Friend Called.. They got a new Maytag TL Washer

[mark_wpduet]

My friend Liz who I used to work with called me. She's like "Mark, I got a new Maytag washer and I freaking LOVE it" Something went wrong with her old TL washer. She couldn't remember the brand name. She doesn't care about appliances at all as long as they just work...She said it was awful and she dealt with it for about 7 years.

Her husband gets dirty.. He builds stuff.. so she's dealing with REAL dirty clothes..

I told her (how do you know you LOVE it if you can't even see it wash" the lid locks...

she said because I know it's getting his clothes clean. I can tell... and she said it's SO fast and holds a lot more than her other one. This one has an agitator..

She was saying it's the best washer she's ever had... which kind of BLEW MY MIND.. For the life of me I can't understand why so many ppl are opposed to front loaders... the only thing I can think of is the bending.. Personally, I think I would take the worst front loader on the market to any top loader other than the ones that wash sort of old school... like the SQ's, the commercial Maytag or something like that.

I hope it lasts for her with no issues... I was reading really mixed in comments

I mean, I guess you can't complain if you're putting filthy clothes in and they come out clean.

She couldn't send me a pic of the inside because a load was going when she took the pics

I went to youtube to try to find some wash action and I did find a few people who had posted a similar model... one guy did a clean washer cycle and he had the lid open... that thing took FOREVER to fill with water... One cool thing is it had a sink feature...where you can use it as a laundry sink. I thought that was cool.. I doubt her model has that option. I don't know.

 

[appnut]

I agree with you Mark about front loaders. But people are not open to change. There's an evil part of me that wishes top loaders wiould be outlawed. The more I do laundry, especially the extrmely dirty soiled stained thpe, I find gradual heating to temperatures of 150F to 163F blasts all trace of any despicable stain. I was born with physical challengeas and as I age, the challenges intensify at times. I find it far more convenient to sit on a step stool and load & unload my washer and I can still do all my own laundry. With a top loader I couldn't.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I actually don't mind the REAL old school TL washers... the ones like the GM Frigidaire (my favorite of all of them)... And then Kenmore's dual action (Yes, I know they shortened the lifespan of clothes) I wasn't a superfan of the straight vane agitators because that's what we had growing up...and my grandma had the Kenmore with dual action agitator and I remember thinking "this thing washes so much better than ours" in terms of really moving things around.

But I just do not like these new ones...(at least for me personally)

But yea - after having lived with a front loader.. Hating it at first because I wasn't sure about it.. then growing to love it.. It's almost like top load washers are irrelevant to me now..

 

[magic_clean]

Interesting discussion

My elderly folks recently relocated to a retirement community. They are now doing their personal laundry in a new Speed Queen TR5003 Perfect Wash and Matching dryer. (the facility handles their sheets and towels) My 97 yr. old mom has adjusted. She knows not to choose the Normal Eco and uses some version of Tide HE liquid!

She wasn't too excited to start using a top loader again after about 20 years of f/l. But has made peace with it. Mom says it washes fine and gets whatever stains-soil they have out in one cycle.

Regarding the dryer; no problems. However, she misses the fold down hamper style dryer door in her old Kenmore.

-LP

-LP

 

[gelaundry4ever]

water level and temps

What are the water levels like? I have to question this because it seems most washers don't cover your clothes with water as a reasonable one would.
What are the chances that the temps are dumbed down? These are my biggest pet peeves about most washers, along with the suspension system design. Don't even get me started about the agitation.

 

[mark_wpduet]

No clue..the only kind of info I could get was seeing a couple of videos on youtube...
I does have water level control... I think the fill settings are auto, low, med, hi, and max...so you do have control with that... I also don't know if the water temps are dumbed down nor do I care really since I don't plan to ever own this washer. But if I were to guess I'd say they were... However, when I saw a video of a guy doing a clean washer cycle with his the water that was filling the tub was steaming like it was straight up hot water. So I don't know.

I gotta tell ya... Reviews scare me and I don't know if they're real reviews of fake reviews... you can tell anymore... But I'm on youtube shorts scrolling and here that very Maytag came up making a horrible grinding noise as it washed... ppl in the comments would say they have this washer and 16 mos to 2 years the control board goes or the lid lock screws up... then over at lowes reading the comments were similar... so I don't know...

I was convinced after I got my Maytag dishwasher in 2014 that the control board was going to fail because that's all I read on line of people writing complaints that they hated that machine because their control board failed.. Mine is approaching 11 yrs old and never a repair.

I'm trying to think back on things I've bought that didn't have great reviews where it turns out the reviews were totally accurate... Electric blankets or heating pads...and a Shark Vacuum where the hose would crack after so long...anything else I can't think of off the top of my head but I've been pretty lucky with most everything I buy..

so I'm HOPING that's the case with her new washer and it just turns out being good for her.

It's so difficult to read through reviews and seeing the same complaint come up and wondering if that's legit or just fake reviews

 

[william8]

Fake reviews?

I don't think the reviews are fake. But people are much more likely to review or comment on a product if it breaks, or has other issues. And I don't consider YouTube comments to be reviews.

Reviews are always biased toward the negative. People who never have an issue, don't have any reason to be looking for videos, etc. So they never say anything at all, and just keep on using their item.
It's the same for anything, not just appliances.

 

[johnb300m]

I’ve also noticed a lot of reviews will be negative more about the “delivery service” or the store service vs the actual appliance.
And it’s not uncommon to see reviews under a cereal washer, to actually be a different part number. Or! Not a washer at all, but the dryer, or a refrigerator!

Son read them all very closely, and I don’t take anything said in one review as gospel, but I look at reviews in sets, from various sources and look for “trends.”

 

[magic_clean]

I'll chime in again

Just received a text from a friend, that recently replaced their old feature laden front loader with the most basic Amana NTW4516 top-load with dual action agitator. She says the washer is "amazing, I'm very happy".

We had the convo about staying away from Normal and getting familiar with Auto fill versus Deep water....all is good.

-LP

 

[agiflow]

Can confirm about the Amana NTW 4516FW. It was a good machine for the two years I had it. I'm disappointed that they replaced it with that stupid wash plate with a pole.

 

[ea56]

The Amana NTW4516FW 3.5 cu ft still has the dual action agitator. The 3.8 cu ft NTW4519FW is the model that has the stupid wash plate and pole.

I’ve got the Roper “sister ship” RTW 4516FW2 and have used it for 6 trouble free years. I think that Magic Clean’s friend will be very happy with her new washer if it’s anything like mine. My sister has the same Amana that the friend bought and she’s had her’s about as long or longer than I’ve had mine and she loves hers too.

Eddie

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Pat...

I agree with you. How the heck will that stupid pole wash plate turn over anything?

 

[agiflow]

Reply #11

My main problem with those types of machines is that they still are anemic when it comes to turning over something like a comforter. They just don't have that extra oomph...you know ?

 

[mark_wpduet]

EXACTLY!!!! If you wash like a white load of towels/wash clothes/ rags, t shirts it seems OK.... It's when you put thick jeans in or something like a comforter that it does almost NOTHING.... Like the SQ TR series (Unless it's changed from a few years ago)... video demo guy did a load of thick jeans and put a bright microfiber rag on top... the rag stayed on top throug the ENTIRE wash... the same goes true for the wash plate washers... (at least from what I've seen) it just has such trouble with thick or puffy stuff..even if it's not overloaded...

The wash plate with a pole... what exactly is the POLE for? Just to make customers think it has a regular agitator when it really isn't?

Liz said she does laundry every single day... becuase she's only off on weekends and doesn't want to spend her weekend doing laundry... that's kind of a good thing so maybe if something goes wrong she'll know sooner rather than later... It will be interesting if it ends up just giving her NO troubles at all.. I hope so! She does seem to think it's a really good washer. She said she's never had a washer that big before..

 

[agiflow]

I've been tempted to want to get the Maytag with the glass top and 5 shiny "chrome" knobs wash plate version (not sure the cureent model number).

I liked my Maytag Bravos X wash plate when I had it in 2011, but it looks like Whirlpool hasn't made much progress with how they handle bulky things.

Unfortunately that machine lasted almost exactly 2 years to the date I bought it and the control board malfunctioned.

Now that I have a few washers in my collection I was thinking of taking a chance again but it may be wiser to sit these machines out for a little while longer.

I think overall though if you're going to have a top loader, then just have a regular agitator machine.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I wonder how widespread the control board issues are? It seems like they've been going on forever... Even my duet .. it's board went on the 2nd or so year..sometimes in 2007 or 2008... I remember reading something online while I was going through that debacle having it fixed with multiple tech trips trying to figure out what was wrong...and it was something about keeping modern machines plugged into a surge protector... well, from the time it was fixed it's been plugged into a surge protector... So it's either pure luck or it was a better board OR it is the surge protector... All I know is it hasn't HURT it... so if/when I get a new machine, that's the FIRST thing I'm doing is plugging it into a surge protector... I mean, I don't even know if we have power surges here... I know the power rarely goes out because it's underground.

I remember around that time being so upset because I was sure I had a expensive LEMON!

 

[ea56]

For those concerned about the turnover in the Amana and Roper machines it is just like the TL’s of yore, that is provided you use the Deep Fill option or Bulky cycle. I’ve washed kingsized comforters, bedspreads and blankets and they all turned over just like any old fashioned TL.

Using Auto Sense fill the load is compacted at the bottom of the tub and the water level is just enough to barely cover the compacted load, so the turnover isn’t the same as with a Deep fill, but nevertheless the agitation is vigorous and the clothing is moved around through the sudsy water and everything comes out spotlessly clean.

These are the next best thing to a vintage TL for those that prefer a TL. And using the Auto Sense fill the water usage is more conservative, not a parsimonious as an FL but not as wasteful as a vintage TL, a happy medium between old and new. I use the Auto Sense fill for almost all everyday loads of clothing, linens and towels and save the Deep fill for the occasional load of very large items. It’s really nice to have the choice.

Eddie

 

[mark_wpduet]

Yep I've seen them in action and they do well... although the only bad thing is I don't think any of them have extra rinse

 

[ea56]

Yes Mark, you may choose an extra rinse if desired.

Eddie