Major and minor repairs

[naomikritzer]

I've been thinking for the last week or two about how I want to make a LJ post kvetching about all the miscellaneous small and large crap that has been going wrong lately. Starting with my knee, which was finally recovering after two months of chiropractic plus physical therapy (totally different PT from last time), which I fell and whacked two weeks ago and which still hurts, though at least I'm no longer limping. I saw a doctor for it last week; she confirmed that it was just a bruise. I had scheduled the doctor appointment to coincide with Kiera's preschool but then preschool got cancelled because the teacher's kid was throwing up, so I called my friend Nicole to babysit, and when I dropped Kiera off at Nicole's house, I was wiping the lenses of my glasses when one of the lenses fell out. Normally when a lens falls out it just pops back in without a whole lot of trouble, but it wouldn't stay in, and since I absolutely cannot drive without my glasses and needed to drive to get to the appointment, I scotch-taped the lens in place (I looked like a TOTAL LOOOOOOOOSER, too) and drove over.

See what I mean?

Anyway, the latest was that today, our washer broke. The timing was at least as convenient as something like this can be: it broke on the very last load, declining to spin them during the spin cycle so they were all sopping wet. This occasionally happens for no apparent reason, but always previously, all I needed to do was reset it to the spin cycle and start it again. No dice, this time: the motor started up but it didn't actually spin.

So, unless this is a repair that could be done with generic parts, I think we're going to have to get a new washer. I can't imagine parts would be readily available for a washer this old. I had enough trouble getting a part for my dishwasher that broke last week (see? SEE?) and the damn dishwasher is less than five years old. The washer was in the house when we bought it ten years ago and did not exactly look new and shiny at the time. And I'm pretty sure GE has not sold appliances under the RCA label for a while, though I could be wrong about that.

Does anyone have any input on washers? I have no particular desire to spend three times as much in order to get a washer that loads from the front instead of the top -- on the rare occasions that I absolutely HAVE to wash something with a front-loading washer, there is a laundromat less than two blocks away. Our washer and dryer live in the basement, so it doesn't have to be particularly quiet and it certainly doesn't have to look pretty. It needs to wash clothes without mangling them too often or eating too many socks, and not break the day after the warranty expires.

Comments

[swords-and-pens.livejournal.com]

If you can find out what needs to be fixed/replaced on the washer, you might very well be able to get the parts from Dey Appliance in Saint Paul - they can get just about anything. The trick, of course, is figuring out what you need and then fixing it. You may want to look into handyman/fix it services, or independent appliance repair and see about a quote. You can also look on CraigsList and some of the other trade/selling lists to see if anyone does freelance appliance repairs, too.

There is always ApplianceSmart, which sells scratch & dent new appliances, but I haven't been overly impressed with their prices. If you aren't real picky, though, you might find a decent deal. There is one up in Maplewood, but you may have one closer to you. Their inventory will vary.

As for brands, I've always been happy with Whirlpool/Maytag. If you have some specific brands/prices in mind, I can check Consumer Reports on-line and print you some reviews.

[naomikritzer]

My dishwasher is a Maytag and I swear to God it suddenly started having problems the day after the warranty expired.

[swords-and-pens.livejournal.com]

I mentioned Maytag along with Whirlpool since the companies merged last year, but that's probably an over-simplification on my part. Looking at CR, Whirlpool seems to do better than Maytag in terms of reliability.

Our current washer & dryer are both Whirlpool. They have been going since we moved in to this house, which means they are 8 years old now. I've had to have one service call in that time on the washer to get the drum balance fixed.

Of course, I type this in the full knowledge that they will both blow up tomorrow since I just bragged them up. :)

FWIW, Consumer Reports recommends the Whirlpool WTW5540S (~$400) and Admiral AAV7000 (~$300) for basic top-loading washing machines. The others reviewed in that price range (including more expensive ones) look markedly worse. The five most reliable brands for top-loaders, based on the consumer repair survey, were (in order): Roper, GE, Frigidaire, Kenmore, Whirlpool, with other brands scoring noticably worse.

[allochthon.livejournal.com]

I think the nearest ApplianceSmart is at 280 and Como.

I got my dishwasher there, and am reasonably happy with it. The one thing about ApplianceSmart, of course, is that they don't install, and I don't know if they're recycle the old appliance.

The price to get it installed by a handyman easily bumped the price up to what I would have gotten at Sears or Home Despot, installed.

That being said, I'm interested in what you choose, because I need to get a new one soon, too.

[splagxna.livejournal.com]

we have a whirlpool energy star set - the washer model # is LSW9750PW3 and the dryer is LEQ9508PW1; i've only had them about 6 mos but they've been fine in that time.

I have the same one!!

[(Anonymous)]

Just got my Whirlpool LSW9750PW3 washer delivered today, haven't read the manual yet, but when I did the first load it was still very wet, can you set it so it doesn't go into a cold rinse cycle?? I think that may be the problem.

[squigsoup.livejournal.com]

Not A Maytag is my only suggestion. The motor on my Maytag broke less than 5 years after we bought it. And my Maytag dishwasher is kinda crappy too.

Also, they recently moved out of Iowa, so I no longer have any homestate pride in them.

[naomikritzer]

I have a Maytag dishwasher.

I had already decided that I'm never buying another Maytag of any kind. I swear to God they include self-destruct devices with a timer set to the Day After Your Warranty Expires.

[maggiedr.livejournal.com]

If the machine is old, probably best replace it rather than fix it and have it break down again.

We buy all of our appliances at Sears, including our most recent washer and dryer. My husband and oldest son have spent several years cruising the washers and dryers there, so they were prepared when our old machines broke down. We went the costly route of front loading high efficiency machines. They are so worth it--I wish we'd done it years ago, when the kids were small.

[naomikritzer]

What kind did you get?

[kellymccullough.livejournal.com]

Front loaders. We love ours. It saves water, soap, and major wear and tear on clothes. My shirts probably last five or six times as long, and it can handle delicates that a top-loader would tear to shreds.

[naomikritzer]

What kind of front loader do you have? Everyone seems to think they're better, but I browsed Epinions a bit and there are all sorts of horror stories. (There aren't nearly as many horror stories for the top loaders, but there also aren't as many reviews, period.)

[kellymccullough.livejournal.com]

It's a Kenmore and it's an energy star machine. I can dig the documentation out of the appropriate file if you want. It came with an instructional video because it doesn't work quite the same as a top-loader. It's just as simple, but it's important to use the right soap and a lot less of it than you would for a top-loader. Some of the horror stories may be from people who didn't do those things or failed to follow the other directions. I know ours has never given us a moment of trouble, and I can say the same for at least four other couples we know.

Pseudo here...

[(Anonymous)]

Just a suggestion. We've had this sort of problem several times and it's related to overloading the machine. A small kid sock or similar item gets sucked into the pump and seizes up the motor. If the pump can be salvaged, you can actually fix this yourself if you want to disassemble it. (Otherwise a repairman will do it.) If the pump is fried, it costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 to have someone replace it.