This is ridiculous

[supersurgilator]

Had to go to the laundromat with my mom today and we went to a different one than the one I frequent (but same owner). Anyway, in January of 2004 they bought 9 SQ toploaders. These machines just now turned 6 years old and 3 of them are out of order, and one of the ones we used needed bearings. I knew their quality had gone down after they changed over from 2 belts to 1 belt (late 1997) but still these new machines are junk.

 

[aaronfitzy]

well....

You also need to consider the amount of abuse these things take! Being in a laundromat is no easy task for any machine.

Aaron

 

[jeffg]

That's for sure. Six years is an eternity for laundromat washers.

 

[cfz2882]

early-'80s white-westinghouse must have been pretty tough-
a new laundromat opened in 1981 with westinghouse top loads,
two sizes of front load westinghouse,a big milnor,and an
italian dry clean machine(forget what the dryers were)in 1993,
last time i was there,these machines were still running.
Also,one laudromat i went to in '89 still had some old mid-
'60s turquoise speed queens running-that was a treat!

 

[danmantn]

Just like owning a car...

If you don't maintain your car, it'll go down hill rather quickly also! Some laundromat owners think they can open the door and come back once a year. You can tell the well maintenanced ones as soon as you open the front door.

I went to a different laundromat the other day where there was a lady stuffing clothes into a front load Neptune...get this WITH A STICK! Let me repeat...WITH A STICK! She crammed all she could by hand, then had this short stick thing that she pushed clothes into every possible space. UNBELIEVEABLE.

It was all I could do to not pull an intervention. lol Poor little machine. I would imagine that the interior of those clothes never even got wet. What a simpleton. Of course, looking at her appearance, clean clothing was not a priority. :

That laundromat was actually well maintained, and a good value. For $4.50, I was able to use the 50 lb machine with "Super Wash" that ran an increible 55 minutes! I didn't think it would ever stop.

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[whirlcool]

...went to a different laundromat the other day where there was a lady stuffing clothes into a front load Neptune...get this WITH A STICK! Let me repeat...WITH A STICK!

I have seen people use their feet to stuff a washer. Then they pour in 1/2 a bottle of detergent in the dispenser.

Some people either never learn, don't care or a combination of both.

One of my theories.....
If somebody doesn't have a financial stake in an item, they'll treat it like trash and will shortly thereafter be ruined.

 

[supersurgilator]

That is true, but there are also some SQ's at this same laundromat from the mid 80's that are working fine, and one is even harvest gold.