Does your washer match your dryer?

[rolls_rapide]

I can see the point of a matching dryer, especially if it is to be stacked on top by using the manufacturer's dedicated stacking kit.

While it may look nice and tidy, the awful truth with some manufacturers is that they might make a reasonably reliable tumble dryer but produce an awful washing machine - or vice versa.

When the Hoover 'New Wave' and 'Classica' models came out at first (1993-ish), I remember reading newspaper articles about customers complaining about the lack of a suitable stacking kit, at that particular time.

 

[passatdoc]

Exactly. Stacking my machines was the only legal work=around for the bollard. I have neighbors who cut down the bollard, and installed a FL pair side by side, but the modification is not likely to pass inspection if/when the home is sold. And the last thing you want to do is drill into a concrete foundation slab riddled with pre-tensioner steel cables.

The downside of my solution is that it more or less forces me into matched sets, using the OEM stacking kit (well, if the washer died, the existing stacking bracket and dryer might fit atop a current model Elux washer, I would be ok with that)

 

[ea56]

Re: Reply #28

“I've always said that people who insist on buying matched sets have more dollars than sense.”

I suppose the same thing could be said about having one than one washer and dryer at the same time too, when you really only need one of each. But if folks didn’t have the compulsion to collect washers and dryers, this website likely wouldn’t even exist.

Some people like to spend their dollars on luxury cars, others on matching appliances.

This doesn’t indicate a lack of “sense”, just a personal preference on what they like to own. And I agree, it isn’t necessary to have a matched set, but it isn’t neccesary to own a luxury automobile either.

Different stroke for different folks.

It would seem that on a website dedicated to appliances I would think that buying a matched washer and dryer set would be something that wouldn’t be looked at a frivolous.
Eddie

 

[ryanm]

I'm going through this decision right now since my washer is no good but my dryer is fine. Our laundry is visible in the place we live so it looks much nicer with a matching set. What I discovered now unlike years past, if you buy a washer that is not the same brand as your dryer, the 'height' of the machines do not match in many cases. We never before had a 'matching' pair, although once we did buy a pair but the washer had issues and after 6 months they replaced it with a new one but by that time the models had changed so we once again had an unmatched pair. I have decided to sell the dryer I have on craigslist and go ahead with the extra expense of getting the matching pair again since it is very visible in our condo unit.

 

[DADoES]

 
I *rarely* close the door to my laundry room and it's directly visible to anyone coming in from the patio/back door.  Doesn't matter to me.  I'm more concerned about being happy with the individual machines than whether they match.  As my dad would say about those kinds of things ... "Anyone who sees that (makes a remark about the machines not matching) is looking too closely." 

Just my opinion.

 

[appnut]

Growing up, only once did we have matching appliances.  when the new house was bought 9/61, my dad spray painted the 1948 Kelvinator fridge to resemble the coppertone built ins (including sink).  I'm not sure why he did it, given we ended up switching out the O&M dual drench dishwasher (sent back to our old house) with the Waste King.  He never did paint or replace the white front of the Waste King.  My grandmother's 1957 Frigidaire replaced the Kelvy in 1965.   That house never had complete matching kitchen appliances (even with color) in all the 41 years they lived there.  They got a BOL Norge Timeline dryer (all Houston dryers were gas) around the time I was born and the bendix was replaced with MOL GE probably in 1956.  That GE was replaced with the Norge DispensoMat washer in December 1963 or 1964 and the matching dryer was brought home the following February.  So we had that maching pair until the washer crapped out for the 2nd time by 1970 and replaced with the Kenmore 800.  Those two were given to coworker & his girlfriend when they bought a house (replaced with GE FFlo pair the fall after I got my GE pair).  That pair stayed there for 17 years until my mom had to have a Maytag Dependable Care pair to match my 12/94 dryer.  When the lake house was built and the kitchen completed in probably 1971 or 1972, then we actually had matching harvest gold appliances.  (Frigidaire Deluxe cooktop and wasll wouble ovens along with a Kenmore fridge and model under LK rotorack along with color-coordinated vent hood and sink).  Around fall of 1975 or spring 1976, a Kenmore 70 series pair was put in the laundry area. 

 

[mjg0619]

Mismatched Maytags in the laundry room, though both are almond colored. 1993 LAT7793 (Two speed, large capacity) and a late 90s near TOL Neptune electric dryer. Same family, just distant cousins LOL

 

[iheartmaytag]

Re#32

Perfecto Eddie.

Like I have said before, a friend of my mother, her son asked me. "You have 36 vacuum cleaners.". " how many vacuums do you need?"
"Well" I answered, " you collect gas pumps, do you need a gas pump?"

Comes down to preference, and what you want and like."

 

[Chetlaham]

Matching set

Sometimes one is forced a buy a matching set- when both old machines are beyond reasonable repair and the store is offering the set at a discounted price.

Even then- having a set match might be as important as the look or functionality of any machine. You could say I have some type of OCD- I like things to match. I remember when my set matched, visually I liked it a lot more and it kind of gave me a mild euphoria. It felt like both appliances had their campaign.

 

[logixx]

Do they match?

Well, no because the matching dryer never made to our shores.

 

[pulsator]

Even though I've owned matched sets in the past, I've never had a daily driver set that perfectly matched until recently.

With unmatched sets, it was easier for me to deal with them not being the same height, but now that I have a matched set, my OCD tendencies kicked in and they had to be exactly the same height! I spent longer leveling these puppies than I usually do.

 

[Chetlaham]

Looks good from here

Are these the prototypes of the recently released commercial Maytags?

 

[speedqueen]

Wow!

That is the new Maytag everyone is talking about! How do you like it?

 

[speedqueen]

Sorry for the redundancy, chetlaham beat me to it!

 

[passatdoc]

here is a 2008 photo of the laundry area in the garage, showing the 2006 Frigidaire 2140 with matching dryer stacked on top. To left of dryer is a sliver of the hot water heater. Not visible on right is the forced air furnace. Former washer space hosts folding tray tables for baskets. White cabinet added for storage. Directly in front of the left edge of the red basket is the bollard, steel pipe filled with concrete, which protects three gas appliances (furnace, dryer, water heater) from a direct hit from a car. This is required when the appliances are located along the rear wall of the garage. Some of the different home models in my neighborhood have the appliances elsewhere (e.g. washer/dryer along a side wall of the garage, with water heater and furnace placed elsewhere), and such homes do not require the bollard. I prefer to have water heater and washer in the garage, where the floor is 6 inches/15 below the level of the interior house floor. Any leaks/floods flow out of the garage and into the street.[this post was last edited: 12/3/2017-14:53]

 

[appnut]

Jamie, you may have caused a few people on here to have a stroke!!!  Does Heavy Duty/bulky have hot waater tank temp fill or it's dumbed down?  Does it bother you the machine basically ohnly has two water levels?  Does the dryer have a buzzer or end of cycle signal? 

 

What happened to the boy I met at the 2002 wash-in?  He grew up!!  Do you realize just how old you make me feel?  How's your mom? 

 

[pulsator]

I am an employee of Whirlpool Corporation and this is my personal opinion.

They are the new Maytags! They are fantastic!

The Deep Water cycles (Bulky/Towels, Powerwash, Delicates, Mixed) do have true temps. If I put it on hot, my wash is 130F (that's what my water heater is set to) and warm is around 95F.

The lack of water level switch doesn't bother me at all. I pretty much only do full loads anyway.

The cycles are quick and the machine is quite gentle. Very little lint in my dryer's lint filter on loads coming from this machine.

The dryer does have an end of cycle buzzer.

Bob, the boy you met at the 2002 wash-in grew up! I got a bachelor's degree in product design engineering technology and now I work for Whirlpool in vertical axis laundry engineering.

My mom is doing great! She's taken to flipping houses in recent years and is getting ready to retire after selling a couple more. It's fun to help her buy whole kitchens and laundries for the houses she remodels!

 

[speedqueen]

Being from WP, did you have much input on this product? Also, what do you think the durability and reliability of this machine will be?

 

[appnut]

Jamie, I've not forgotten you got your degree.  I was excited when you let it be known you were heading to college.  I've watched you grow up to so to speak and am very proud of you.  It's good to hear the update about your mom.  A perfect fit of you helping her with the kitchen and laundry appliances.  Does you dad still have the 1st generation direct drive Duet (when production was moved to the U.S.) like I do, or has he gotten updated laundry.  I love my Duet by the way.  And I honestly think about you every once in a while when I'm doing laundry. 

 

[pulsator]

It's not everyday that someone gets the opportunity to do exactly what they want for a living! I consider myself very fortunate in that regard that my hard work paid off and my knowledge (thanks in large part to this forum) has made me a valuable asset at Whirlpool.

My dad does still have his first generation DD Duet! (Or as I know them, his first generation Alpha.)

My mom's Fisher & Paykel is nearing expiration and she has decided to upgrade to the same Maytag Commercial set that I have sometime in the next few months. She visited me for a week to help me with some around the house projects and did some laundry for herself while she was here. She was very impressed and couldn't say enough good things about them. After hearing her comments, it was fun to go talk to the commercial laundry team and pass on her compliments!

Anyway, sorry to sort of hijack the thread!

P.S. Bob, I think of you whenever I pack a dishwasher to the brim or load a washer to the edge of being overloaded

 

[mrsalvo]

My washer and dryer do not match. Replaced machines as needed. The Whirlpool dryer is really good, think one of the best made, but we use clotheslines most of the time.

 

[Chetlaham]

Who said anything about hijacking or sort of hijacking a thread? Jamie, say what you need too! Its always a pleasure to hear from you and IMO I don't think we hear enough from you especially now a days. I have been following your threads like many others on here for some times- even before registering- and I have always learned something from them.

Being one of the lucky few is an understatement. Its not always we see talent put to its intended use- or a person scoring their dream job- so I think I can say you are truly one of the lucky few- or rather that Whirlpool is one of the lucky few who scored some seriously talent. Still then, you have passion and take pride in your work- something not everyone has. All in all you are the perfect example of why society needs to stop labeling and rather invest and nurture talent in children, no matter how odd it may seem to others.

I hope you share more product updates on Whirlpool's new stuff. We are all having a stroke lol!

 

[mayken4now]

Mine Do.

 

[dartman]

My first set at my rental were cast-offs, a beat Whirlpool and some kind of antique dryer that eventually tried to catch fire, then we got a matched set of BOL buider grade Hot Points. They managed to last 10 years by luck and then I got a rebuilt DD Whirlpool and a Kenmore Dryer eventually when the Hot Point dryer finally died a year later. I used those with repairs for about 15 years and still had them when we bought this house in 2012.
Upgraded to a Kenmore 28102 TL he washer in 14 and got the next generation dryer a year later as it was on sale and huge. So nope, they technically don't match yet again but don't care, they just have to work and be easy enough to service and get parts for myself. I guess only pair that matched was the Hot Points I got dirt cheap new. I don't think we ever had a matching set as a family either. We almost always got something used and kept jury rigging it till a better one came up.

 

[washabear]

Yes and no

I have a matching Whirlpool DD top loader and dryer, but then I got a Frigemore front loader because, well, I wanted it. I currently use that washer but have the Whirlpool on the side as a backup should the Frigemore conk out someday.