If you have never seen one, this is my Staber washer.....

[mihi]

Fabric softeners, as well as liquid detergents, have "stuff" in them that is more prone for build-up at the water line and on the one rubber part which is a boot at the top of the tub and under the lid, which keeps the water inside the tub when things are sloshing. Build-up at these places can grow scrud, and it can get moldy. and the moldy smell can get in your cloths.

When this happened to mine I took it out of service for a year, it sat, then when I put it back in service in my daughter's house and did a strong maintenance wash it seemed to rid the machine of the mold. I now do a maintenance wash on this machine every month with Afresh. So far so good. We also only use powder detergent in this machine, either TideHE or Charlie's Soap.

 

[pulsator]

I think... I think I might have to buy one of these machines! It's just so interesting! Plus, since my regular frontloaders are very very hard to work on and they aren't built to the highest quality, (Miele aside,) this might be a nice workhorse machine! My best friend has a 30 year old Maytag Suds Saver and they use the suds saving feature ALLL the time for their 150 year old plumbing. It seems like the perfect replacement for the Maytag suds saver machine as it has been breaking down once a week for the past 2 months! It might be time!

 

[sudsman]

Mike glad to hear you are haveing better luck with your Stab

How ofter is is used.. The 2 I had did not last even a year

 

[mihi]

I think Staber puts their money into the actual hardware of the machine. Stainless wash-basket and outer-tub. One model has a stainless frame on it, though mine is the one with the regular steel frame. On each end of the wash-basket is an axle with 2 bearing on each end, a total of 4 bearings holding the wash-basket, and they are designed to be greased. You'll read of people happy with them and people not happy with them. On our part, other than the initial mold problem which I think is solved now, its been a good washer.

 

[toggleswitch2]

How big is the opening on top?

(didn't see a response....)

 

[mihi]

hey guys.....

The Staber the two years it was in my house ran 8 to 9 loads per week. In my daughters house (2 adults and a baby) it's probably running only 5 loads per week. So far I'd say we've run it about 1,000 loads, so far. Never a problem (knock on wood and hope this continues). I didn't Know you had them at one time too Sudsman. Sorry to hear of your experiences with them. I've heard some people with bad luck with them, then people with very good luck. I spoke with a guy here locally that had one for 4 years prior to me buying mine and he'd never had a problem.
The opening to the wash-basket is approx. 12 x 8 inches I would guess. The photos show it pretty good.

 

[toggleswitch2]

TYVM