Speed Queen Experts Needed

[ea56]

Eugene,

I've followed this thread and shared many of the thoughts of others on your plans, but I felt like its your life and your decision, so I kept quiet. I'm glad I did now. I'm really sorry to hear you are having some issues with your health and hope that its not too serious.

I do like Martin's idea of portables, but I suspect you've weighed the pros and cons of this idea and decided against it. I lived in apartments for many years and I owned a Maytag A50 twin tub and a Whirlpool portable dryer and that setup worked great for me.

As far a washing dishes by hand, its really not that bad. But it does use more hot water and when we did this for almost a year our power bill went up. But a portable dishwasher in an apt. sized kitchen can really get in the way.

Once you get used to the smaller fridge you'll find other ways to adjust you economizing in other ways than bulk purchases of food that needs to be frozen. I myself prefer a smaller, no frills fridge, but thats me.

I wish you the best in your transition to apt.living. It will certainly be less work. When you own your own home there is always something that needs attention, either to clean, repair, replace or maintain.

Sounds like you are in touch with what is best for you right now in your life. Keep taking good care of yourself and enjoy your new SQ TL.
Eddie

 

[lordkenmore]

I, too, hope it turns out well!

 

[frigilux]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments, anecdotes, advice and support!

I'm happy to report that after a whopping four days on the market, I have accepted an offer on the house and the sale looks solid. The guy is paying cash, so there will be a quick close and no contingencies involving the sale of the buyer's house or, obviously, loan acceptance. Nothing is absolute 'til the closing paperwork is signed, but this is as close as it gets to a bulletproof sale. This comes as a great relief, as paying a mortgage and rent as well as utilities for both places was going to be very rough.

Laundry area in apt. building: Although I'll have to go out of the apartment to get to the washer/dryer, the central hallway is only a few steps from my door. The machines will actually be closer to me than they are from the kitchen, bathroom or bedrooms of my house.

 

[mrb627]

Weather Conditions?

Will your machines be subject to freezing winter conditions?
I would think not, since others have been out there for some time...

Malcolm

 

[frigilux]

No freezing conditions. Everything is contained within the building. A small vent on the ductwork of each furnace keeps the central hallway heated in the winter and cooled during the summer.

The front (west side; facing the street) and back (east side; facing garages) have identical entries. You enter to a small landing, then either go up or down a few stairs. My apt. is one of the upstairs units. At the top of the stairs is another small landing. To the left and right are the two apartments on that end of the building. Mine is to the left. In between them is a door which opens to what I keep referring to as the central hallway (which has each of the 4 upstairs apartments' furnace, water heater and washer/dryer lined up along the sides. You walk directly through that hallway, go down a few stairs, out the building and across a small parking area to the garages.

When you enter from the back of the building, it looks identical to the the set-up at the front of the building; a landing with stairs going up or down to access the apartments that face the east and a door to the central hallway. There is a central hallway upstairs and one directly below it downstairs.

The only reason I got to see the downstairs central hallway last week is because that is where the hookups for Culligan water softeners are located for all eight apartments in the building. If you choose to purchase the service, Culligan changes out the water softener tank once a month. I plan to use the service. I am not a fan of the town's hard water. Only one other tenant had a softener.

I'm probably making it seem more complicated than it is. Photos coming in early August!

 

[foraloysius]

Is there an elevator?

 

[frigilux]

Louis-- No elevator. If your next question is how they get around wheelchair access laws, the answer is I have no idea.

Another oddity: The building doesn't have it's own address, with each apartment then called A, B, C, D, etc. Each of the eight apartments within the building has a unique address: 1501 6th Street; 1503 6th Street, etc. I have no idea how UPS/FedEx will know where to deliver packages, since there are no numbers listed on the outside of the building. I have everything shipped to my office, so it's no problem...until I retire, anyway.

 

[lordkenmore]

One thought about having no dishwasher as plus occurred to me. No dishwasher means one less thing to leak water, or possibly burst into flames! (Eugene, I seem to recall you having both issues with past dishwashers, although I think the flames was just smoke...) Plus hand wash detergent is cheaper than dishwasher detergent. I also have to think that while I <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">whine</span> comment about hating washing dishes, it might not be that bad for the single person. A lot of my bias right now comes from a bad kitchen setup. But there was the comment about washing up while cooking, and that probably isn't that bad since it's only a few minutes here and there. (And can be done when one needs to be in the kitchen between steps in a recipe, but not actively doing something to whatever is cooking.) The real pain would be with entertaining...but that is obviously hinges on the frequency (once a week is worse than once a year), and scale of event (tea party is probably easier than 14 course formal dinner).

 

I also don't see having laundry equipment in the hall being that huge a problem under the circumstances. It's less convenient than being in the unit, but it's a lot more convenient than a lot of solutions that I can name. And I think it's a huge plus just having your own equipment. I hated using a coin operated laundry for any number of reasons, but one factor that always got me is that who knows what the washer last washed? For all I know, it might have been dirty diapers, using cold water and the cheapest detergent at half dose. With your own washer, you know what was last washed. (Well, in this case, I suppose there is the risk of someone "borrowing"...but that seems unlikely given the circumstances.)

 

As for mailing addresses, one assumes the people regularly servicing the area probably know the quirks.

 

As for elevators, I don't know what laws exist on the books for the Minnesota Prairie, but even if elevators are technically called for with modern code, there could also be some situation with grandfathered construction, or some other loophole (e.g., small buildings--like this--exempt, or some such thing). Of course, maybe some night you'll be watching the 11 o'clock news, and watch the owners of the apartment herded off in handcuffs because they broke a law requiring elevators... LOL

[this post was last edited: 7/10/2017-07:22]

 

[frigilux]

Lord Kenmore-- Good memory! Yes, there was 'Smokey The Maytag' and 'The LG That Ruined My Kitchen Subflooring.'

Entertaining: My house used be a revolving door of guests for dinners, parties, etc. Now, my life is far quieter. I rarely entertain. When I get together with friends, we just go to a restaurant. I've also stopped bringing Monday treats to the break room, much to the disappointment of everyone at work. Oh, well...I did it every week for nine years; someone else is welcome to take it on if they want to. I'm certainly not the only one with a functional range, LOL.

Access Laws: I'm guessing that due to the small scale of the building and when it was built (my guess is 1970) it has been, as you mentioned, grandfathered in.

 

[foraloysius]

Perhaps the elevator was planned but never built.

I'm going to look at an apartment too on thursday. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

 

[mtn1584]

I would invest in Washer and Dryer covers in a common laundry.
Mike

http://https//www.walmart.com/ip/1-...0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=178110975346&wl4=pla-28497

 

[lordkenmore]

I rarely entertain.

In my case, rarely is actually never. Part of it is a limited guest base of people who might come. Imagine this scenario:


 

"We got an invitation for dinner Thursday!"

"Great! We must go! Free dinner!"

"But it's from Lord Kenmore!"

"Lord Kenmore? Oh, no! I'd rather have a Banquet TV dinner! Or even go out to that greasy spoon where I got indigestion that lasted two months than put up with that twit!"

 

Past guest list, I don't have the best setup for entertaining.

 

I'm not even sure I have any real interest in entertaining these days. At one time, I'd have been interested in elegant candlelight suppers, but that time seems to have passed.

 

 

[frigilux]

Mike-- Never thought about that; covers might be a good idea. Thanks for the link, too.

Lord Kenmore-- I had a full-time buffet set up in my dining room until about 3 years ago. Chafers, table-skirting---the whole nine yards. Over the years, friends moved, married and got busy with kids, became estranged or died. Now my circle is far smaller and we just go out to eat. As much as I enjoyed cooking and entertaining all those years I have to admit that I don't miss it. I made two dozen of my Damn Good Cinnamon Rolls for a bake sale a couple of weeks ago and it felt like I'd been in the kitchen all day. A few years ago making two batches of cinnamon rolls would barely register on my food prep radar, LOL.

Good luck in your quest to find an apartment, Louis! Keep us posted as to how things turn out.

 

[mrboilwash]

There`s actually people out there who think a cat shouldn`d have claws ?
How sick is that ???

Loosing your cat due to a necessary move must be so much harder than not having a dishwasher anymore or not being able to watch the washer because someone might watch you doing so.

My best wishes to find Missy a good new home !

 

[frigilux]

I am not looking forward to taking Missy to the no-kill shelter, even though it's very well run. The cats even have a big sunroom to bask in. It's going to be a rough day when I get the call to bring her there. Fortunately, she has a great disposition, is very loving, and will get along well with other cats--after the initial hissy fits, of course.

WASHER WATCHING: I am definitely going to watch my new washing machine--especially to see the Eco spray rinse procedure--and the spin-drain, as well. Otherwise, I've already had a Speed Queen and know what they do. I won't stand in front of it for the entire cycle, but I'll definitely be watching it. Having said that, I'll probably have to enforce a 'hands-off' policy toward the other tenants' machines, LOL. A couple of the machines on my floor are new enough to have locking lids, anyway.

 

[mark_wpduet]

At first

as I'm reading through - I'm thinking, "why are you investing in a W/D if it's in a common area that everyone in the apartment shares?" But, am I clear that I understand this correctly: Each apartment dweller has their OWN W/D, but it's in an area that anyone could walk in and use....but as long as they don't, YOU are the only one who uses it?

Sorry you won't have a dishwasher - I know what you mean by missing the cool appliance aspect.

Good Luck

 

[frigilux]

Mark-- Correct; each apartment tenant brings their own washer and dryer. Laundry equipment is not provided by the landlord. I'm purchasing a Speed Queen top-load pair to put in the common-area hallway next to my apartment's furnace and water heater. It's only a few steps from my door to the washer. In fact, if I sawed a big hole in the south wall of the kitchen, I'd be looking at the back of the SQs.

I'm also choosing to purchase an electric GE double-oven 30" range (in white, to match the exhaust hood and refrigerator) for the kitchen. I rarely need more than four burners, but I use two ovens frequently. It will be noted in the lease that the range is mine and goes with me if I move at some point in the future. Having said that, I'm quite certain I'll be in the apartment for the rest of my life.

The landlord is replacing all the carpet, painting the whole place, and putting vinyl flooring in the kitchen (rather than carpet, which is what's there now). He's also installing a particular toilet that I want (same as the one in my house). He knows I'll be a long-term tenant who will take good care of the place.

Dishwasher: Once I'm settled in, I'll decide if there's space for a portable dishwasher in the kitchen. I've already done some homework and the Whirlpool portable gets high marks for cleaning and is relatively quiet. GE also makes a portable, but the reviews on it are consistently terrible. Doesn't clean well, is loud, and has towers in the center of each rack, which I don't care for. Too bad, because the range, exhaust hood, microwave and SQs are being purchased from the same dealer. Adding a dishwasher to the package would increase my discount. We'll see; it all depends on how I want to use the kitchen space.

Cat: Received the call from the no-kill shelter. I took Missy there Thursday after work. She buddied right up to the two volunteers handling her surrender, so I think she'll be fine. She is super-friendly and adapts quickly to change. It is very quiet at home. She loved to follow me around and cat-chat about her day.

 

[lordkenmore]

Sorry to hear about Missy...but at least I'm glad she went someplace where she should be OK.

 

Waiting to make a decision on the dishwasher is probably a good move. Of course, you know all of us here are pushing just because we feel there is no such thing as too many appliances! LOL

 

As I said before, the work area of my kitchen is pretty limited, but I could have a portable left in place by the sink and still have a good path to get at the sink. It wouldn't be the nicest look--not that my kitchen in the least bit nice to begin with--but it would work.

 

And making sure your new range is protected in the lease paperwork is a good idea. You may think you'll be there for good, but it's not a bad idea being prepared for a possibility of moving one day.

 

[earthling177]

Another thought when it comes to portable dishwashers -- they are so expensive that it's often cheaper and in any case more satisfying to get a regular high-end dishwasher you like and make your own portable machine.

IKEA, for example, used to sell a cabinet just for that, you'd convert any regular dishwasher to portable by attaching it to the cabinet with rollers and adding an electrical cord and the hoses you could get from an appliance parts store.

(I see a copy of the Unicouple for about 20 bucks at RV & AutoParts, 40 bucks from PartsDr, an arm and a leg from Sears [Whirlpool], etc.)

I'm told the thing to check for is that the cabinet has some heft to it and/or a counterweight in the back, because most dishwashers are too light to compensate for the load when the racks are pulled out and real portable dishwashers often extend a third leg or something out when the door is opened to balance everything.

Good luck!

 

[logixx]

The concept of a shared laundry room is quite common in Germany. Just last week, I was looking around an apartment building with 31 units. In the basement, there was a large-ish room where everyone had their washer (some with dryers stacked on top). And yes, I've heard stories on the German forum where people wanted to do laundry, only to find their washer (or detergent) being used by someone else. I'm currently sharing a (basement) laundry room with my landlord's w/d set. That's okay - but I still dream of having the w/d in my own space.

Some examples of (clean) basement laundry rooms.