Washer + Dryer Recs?
Have been looking at w/d reviews and basically none look reliably good. Have never owned them before and am looking for suggestions. Would prefer a stackable or combo unit with a shallow depth. Venting and large waste pipe drainage is available.
Have been looking at w/d reviews and basically none look reliably good. Have never owned them before and am looking for suggestions. Would prefer a stackable or combo unit with a shallow depth. Venting and large waste pipe drainage is available.
I live alone, so I went for the Duet Sport. I’m not that happy, so I’d love to know how they differ from the full Duet. Previously I had the Maytag Neptunes, which I miss terribly!
Although there were some recalls on the Neptunes, I never had any problems. (The recalls were about mildew forming around the washer gasket, mentioned above for the current Duets, ironically.) In fact, they’re still in use by my tenants.
I’m also going to paste a Consumer Reports article about trying to track which manufacturers make which brands:
CONSUMER REPORTS 2007
Our recent tests of refrigerators included more than 70 models from 20 brands.
That’s a lot of companies, until you play appliance detective and discover that the $20 billion annual market for refrigerators, ovens, washers, and other major home appliances isn’t such a vast place after all.
That activity turns out to be a bit like playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, though instead of the well-connected actor popping up repeatedly, a few mammoth manufacturers and
brands do.
Got pen and paper ready? We haven’t covered every manufacturer, but this rundown will give you a good idea about who actually makes all those appliances. It’s also worth noting that the manufacturing arrangements change all the time.
The Whirlpool Corporation, based in Benton Harbor, Mich., makes Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Gladiator products. The company accounts for about 17 percent of major appliance sales in the U.S., following closely behind the General Electric brand (17.8 percent) and the Sears Kenmore brand (22.2 percent).
Over the years, the Whirlpool company has gobbled up Admiral, Amana, Jenn-Air, Magic Chef, and Maytag, and makes appliances for Ikea (ovens, ranges, cooktops, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, and dishwashers) and Kenmore (some of the brand’s refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, and dryers).
Gladiator and KitchenAid are two “Whirlpool bred” brands.
Whirlpool’s certainly not the only Kenmore supplier. Frigidaire and LG also manufacture Kenmore refrigerators, Haier handles some of its compact fridges, and Danby makes some of its wine chillers, Bosch makes some of its dishwashers, and Electrolux and Sanyo build some of its freezers.
General Electric is well known for a vast array of products–lightbulbs, jet engines for military planes, and “The Today Show.” But this corporate colossus, based in Fairfield, Conn., also makes appliances under the GE, GE Monogram, GE Profile, and Hotpoint brands.
Across the Atlantic, BSH Home Appliances is a leading purveyor of high-end appliances. This German company brings you upscale kitchen and laundry appliances under the brand names Bosch, Gaggenau, Siemens, and Thermador.
BSH has other bedfellows, including KitchenAid, for which it will start making induction cooktops in the summer. Keeping it in the family, KitchenAid turns out a built-in side-by-side refrigerator for Thermador.
Bosch’s relationships spread as far as Asia–South Korea’s Daewoo Electronics makes a Bosch side-by-side refrigerator.
Elsewhere in Europe, you might think of Electrolux as the onetime producer of those old, quirky-looking canister vacuums. But this Swedish manufacturer has also brought you refrigerators, freezers, washers, and more under its own nameplate and brands like Frigidaire, Gibson, Kelvinator, Tappan, and White Westinghouse.
Proving the Kevin Bacon theory, Electrolux is also
connected to Sears: It makes Kenmore dishwashers and high-end Kenmore Pro appliances.
Viking sounds Scandinavian, too, but the company, known for its pro-style ranges and built-in refrigerators, is actually based in Greenwood, Miss. It’s a small world after all: Sweden’s Asko company currently makes some of Viking’s dishwashers. Viking does manufacture its other appliances (and by the end of 2007 will make its own dishwashers), except for a freestanding refrigerator that’s made by Amana and undercounter fridges from Marvel.
Got all that?
I have italian washer combined with condensation drier. The washer goes mad once in a while and you need to drain water through the special procedure. The ventless drier is a joke. Besides you cannot use it separately, or to heat up things. For example I had to put waterproof spray on my snowboard gear and heat it up in drier.
have had 2 kenmore(sears) stackers in past 30 years…no complaints, no repairs…
parents bought one 4 yrs ago, works great!
Hurricane… I do not have the condensation dryer, but the standard Axxis model. It too takes longer than my previous Frigidaire Gallery, but truthfully, when it’s done, everything is completely dry; not damp like my Frigidaire left clothes.
As to the time it takes to dry … at first when my new Bosch was installed, it seemed to take forever. I called the service dept and they determined the temp control was defective. They replaced it and now everything is fine. I never have to run my clothes thru a second drying cycle like I used to w/ the Frigidaire.
I know gas dryers are more economical to run. I’m not sure how much better at drying they are.
we have the bosch axxis stackable and it’s not that great. the washer and dryer are very small and takes ages to dry everyhing. the washer is ok, but i wouldn’t recommend this.
previously, we had a GE stackable spacemaker washer/dryer and it was terrific. the only reason we have a different one now is because we moved. i wish we brought the GE!
I have the Bosch Axxis stackable. But clearly made a mistake getting the condensation dryer. Can I change to a gas dryer? Takes light years to dry clothes…so I generally hang clothes on the line as a result. Nothing like crunchy towels.
I have the Bosch Axxis stackable. But clearly made a mistake getting the condensation dryer. Can I change to a gas dryer? Takes light years to dry things…so I generally hang clothes on the line as a result. Nothing like crunchy towels.
I replaced a Maytag with the stackable Duet about 4 years ago. All in all it’s ok but the dryer has a tendency to smell like mildew because of the way the gasket around the drain works. When you pull back to the gasket to clean it, you find dark shower mold. Whirpool sells packets to clean out the machine periodically. As far as I can tell, it removes the smell but getting rid of the mold/stain is trickier.
Like a fool I opted for the extended warranty. When a problem developed in the washer, it took 8 weeks to get it fixed. Company 1 decided after ordering the part (actually it was the wrong part) that they were no longer doing business with extended warranty co. Company #2 insisted that I remove the dryer and replace it when they were done. $150 for removal and $150 for replacement – the machine was fixed. NOT! – magically Company #2 was able to remove the dryer themselves after the screwed up the first time. I yearn for theold Maytag which had a stand allowing the washer to be pulled out for service. (Downside – a top loader – hard on clothes). The basic problem is that most of washer/dryer market in the US has space for side by sides and uses electricity to dry clothes.
We bought a Kenmore washer and drier about two years ago. They’re designed to be stackable or used side by side, and we stack them. We used Consumer Reports for research and bought at Sears. No complaints yet: they’re quiet and use far less energy than the previous ones, which came with our coop.