In 1980, Diane and I bought a new Magtag washer. The Maytag washer worked tirelessly and reliably for 40 years. We only had repairmen come out a couple times to fix minor problems. But, with the Second Wave of the coronavirus about to hit, Diane decided she wanted a new clothes washer instead of dealing with any potential problems a 40-year-old appliance would present during a pandemic.
The last time we had the Magtag serviced a few years ago, we asked the repairman what washer should we consider if we wanted to replace the Magtag. “I would recommend a Speed Queen washer,” he said. “They’re the closest thing to these old Maytag washers around.”
Since we hadn’t used the Government Stimulus Debit Card yet, Diane and I decided to buy the new Speed Queen washer with Government money. How are you and your washer getting along?
We got a newish-still LG drier to “match” the LG washer I bought (my major appliance contribution to the household so far) about 8 or so years ago (wow…time flying). The drier has even more seemingly superfluous settings, but doesn’t try to walk as much (in the spin cycle of the latter, in supersonic speeds).
The replaced Kenmores were in the house when Alice bought it, vintage 1972ish. That drier certainly put in its time, and the washer not Too much letting down the side. I suspect even with excessive kinesis and control panels, the LGs might burn less electricity and gas.
Magtag a friendly nickname for your washer? How’s your drier? (The new drier was purchased around the beginning of March.)
The old Kenmores only a couple of years younger than Alice. I was probably about to turn 8yo when they were installed.
Todd, Kenmores had a reputation for being reliable appliances. But now, it seems all appliances are engineered to die in 5-7 years. Planned obsolescence…
Todd, we have a Maytag dryer that’s about 8 years old. It’s been serviced a couple of times.
Todd, I’ve heard good things about LG appliances. When our dryer dies, we’ll consider a LG dryer as a replacement.
Mine is ancient and only one setting works. Thanks for doing the legwork for me if I need to replace.
Patti, Diane is busy giving our new Speed Queen washer a workout today: towels, slacks, and shirts. So far, so good.
When a tree landed on our roof in July 2019, it took out our laundry room—including our 30-year-old Kenmore washer & dryer. They had been workhorses: purchased with wedding money given to us by my in-laws when John & I got married in 1989, they had seen us through thirty years, three kids, four dogs, five house moves, and at least ten loads of laundry per week for decades. Insurance paid for replacements and, after weighing the pros and cons of various brands, we went with Whirlpool. It had been so long since we’d had a new washer, I wasn’t prepared for how high-tech this one seemed: there’s no center agitator in the drum and no water-level selection. The cycle seems to run a little longer than with the Kenmore, but apparently that’s a water-saving device. As Todd notes, new dryers have lots of bells & whistles, but I just use the timer and the temperature selection (based on what I’m drying). I don’t expect these appliances to give us the thirty years that the Kenmores gave us, but considering I’ll be in my nineties in 30 years, that’s a problem for future Deb to worry about.
Deb, we went with Whirlpool appliances when we replaced out kitchen appliances last year: stove, microwave, and fridge. So far, they’ve performed well. I guess we all have to adjust our expectations of appliances’ longevity.
We have three buildings, over 100 apartments, one laundry room (below our building). There are only 6 or 7 washers and they have replaced a number of them over the years. I see (when I am down there) that some people prefer the front-loading machines, but I don’t understand that. Top loaders only for me. With the front-loaders, you have to watch that clothes don’t fall on the floor when you open the door, plus they seem to have more of a problem with soap pouring out. The only problem I can see with the top loading machines is if you are too short to reach down to the bottom to get everything out, which is not my issue.
So basically, we have not had a washing machine of our own since we moved here over 30 years ago.
Thanks for stimulating the economy, and hope Diane enjoys it. New is always fun.
Jeff, buying the new Speed Queen washer was a “pre-emptive strike” by Diane. She was worried her 40-year-old Maytag might fail during the pandemic and we’d be stuck without washer if everything shut down again. So, we bought a new washer and we’ll see if we made the right move.
*ahem* If you’d been paying attention, you have seen this (https://tipthewink.net/2017/04/11/stimulating-the-economy-speed-queen-washer-dryer/) April 17 post I did, in which I showed we bought new Speed Queen washer and dryer. The brand came highly recommended. Glad you got yours, but why about the dryer?
Rick, I had forgotten you bought a Speed Queen washer, too. Our Maytag dryer is still working so we’ll stick with that a while longer. Do you like the Speed Queen dryer?
Yes, We love them both.
Rick, good to know. Are the fires near you now? The TV news video of Oregon, Washington, and California is frightening!!!
Yes, but the wind has changed direction, so we hope they will turn back on themselves and run out of fuel. The smoke is VERY thick and choking, and outside the windows we just see a grey wall. But the immediate danger of evacuation is over, for right now. We got to Level 1.
Rick, sounds like you dodged a bullet! NBC News said 10% of the people in Oregon were being evacuated!
Silly me. My blog has been dormant for a long time but I could have written about the can opener and electric knife I bought.
We get appliances at the Sears Outlet store, and that is the only time I buy anything from Sears. The washer we got a few years ago had a tiny paint chip in one corner and was $100 less because of that. It’s one of those no-agitator types and has more selections than I need. I don’t love it but it does the job. Like Jeff, I prefer a top loader, and this one is.
Bob, I for one would be interested in your review of your new can opener and electric knife!
I bought a Kenmore front-load washer for the energy efficiency, maybe eight years ago; it’s no more of a problem to use than a front-load dryer. I’ve had no issues with it. The only thing I miss is, if I find a stray sock that had fallen out of my arms, I could always open the top-loader to add it. With the front-loader, I have to push the stop button and then see if the machine will unlock or not. If it does, I can add the sock. If not, it has to wait for the next load. Not a big deal.
Jeff, our 40-year-old Maytag allowed us to open the lid. Now, the Speed Queen locks (I suppose it’s a “safety feature”) and we have to press the PAUSE button to unlock it.
With a front-loader, you can’t open it if there’s too much water in there.
Jeff, we’ve always had top-loaders.
I tried to look up the technical data, but didn’t find much.
I suspect this type of machine couldn’t be sold in Europe – because it uses too much energy and water …
We have in the EU a classification D, C, B, A and now we’re on A++ and A+++ for all kinds of machines- from dryers to freezers and hoovers …
A bit OT:
I still remember when I saw one of the top-loaders in my sister’s house (she and her English husband rented an apartment in a building where many US soldiers lived) – I was totally perplexed, especially since it used warm water.
In European machines always cold water is used and then heated internally – because our detergents start to work in the cold with their enzymes …
Wolf, Diane uses the cold water setting for many of our laundry loads.