New washing machine shopping

[seeitrun2006]

WOW! What an experience!

Since GA is caught in the worse drought in history we are looking at upgrading our traditional GE washer (which uses 45 gallons of water per cycle at the highest setting)which was purchased 2 years ago. We will probaly get the Whilpool Duet HT WFW9200SQ. We will probaly sell the TL in a yard sale or give to a needy relative.

I went to Home Depot to pick up a gallon of paint for a home project my wife has me working on. I went to the appliance area to look at their GE and Maytag FL. The young kid who came up to help knew absoulutly NOTHING about the machines. The Maytag Bravos the kid kept steering me to "oh man these machines use the wash action of the tub just like what 3rd world counties use". I ask him did he mean a "wash broad"? He looked at me like I had grew a second head! He then proceeded to tell me the Bravos will store enough detergent, bleach and sofetner to do 5 to 6 loads of laudry in the machine. I ask "how much water does your Adora GE FL use". His answer "Well most TL use about 7 to 8 gallons of water while the FL's use about 2 or 3. By now I'm getting a little pissed! Come on man you need to buy from here blah, blah blah while his manager was watching from a distance. I got my paint and left.

Went to Best Buy and looked at the Whirlpool duet. Spoke with a lady about the machine. She was a wealth of knowledge about the product she was selling. Offered me 18 month finance and was a little cheaper then Homo Depot. Needless to say I will probaly not buy another appliance from Homo Depot because of their sells people. I will defeintely go back to Best Buy today to purchase the Whirlpool. What sets Best Buy aside from the other stores is their sells people do work on commission.

Later Gang!

 

[easyspindry]

Whirlpool Duet

I had a Whirlpool Duet set for about 5 years. Great machines. Cleaned well, quiet (except for spin) and did a 1400 rpm spin (or something like that). Had no problems with them at all.

The only down side is that they take up a lot of space. Don't forget to measure from the wall to the front of the machine. They're big and HEAVY.

I had the pedistals, but would probably not do that again if I were to go back there.

I sold them simply because I had the chance and because they took up too much room in my kitchen. Bought a Fisher & Paykel set -- and love them, too. That's the best dryer I've ever had.

Good luck.

Jerry Gay

 

[seeitrun2006]

The Duet is a BIG machine

I just measured the space where it will go. Machine itself will extend about 2 additional inches of where my current machine is. The door of the washer will clear the door of the laundry room upon opening with 2" clearance. Like everything it will take some getting use too. I will feel like we are at the laundromat doing the wash.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[rp2813]

I got the 10" pedestals for my Duet pair and am glad I did even though they don't have storage. 15" would have been too high. I didn't want to do all the stooping necessary without the pedestals. The machines to stick out further from the wall and with pedestals the top surfaces are 10" higher than your standard washer & dryer so if you're used to using those surfaces when you pre-treat or process laundry like folding etc, you'll lose that option if you get the pedestals.

I'm generally happy with my Duet washer but FL's do take longer to run through a cycle than your average TL. I'm used to it now and the shorter drying time as a result of high speed spin tends to even things out.

My experience purchasing from Lowe's could not have been more different than yours at HD. I simply avoid HD if at all possible after being there on a recent Saturday morning and they only had 3 checkstands open. I'll check at my local ACE Hardware or at OSH before resorting to HD. Lowe's is still too far from me to just hop in and buzz over.

 

[funguy10]

Could you post pics of the machine? How about VIDS?! I have always wanted to see a Duet run a full cycle.

 

[seeitrun2006]

Hopefully no problem

The Duet will not be delivered until Monday November 12th.
By then maybe I will have figured out how to post a video on YouTube. Still pictures will be no problem!

 

[funguy10]

To post videos on Youtube:

Make separate 9-minute videos with a camcorder.
Upload them To your computer.
Make a new Youtube Account.
Upload each video.

 

[dascot]

Funguy, have you posted any videos of machines? Seems half of what you post is asking for videos!

 

[funguy10]

No, but once I get a camcorder that can transfer to a computer easy, a Youtube account and a good magnet to disable the lid lock on my Kenmore Oasis, I will do a full cycle vid with the lid up.

 

[seeitrun2006]

Got the new Whirlpool Duet today WFW9200SQ!

And I can't wait to get home to use it! The instruction booklet said to run it empty the 1st time with a little HE detergent. I can't believe how quiet it is! The GE always did the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk thing during agitation.

Best Buy is the best place to buy appliances! When the machine was delivered this morning there was a piece missing from the pedestal drawer. Went to Best Buy during lunch and they gave me the part off the floor display. Most stores do not do that any longer. They were at my house this morning at 6:45 am to deliver. Most of the time I have to take a day off to accept deliveries.

So if you are in the market for great customer service Best Buy is the place to go! They rock in my book! Certainly better then Home Depot!

 

[funguy10]

Time for pics and vids. Or at least just pics.

 

[seeitrun2006]

Pics sometime next week

We have a huge Thanksgiving family gathering at our house this weekend plus finishing up painting. No time this week!

Ran three loads in it last night. Machine works great! The vibration will take a little getting use too. It really isn't that bad. You can't hear it or feel it anywhere else in the house. The machine has a slight tendecy to slid around on the smooth ceramic tile floor it sits on during the spin cycle. We had the same problem with our old Maytag washer. I had a rubber mat under the Maytag held down with DS tape. I'm thinking about trying some rubber shelving material under the leveling legs to see if it stops the slidding. If not there's always industrial grade double side tape!

Otherwise I as well as my wife are very pleased with the results. Everything from towels, blue jeans and casual every day clothes came out clean and fresh. And yes it does cut down on dryer time.

Hopefully pics next week!

 

[passatdoc]

Best Buy

I have friends in Pennsylvania whose washer and dryer blew up beyond repair. They were interested in a front loader, but as a young family with two small kids, they are on a budget.

On my recommendation, they bought the Frigidaire 2940 and matching electric dryer. They are delighted with the machines. I don't know what sort of financing they used, if any, but I know they got 10 or 15% off for buying a set, plus the washer was on sale too, like $50 off usual price, so they saved about $200 vs. the usual Best Buy prices.

Evidently delivery was a breeze, though in their case the wife is at home with the kids and probably any time was a good time for delivery.

The mother-in-law, who is quite well to do, owns the LG steam washer, but that was way out of their budget. They got both for less than the cost of the LG washer alone. So far, they get excellent cleaning ability that can handle the needs of two small children.

 

[passatdoc]

front loaders and small kids

Front loaders can be a safety issue with small kids at home. In particular, the machines can be damaged by little kids playing with the doors, plus kids could be hurt if they try to open the doors in midcycle.

The friends have an enclosed laundry room with a locking door, so FLs should be safe in their situation. If they had an open laundry area, say off the kitchen, they would most likely have a TL, or a FL with rear controls on top (in the style of a Maytag Neptune. I think some LGs also have rear controls)