modern washers and dryers rant

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Yes, "user error" can apply to anything and unfortunately that includes washing your clothes when people do not know how to operate machinery correctly. I have an example to share of user error featuring a basic, old-fashioned agitator washer. No load sensing or selecting proper temp and speed for the user here.

Years ago a friend of my son's was staying with us. He literally packed our top loader full of clothes and neglected to change the water level from "minimum" where it had been set during the previous load. He then started the machine on the longest cycle.

You can imagine the results. Damaged clothes and I believe a damaged machine -- the transmission blew a year later on a five year old machine. He told us something was wrong with the washer -- complaining that only a few clothes were even wet when he took them out in knots and detergent was still sprinkled on the top of the load! I could have crowned him!

That was before the days of You Tube and iPhones, so he wasn't able to make a video of his experience. LOL
 
Much like the dishwashers we discussed on another thread, I would say that newer HE type washers are an adjustment for some from the high dillution top loaders of yore. 

 

When reading through the threads on this site you will see that other countries that have adopted HE machines much earlier than us are quite happy with their results. 

 

Anything we purchase has a different feel.  Some quality has been lost, some have improved.  Take cars for example.  In the 50s and 60s we had all metal bemouths that weighed close to three tons and had all the safety features of a toaster in the bathtub. Those cars could take a hit, kill all their occupants and still look good.  

 

Now we have a lot of plastic, aluminum, and fiberglass.  These cars are designed to crush, disipate energy away from the occupant cage and let the passangers survive instead of the car.

 

Which is better built?  Open to interpertation.  So are modern appliances worse than vintage?  In terms of durability, yes.  We all know that a washer used to last 20-25 years, now the average is seven.  Are electronics the doom of the industry, or do they help you customize, and better the performance?

 

Past generations had to boil their water in a tub in the  yard, scrub their clothes on a scrub board with home made lye soap and dry them on the fence regardless of the weather.   Thank God we have moved beyond that.  I remember my Grandmother, who never had an automatic washer until 1974, complaining that "That Norge uses too much water."  "I could do all my washing in that amount of water, now it takes all that for each load."  Times do change.

 

It can get frustrating that we can't have everything remain the same, but we have to make some movement to reserve or maintain our resources or the restrictions will be even worse for the next generation. 
 
GELaundry4ever,

I understand now.  You have not used any HE topload washers to get personal hands-on experience on how to make proper use of them.  You don't know for sure that buckets of water need to be added or how many buckets are required.  Your complaints are based only on what other people have said and what you've seen in videos made by other people who possibly were not loading the machine correctly or using the wrong cycle for the load type.  Have a great day!
 
I have yet to test the HE top loader!

I have yet to do a load in the HE top load washer! Something tells me that it is never going to get clothes clean! Clothes need water to dissolve laundry detergent, bleach and fabric softener depending what you're washing! Something ttells me that it's never going to work! less water plus less energy equals dingy/dirty clothes! I am sick and tired of the stupid auto temp! You are forced to use it on the electronic controlled washers or you will get an error code! Whites need hot water not tepid! Temp control is stupid! Impossible to wash whites in so-called hot water, even when bleach is used in the designated white load in the designated dispenser! You have to wash the same load several times in a HE top loader to get anything clean! What a waste of time, energy and water! Energy efficient my ass! This is ticking me off! This is why we have washers that don't wash! Excuse my language, but I am frustrated! I am going to get a 2010 or older modern washer with mechanical controls next time, or buy a brand new speed queen matched electric set!
 
 
<blockquote>I research consumer reviews and they are true.</blockquote> What is your research method?  You have personally contacted the consumers who wrote the reviews?  You went to their homes, observed their laundry habits and methods?  You confirmed they are using the machines properly and never get even one clean item?

Or, you have built a test laboratory and have bought samples of several machines of various brands and models?  You have run numerous loads of different sizes and fabrics and garment types to confirm the machines always fail?  Hands-on testing is the only way to 100% confirm!
 
Online customer complaints and videos are NOT research.
They're qualitative data at best.

What YOU think is "stupid" is a great idea to someone else.

The majority of people today are MORONS when it comes to home appliances.
Sure, they can work an iphone....barely. But if you want to witness the "intelligence" of the general public with washing machines? Go sit in a laundromat.

If 80% of GE, Whirlpool and Samsung's customers are happy, then these companies are elated. A Maytag rep told my Home Depot guy that their new dishwashers have an 80% satisfaction rate. With the vast amounts of water, soap, soil and human abuse these machines have to go through on the open market, Maytag is THRILLED that 80% of sales are to happy owners. And that's for the modern, efficient dishwashers you rant about till you turn blue.

All your screeching is simply your qualitative opinion, and carries no weight compared to the scientific initial quality and endurance tests by Reviewed.com and Consumer Reports.

There's an entire tresure trove of mechanically inclined appliance users, collectors and engieers on this site, and they're all saying the same things.
But you won't listen.

Check your ego at the door please, and LISTEN to what these people have to say.
 
So, yeah

I just did my weekly laundry in my "new" 1987 GE Filter-Flo washer and I love it and glad I have it now. However my clothes did NOT come out any cleaner than they did in my Kenmore 28102. Only difference was the amount of lint on my clothes was less because of the Filter-Flo. Cleaning performance was identical...and that is with whites too.
 
"I read complaints about the HE appliances on consumeraffairs.com. The only brand that has very little, if not 0 complaints is speed queen!"

This proves NOTHING!!

Do you make ANY consideration that there are thousands of times less Speed Queen machines out in the World???

Therefore assuming problems are equal between brands there should be a proportionate reduction of negative reviews.

Once again, using reviews on the Internet does not give an adequate sample to judge quality with any statistical accuracy.
 
When you read online complaints, bear in mind that you are often reading the result of someone frustrated because a) something isn't working the way they expect (it could be faulty, it may be user error) or b) that they have been unable to contact the manufacturer/store/repairer.

That doesn't mean that ALL of that example model are faulty, just means that people, naturally, are more likely to shout when someone goes wrong and not when it sits in the corner quietly doing its business.

You also need to consider and re-read what you're writing - it seems that you're mainly complaining about HE top loaders with impellers, but that doesn't come across and gets people frustrated. Alternatively, you may have intended to post inflammatory comments in order to get an argument - I don't know.

One point I can certainly make is that I've been using h-axis washers since I was a small kid helping out, and have never once had one in the family that's gone mouldy or fallen apart with rust.
 
front load

I can understand that front load washers tumble clothes through water. That is the only HE washer I will ever get if I want to use less water. if I want a HE top loader It will be GE with a glass, because it has a circulation pump that actually saturates clothes. I expect it to do the job the first time correctly, not 4 times.
 
aaaaaaand......

that's why you can't trust all the reviews and videos you see online.
At some point, a washer purchase is a blind-faith leap unless you have friends/family who have the exact washer/dryer you want, so you can try it first yourself.
 
I've yet to see one of these "videos" posted that displays anything other than a user that has made no attempt to learn how to properly use their machine.

Maybe I should fight fire with fire by posting incessant YouTube links to videos of washers that ARE working correctly, to balance out all these negative lashings as of late.
 
 
He probably is pressing the power button.  The video doesn't clearly show that side of the panel, but there's a musical chime in both instances immediately before the indicator lights turn on so something is triggering that to happen.

On the first attempt, he turns on the Power, cranks the dial, presses the Start button twice, then there's another click (Power button) and the lights turn off.

Second attempt, Power on, cranks the dial, then presses Start again and a couple of the other options buttons.
 
.
Bogus trolling it would appear.
I am starting to wonder if some of these guys are paid for their efforts.
Destroying your competitors rep with cheap videos and false testimony spread through social media
would hardly be a surprising tactic given how effective it can be.
Happens with every new iphone released, a stupid cottage industry sets about creating a meme to try and sink it.
 
what is lost, or one has failed to see.....is the 'credibility' of the person making the complaint of damaged goods.........

I have a neighbor complain on Angie's List about a repair guy, who smelled of smoke from a cigarette when he entered her home.....BUT, made no mention that she has about a dozen cats, all living inside, and you can smell THAT from the outside......I never enter the home, my eyes water too much!!!

like I said, 'CREDABILITY'.....

same could be said for individuals here, many have been seen, met other members......and yet some hide....those seem to be the ones who rant the most.....ironic?.....much help has been given me by other members, if I can't help that person, at least I try to help the next person along.....its give and take....
 
This may be relevant to this post, and maybe not, but I find it interesting that you'll hear this kind of resistance and negativity with anything when it comes to a major change, whether it's cars, appliances, electronics, etc. I remember my Granddad telling me years ago as a kid about the changeover from the belt-drive design of the Whirlpool and Lady Kenmore to the Direct-Drive mechanism. He was close friends with a service technician at Sears, who at the time of the transition heard numerous complaints from salespeople, technicians, and customers alike, about why in the world Whirlpool (or Sears, for those who didn't realize who ACTUALLY made the machines) would ever abandon a design that worked so well for so long, and swearing that the new DD would never be reliable or be able to clean like the belt-drive Lady Ks. Little did they know, the DD design would spend the next 20+ years on the salesfloors of appliance stores in various styles and colors, and even longer in consumers' homes as they still are a common washing machine to find in laundry rooms today.

Granted, those people didn't have websites to jump on and scream from the mountain about their disappointment, nor did the ones who welcomed the change.

A lot has to do with nostalgia and sentimental value in older designs. Most people don't like change and it takes a while to warm up to new ideas, and to accept that maybe there is a better solution than the beloved washer (or car, computer, whatever) that they've grown so accustomed and attached to. Of course, it's not at all fair to instantly dismiss or discredit something just because it's new or different, and you can't really form a solid opinion on it without first trying it out for yourself. Many times, I've heard countless negative comments and reviews on something, only to try it and fall in love. My prime example is the Cabrio-Bravos XL sitting in my laundry room now, but that also has applied to music, movies, cars, restaurants, etc. Maybe that makes me an "idiot sheep", maybe not. But I assure you that I'm not walking around in dirty, sludgy clothes, I've never had to pour a bucket of water into my washer, and my laundry room hasn't been torn apart by a runaway washing machine yet.
 
I am not here to rant. I go by my own experiences and the main problem causing customers to become hatefull toward front loading washers is common stupidity AND ignorance because, if they would just sittheir asses down and READ the USE AND CARE INSTRUCTIONS,they'd know to leave the washer door ajar to eliminate ANY CHANCE OF MILDEW OR MOLD to grow, how to maintain the machine clearing out the button trap on a month to month basis, change the inlet and drain hoses every five years, Do not wash tems with oil base stains like auto fuel or motor oil OR put them in a clothes dryer. They'll catch on fire, using the correct wash and rinse cycles,spin speeds and temperatures not just cold wash/cold rinse.and NEVER OVERLOAD . Ive seen so many folks overload their sets and causing havoc in repairs. This is why so many of the idiots who insist on buying them just for recognition they're ritch,are.bb he bitches who complain they got ripped off. I have had Westinghouse, White Westinghouse, Easy, Kenmore/Whirlpool, Maytag Neptune/Maytag, Matag Neptune/Samsung, Philco of Italy, Asko, Sears Kenmore/Whirlpool, Sears Kenmore/LG, Montgomer Ward Signature/Westinghouse,Montgomery Ward/Frigidaire and Frigidaire/Electrolux brands since I began collecting them and am totally converted to LG as my favorite current manufacturer of ALL major appliances and audio video and media products. I could give a rats ass where they're made ( hopefully not in US , I visited the old Mansfield Westinghouse factories in 1973 and half the guys there were drunk or on Heroin. It completely changed my taste for American made appliances. Run down, broken line equipment and low life union employees.) due to past experiences receiving damaged merchandise at,Bernie and Harrys, I became a bit more familiar with rthe Maytag line and would stay on the floor and off the phone. The other two guys would be smoking their cigs and biting nails to the quick from angry customers they sold the Kelvinator, Gibson and Tappan products to. Id sell FRIGIDAIRE, Amana, Whirlpool and Maytag an stayed with them till GM slams car door on FRIGIDAIRE APPLIANCES was typed on our ticker tape machine.I went home and cried once I heard that not only did GM sell the best appliance maker but they kept the Dayton factories,just selling the brand name rights to WCI .
Bud, I agree with you. The rant begun here sounds like there may be a few Prejudiced people here that hate Asians. I don't understand it. I believe they're jealous. The only information ,other then hunreds of letters from my LG buyers I sold to,is my reading Consumer Reports,having my own five different models of LG appliances,mostly laundry,and repairs Ive seen and done, makes LG the most dependable,great performing,easy to use, easy to maintain, handsome and fun to watch appliances of today. Had the American manufacturers done their jobs with pride,not greed,we'd have been way ahead of everyone. Dont forget, Bendix made the first,original automatics. They were front loading and had the button catcher. The LGs are a bit similar but have a tilted tub and three,not for fins. They spin so fast and use less water. Had Proctor and Gamble done the right thing with HE detergents back when Tide came out, front loaders here wouldn't have been a "new idea". It amazes me how many people assume front loaders are a new invention. What are our schools teaching ????
 
I have the same Kenmore 28102 JoeyPete has and I'm as impressed with it as he is. It's quiet, it cleans better then the nice old 90 direct drive Whirlpool I nursed along for years, and like said the clothes come out much dryer so they take less time to dry. It also holds a lot more clothes so it takes less loads and uses so much less water it saves me about 20 a month on my overpriced water bill.
We also bought the next years bigger dryer later and same thing, much larger then our old one, autodry actually works and saves power and time and can dry much more in one load saving time and money.
It also has the check to make sure the vent isn't blocked which killed the old dryer a few times when the hose got blocked.
Parts seem to be readily available and reasonable, just like my older set and I refuse to buy a extra warranty becuase its just extra profit for the seller as most things will get traded off or never break within the extended period so they push them instead of offering a longer warranty.
Sure some designs are junk, but some aren't and I did read reviews before I made my choice and the 28102 got the best reviews at its price point and its made by Whirlpool who I still like. I also bought mine as a demo from the Sears outlet store and saved a bunch more money and still got the full warranty.
And many here like some of the LG and Samsung machines depending on the model, just like any of the others.
If your mom's LG set works well and still works after quite a few years sounds like at least hers doesn't suck. Some manufacturers will make complete junk, then come out with something that's outstanding and great bang per buck, then go back to cheaper junk again so it pays to keep your options open before you make blanket statements.
I have a Sony HD Radio, they made it only a year or two, it sold for 100 bucks, and it turned out to be one of the most sensitive, best sounding HD radios ever made. They dropped it and went back to typical low quality radios after that but this one unit was a statement about how well one could be made and work.
It's probably 8 years old now, still works and sounds great and is worth as much or more then I paid for it as folks that are into radios seek them out.
I don't like most of what Sony makes, but they do make a winner now and then and I'll give it a shot.
 
My issues with American brands of appliances is the cheap as,thin metal,nonporcelain,cheap ass paint jobs. I call the Whirpool and their affiliates " The rust buckets" they rust in months and are the most common brands you'll see less then a year old at, the local dumps here and in Florida I went to. Their customer service sucks and it looks like FP now makes their P.O.S. Cabrio s. The ELECTROLUX machines are also a joke however, their top loading full size stacked set has a nice ss tub and a nice lppk but,we know it's far from best. The GEs are questionable due to their current "FRIGIDAIRE FRIENDSHIP" . I'm certain that EL.will do away with many of the Louisville plants and,build new ones as needed. LG is a big company and their cs is great. I used to have many issues before but,they actually have improved ten fold. Parts readily available,fast reimbursement of warranty calls and great training if need be on new product service tech.
 

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