Upstairs/Downstairs - A tale of two laundry rooms!

[johninpeekskill]

Mike and I have finally settled into our new house. The prior owners added a second laundry room on the second floor - which is a great convenience with the bedrooms so close. However, the Maytag frontload pair that they left behind has been less than stellar! (Washer model MHWE450WW01) The housekeeper that used to work here never cleaned the machine - and left the door closed when it wasn't running. The detergent dispenser was a bio hazard and there was mold all over the door gasket. I've bleached and cleaned - and run the clean washer cycle 3+ times with Tide washer cleaner. Still smells a bit - but not near as bad as before! That alone is frustrating - but, the washer seems to have a terrible time balancing itself before spinning. This morning I did a small load on the whitest white cycle - a bath rug and a few towels. When I went to put the items in the dryer they were soaking wet. I had to run a drain/spin to try and wring them out. The machine did OK on the second spin cycle.

It also seems to take a long time on a full, mixed load to get itself set to spin. There is a lot of trial and error. My old FriGEmore front loader that I left at the old house was 12+ years old and ran like a champ. I miss it!

The original laundry room is also still in the basement. There's a very nice Maytag Dependable Care washer and a newer basic model GE dryer. The old Maytag is a workhorse. The GE dryer is OK - but slow to dry. Need to check and make sure the vent isn't blocked.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the sluggish spin cycles? It's disappointing - I like the machine's location and big capacity but this is a bit maddening. Seems like the best combo is the old washer and the new dryer!

--John

 

[johninpeekskill]

Here's the downstairs laundry...

original location in the basement.

 

[maytagbear]

Keep the top-loading

Maytag! Nothing new is any better, with the possible exception of Speed Queen.

Thank you for the pictures.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[pierreandreply4]

my advice is

my advice would be move the top load to the second floor laundry room and the front load to the basement laundry room and keep the top load washer they are better cleaners than front load washers

 

[dustin92]

We have a similar situation in our house- an original laundry room in the basement, equipped with a Speed Queen set from 1989, and a tiny bedroom converted to a laundry room in about 2002 or so, equipped with a Maytag Performa set, neither of which work well.

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have the Maytag 5000 series Washer and Dryer. The washer is a little touchy balancing, it does better with a full load. There is also a possibility it has a bad sensor that is not allowing it to go into full spin speed, because my clothes are almost dry when I take them out.

I personally like the Afresh cleaner better than the Tide. Lighter smell, no so many suds.

 

[henene4]

Maybe the dampers are gone? Could cause excessive swinging of the tub during balancing...

 

[qualin]

Well, now I'm wondering about this laundry room. Was it a bathroom before? The piping on the wall doesn't look very professional at all.

Does your second laundry room have a drain in the floor? If not, that laundry room poses a very serious risk to your house. If the washer leaks, there's nothing to prevent your house from suffering from flood damage.

In some areas, its actually against building code to not have a floor drain. I'm not sure what the laws are in regard to where you live though. As well, your home insurance may not cover flood damage. Please check your policy.

The existing laundry suite in your basement should stay there. The washer is a good model known for its reliability, but I'm not sure about the dryer.

As for your front loaders, my first instinct would be to consider replacing it outright, preferably with a model that has leak detection. (Which I'm not honestly sure if your washer has it.)

If this really was a bathroom conversion, IMHO, it should be converted back, unless you really have a need for two sets of laundry machines.

 

[qualin]

Another few things to note:

In your second floor laundry room, is the dryer really venting to the outside? I'm sure that a proper home inspection will ensure that this can be discovered, but rectifying it could be an expensive proposition.

If the dryer is venting to anywhere but outside, it could present a very serious fire hazard due to lint buildup.

Now the answer you have been waiting for...

The problem with Front Loaders is that they must be able to re-distribute the clothing evenly across the entire tub before it can enter in a spin cycle. This ensures that the tub is balanced properly before it can ramp up.

Things that can cause issues with redistribution are underloading, loading the machine with many of the same type of garment and/or fabric type, and/or washing improper balances of heavy and light fabrics. (ie. Loads with lots of jeans)

So, if you want it to be able to redistribute the clothing better, try mixing different types of garments together. Also try loading your front loader with clothes all of the way up to the top of the tub, LIGHTLY pack them in and then remove one medium sized garment from the tub before you start the cycle. If you can see the back of the tub after the tub fills with water and the clothing is wet, you loaded it properly.

It's been my own personal experience that loading a front loader between 50-90 percent of its capacity provides for the most optimal wash experience.

 

[logixx]

The problem is that consumers want

- huge capacity
- high spin speeds
- install the washer on a 2nd floor laundry room with no vibration

On top of that, most US homes are made of wood, which, under some circumstances, cannot provode the same stabilty as a home made of stone. The only thing manufacturers can do is to program the washer's software to be super-sensitive towards off-balance conditions. Sure, you can buy a no-fuss washer like Miele or Speed Queen but you'd have to check if your construction is able to withstand the potential vibration issues.

What you could also do is lower the spin speed. No sure about Whirlpool but some machines allow for greater imbalance if you don't select the highest spin speed.

What's in Affresh? Isn't it mostly glorified oxy clean? I'd prefer something like Smelly Washer followed by another cycle with Clorox Regular.

 

[mtn1584]

Keep the MAYTAG TOP LOADER!!!! Get rid of the Maytag front loader and replace with a SQ top load washer...buy the matching dryer if you like as well, and have the money of course. No issues with balancing or second floor installations with the TL SQ.
MIKE

 

[mtn1584]

Keep the MAYTAG TOP LOADER!!!! Get rid of the Maytag front loader and replace with a SQ top load washer...buy the matching dryer if you like as well, and have the money of course. No issues with balancing or second floor installations with the TL SQ.
MIKE

 

[mtn1584]

sorry for the double post...

 

[johninpeekskill]

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

I'm definately going to keep the Maytag top loader. Still not sure if I will replace the newer front load machine. I'm not sure what the space was before it was converted to laundry. I think they stole it from an adjacent bedroom. I don't need any more bathrooms in this house - and there's a full bath next door. I'm a bit concered about leaks with a second floor machine, I don't know if the old owner was smart enough to put in a floor drain. I was doing some online searching today - the Bosch front loaders are leakproof. I had brand new Bosch appliances in the kitchen at my old house. Loved them all.

 

[henene4]

Uhh, I'm sceptical about Bosch laundry. Infact, you could buy any washer and get kind of flooding pan. Saw this in YouTube. It was a SS pan that caught all the Walter if it would leak.
Pricewise, Bosch is cheaper, but I would rather consider Miele or Asko. More expensive, but yet they last longer and at least Asko is flood-safe. I don't know about Miele USA, but if there is a WPS-System (noticebly by a grey box at the water inlet hose), they are as safe as Bosch and Asko.
But anyway, ask your self if you need 2 washers and if so, to you really need to replace them? And if, FL or TL? And if, how big needs it to be? How mich do you want to invest? And what features do you want? Answer all these questions in this order and than look for a washer hat gives you all the things you need!

 

[Cookietaster12]

I have the Maytag 300 Series and I do not have a problem with the washer trying to balance itself before spinning. Sometimes, when washing a load of towels, it will balance a couple of times but nothing that adds significant time. As for the odor in the washer, I use the Afresh Tablets. They work like a charm. I have always been skeptical about the Tide cleaner because it doesn't allow for sufficient cleaning because you have to use it in the regular cycle. The Affresh tablets are designed for a 50 cleaning cycle that allows for longer cleaning times. I have have my FL set for 5 years now and have had NO issues with ODOR or MILDEW in the washer. I would recommend using two or three tablets on the cleaning cycle and leaving the door cracked when not in use.

I personally wouldn't get rid of the Maytag Front Loader set. I am very happy with mine and have never experienced any of the problems that others are talking about. I am big on savings for water and cutting down on drying time. The Maytag top loader is a tru workhorse; however, you will pay for it in the amount of drying time and higher electric bills in the future.