danemodsandy
Well-known member
Phil:
My first Maytag washer was an LA206, a one-speed machine with Fabric-Matic. My current Maytag washer is an LA806, a two-speed machine. You're right that as you go up the model line, you get the two-speed feature.
I am very happy to have an LA806, trust me. But the LA206 could basically do everything the 806 can, with maybe just a tiny bit less flexibility. At the time I had the LA206 with Fabric-Matic, my late partner was ill with end-stage heart failure, and had to wear compression stockings. Compression stockings can easily be ruined by washing them harshly; the get full of runs and won't maintain compression any more. I never damaged a single compression stocking in the LA208. Not one. I used the Fabric-Matic Delicate cycle, and a lingerie bag, and never had a moment's problem.
The LA806 uses a low speed for the Delicate cycle, and has also never damaged anything. It also has a "Gentle Spin" option for the spin cycle if something's really delicate, which is something impossible to do with a one-speed machine, of course. The other differences in the 806 machine are: More water levels (4), more wash/rinse temperature combinations and cycle options for Soak and Pre-Wash.
Of the two machines, I consider the 806 to be a wonderful machine with the best of everything, of course. But the 206 was the more elegantly engineered of the two, giving nearly the same level of performance as the 806 with simpler mechanicals. The 206 was just one model off the bottom-of-the-line, yet you got that Delicate cycle, a bleach dispenser, a detergent dispenser and a softener dispenser. You didn't get that many features on some competing brands until you got at least halfway up the line, maybe higher. And competing brands often used more complex mechanicals that broke down more often, Kenmore's dispenser was a real problem in that regard.
Did I mention I kind of like Maytags?
My first Maytag washer was an LA206, a one-speed machine with Fabric-Matic. My current Maytag washer is an LA806, a two-speed machine. You're right that as you go up the model line, you get the two-speed feature.
I am very happy to have an LA806, trust me. But the LA206 could basically do everything the 806 can, with maybe just a tiny bit less flexibility. At the time I had the LA206 with Fabric-Matic, my late partner was ill with end-stage heart failure, and had to wear compression stockings. Compression stockings can easily be ruined by washing them harshly; the get full of runs and won't maintain compression any more. I never damaged a single compression stocking in the LA208. Not one. I used the Fabric-Matic Delicate cycle, and a lingerie bag, and never had a moment's problem.
The LA806 uses a low speed for the Delicate cycle, and has also never damaged anything. It also has a "Gentle Spin" option for the spin cycle if something's really delicate, which is something impossible to do with a one-speed machine, of course. The other differences in the 806 machine are: More water levels (4), more wash/rinse temperature combinations and cycle options for Soak and Pre-Wash.
Of the two machines, I consider the 806 to be a wonderful machine with the best of everything, of course. But the 206 was the more elegantly engineered of the two, giving nearly the same level of performance as the 806 with simpler mechanicals. The 206 was just one model off the bottom-of-the-line, yet you got that Delicate cycle, a bleach dispenser, a detergent dispenser and a softener dispenser. You didn't get that many features on some competing brands until you got at least halfway up the line, maybe higher. And competing brands often used more complex mechanicals that broke down more often, Kenmore's dispenser was a real problem in that regard.
Did I mention I kind of like Maytags?
