end of the day she's still a great wife and a wonderful mom to our kids. We have our ups and downs, but overall I'm happy and I think she'll keep running for a while still.

Edited July 1, 2021 by HornOnTheBayou

[Updawg 2286]

We bought the Speed Queen Tr7 set about 3 1/2 years ago... It's piss. Uses a ton of water and doesn't clean very well. Maybe the newer models are better but they won't get any more of my money. 

I’ve heard they have had issues lately so ended up just buying a whirlpool washer recently. It does have the slick control panel which I don’t like. We will see how long it lasts

I replaced mine around spring break. Supply chains were all screwed up. Originally ordered a lg from Lowe’s but after a couple of weeks of them not being able to deliver it I had to cancel it. Ended up buying the whirlpool from a local appliance store that delivered it the next day. So maybe I got lucky after reading the lg reviews.

[Gene Parmesan 4016]

2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Ok.  I have narrowed it down to Maytag or Whirlpool.  Top load.  A bit agnostic about impeller or agitator.  I do want to avoid any "slick" switches on the control panel.

In some instances, Maytag has a better warranty, covering labor out to five years, but it's hard to tell which has which.

One thing that annoys.  Our existing dryer has a door that opens down, which is nice because it catches stuff before it falls on the floor.  The Maytags all open to the side.  Not that big a deal, but keeps shit off the floor and a little less far to reach down.

Anything else to consider?

Is either set in stock?  There is an appliance shortage right now, some sets are going to be months out.

[Apep 645]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:26 AM, TwiceHorn said:

Anything special I should look for in dryers?

Yeah, a clean dryer vent in your home. I went with a cheap set of simple, well-reviewed GEs last year when inventory was super low due to the pandemic. My  14 year-old front-load, Frigidaire washer had died, so I didn't have much choice on the timing or the product; the Maytags I wanted were out-of-stock. While I was waiting for delivery, I bought a dryer vent cleaning kit off Amazon and cleaned my dryer vent. Made a huge difference and it was very easy to use.

[TwiceHorn 31587]

3 hours ago, Apep said:

Yeah, a clean dryer vent in your home. I went with a cheap set of simple, well-reviewed GEs last year when inventory was super low due to the pandemic. My  14 year-old front-load, Frigidaire washer had died, so I didn't have much choice on the timing or the product; the Maytags I wanted were out-of-stock. While I was waiting for delivery, I bought a dryer vent cleaning kit off Amazon and cleaned my dryer vent. Made a huge difference and it was very easy to use.

My dryer vent travels about 18" and blows like a tornado with the dryer on.  But I'll give it a look.

So, wound up getting Whirlpool.  The dryer has the same controls as the old one. Haha.  And got the model that is available either impeller or agitator.  Wife mentioned that we have a bedspread that needs washing once or twice a year because of cat hair.  It can get jumbled around the agitator and is heavy af.  So the impeller might handle that well.

In laws have similar Whirlpool and have been ok with it.

[TwiceHorn 31587]

3 hours ago, Gene Parmesan said:

Is either set in stock?  There is an appliance shortage right now, some sets are going to be months out.

Delivered Wednesday.  So yeah.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8823]

You really shouldn’t be drying jeans with anything else any way

They’re shit work jeans

[NeverMarryAStripper 21969]

It's not bad for the jeans, it's bad for everything else in the dryer with them

[TwiceHorn 31587]

So, after about a month, the Whirlpool lower-midrange seems to be doing fine.  Without the agitator, the washer is overall quieter but makes strange noises.

We actually think the impeller might clean better or something cleans a little better than the old one.  It was old, but the agitator agitated, so maybe something about the cycles.  Who knows.

Before it crapped out, the old dryer got pretty warm.  This one doesn't seem to get as warm, or maybe it cools down better, but it does dry faster, so that's nice.

Another thing, we can turn off the "it's done" buzzer.

Wife kind of wanted a funky looking front-loader set, but the simple logic of "it's a washer and dryer, not furniture or art" and "electronic controls in a damp laundry room environment" prevailed on her.

[TeeDubya 3362]

3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Wife kind of wanted a funky looking front-loader set, but the simple logic of "it's a washer and dryer, not furniture or art" and "electronic controls in a damp laundry room environment" prevailed on her.

This.

My 25 year old whirlpool dryer died five years ago.  Bought cheapest Samsung on sale at Lowe's.   Battleship gray, or whatever they call it, was $150 cheaper than white in same model.  Probably due to it being an ass-ugly color that no one except a bougie, douche Californian would buy.  Bought it.  Wife expresses dissatisfaction that it didn't match the 25 year old white washer. 
In-laws chime in, "why didn't you buy a matching washer?  These don't match."
I reply, "two things:  THE WASHER STILL WORKS.... and unlike @Francisco 2.0's neighborhood, in this part of Tulsa, we don't keep our appliances on the porch for passers-by to admire (or judge), so I don't care.  This one washes, this one dries, who GAF what they look like."

One year later, washer finally goes to appliance heaven.  Bought no-frills Whirlpool front loader.  This time, white was cheaper.  Wife annoyed again.  

Both appliances are doing what I bought them to do with no complaints.  The next highest ($100) Whirlpool model has the ability to turn off the "warshin's done" alarm.  My cheap one does not.  The alarm is louder than than an Aggie shrieking about Texas and OU joining the SEC.

Edited August 11, 2021 by TeeDubya

[RPM 26366]

I have a Kenmore Elite washer and dryer. The washer is 3 years older and kicks serious OG ass. The dryer was a Habitat for Humanity store find 10-12 years ago and was working fine then suddenly quit. Pretty sure it was the thermal fuse ($6 Amazon). I ordered one then looked at the video to replace it. The gotdam thing is like taking a Transformer / Rubik's cube apart to reach the $6 fuse. It would have cost roughly $400 to get a guy out to do the job. Wound up spending $200 more getting the largest capacity on sale at Lowe's (7.2cf) Samsung. Not a fan of the electronic dial setting and extra features button combo input.

Pros: It is very quiet and dries really fast. 

And if anyone needs a Kenmore thermal fuse DM me.

Edited August 11, 2021 by RPM

[gaspar 102]

Trying to decide on a new W & D. We had a front load Samsung washer and a dryer that we bought in 2009 and they were fantastic. Not one issue. 

We moved into a house with a Maytag WD. The washer is a top loader with impeller and it sucks - basically twists all of our clothes and doesn’t clean well. The dryer is ok, but has a lint screen that pulls up from the top of the machine and leaves a mess when we go to empty it. 

Thinking about going back to Samsung, but reading the comments on here, it sounds like they’ve gone downhill since we bought our first ones. 

[Updawg 2286]

With the way supply chains are you will get what you can get and like it


Might call local appliance stores to see what’s in stock. I eventually had to go that route after Lowe’s could never get me the one I purchased from them

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Mom's washer won't drain.

YouTube tells me there's a probability of the pump or something like that... possibly clogged.

The fucking headache is the vids I have seen only show you the pump & what could be wrong with it, not how to actually get it out.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[MNLonghornFUKM 8823]

Mom's washer won't drain.

YouTube tells me there's a probability of the pump or something like that... possibly clogged.

The fucking headache is the vids I have seen only show you the pump & what could be wrong with it, not how to actually get it out.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

This just happened to my parents washer last week (which is at least 15-20 years old). It was clogged.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Kenmore "heavy duty" dryer. Unit is ~20 years old.

Multiple issues & I'm too cheap to buy new when (I assume) this stuff could easily be fixed.

Will sorta heat on the "normal" setting, but not get up to a "high" temperature.

Not heating on the timed setting.

Not seeing much (if any) lint on the screen.

When the cycle is over, it will buzz incessantly until you pop / crack the door.

Help me, Shag²... you're my only hope.

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk

[Gil Bang 26053]

6 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Kenmore "heavy duty" dryer. Unit is ~20 years old.

Multiple issues & I'm too cheap to buy new when (I assume) this stuff could easily be fixed.

Will sorta heat on the "normal" setting, but not get up to a "high" temperature.

Not heating on the timed setting.

Not seeing much (if any) lint on the screen.

When the cycle is over, it will buzz incessantly until you pop / crack the door.

Help me, Shag²... you're my only hope.

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk


 

electric or gas?  If electric, I'd guess a hairline crack in the element.  A continuity tester should tell you. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Gil Bang

[ROFL BOX 6649]

It be 'lecktrickity.

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk

[Judge Roybeanbag 11821]

On 2/10/2022 at 12:26 PM, ROFL BOX said:

It be 'lecktrickity.

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk
 

Look up the model number and find a parts diagram.  Buy a new element and a couple of sensors, possibly, if you have a multimeter to test with.  Probably the element, you’d be surprised how much lint buildup (ie fire tinder) will be inside the element housing.  It’s not hard to replace at all. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=replacing+heating+element+in+old+kenmore+dryer&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS774US774&oq=replace+heating+element+on+old+ke&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i22i30j0i390l4.13150j0j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

I replaced ours a few years ago.  

Edited February 12, 2022 by Judge Roybeanbag

[ROFL BOX 6649]

The damn thing started heating properly & then we got 3 or 4 loads dried ... then it shit the bed again.

So... ¿NOT the heating element?

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk

[Judge Roybeanbag 11821]

1 hour ago, ROFL BOX said:

The damn thing started heating properly & then we got 3 or 4 loads dried ... then it shit the bed again.

So... ¿NOT the heating element?

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk
 

It might be, or it might be a sensor.  If the element is cracked or shorting it can work intermittently.  Also have you checked to make sure the vent hose isn’t clogged.

Edited February 15, 2022 by Judge Roybeanbag