Washer And Dryers... Any still reliable and able to last a decade?

Zoodles95

Zoodles95

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So... The washer which came with our house when it was built is finally on its way out (just a shade over 16 years old). This is a basic Whirlpool washer which is top loading and will shred any delicates you feed to it. Technology has come a long way and there are a ton of features.

We prematurely replaced all of our kitchen appliances with nice looking ones but -surprise surprise- they needed repairs before long. The fridge and stove I gave to a former co-worker are still plugging along just fine.

Are there any new washers and dryers that can work reliably for a decade or so? My budget is up to $2500 for the pair. The only caveat is that my wife wants a top loading washer.
 
Same here, Maytag w/d over 20yrs. old when I bought the house, lasted another 5 yrs. Next set was light weight garbage, washer maybe lasted 5yrs, dryer about 9yrs. Replaced the washer with commercial laundromat style basic Maytag. Seems pretty sturdy. They're not offered at Maytag dealers. If you phone the distributer they'll hook you up with a dealer @ $1500 for the washer. If you walk into the distributer they'll gladly sell you one a lot cheaper. If you ask over the phone they say no, you have to buy thru dealer, but if you walk into the distributer showroom they will sell to you. It's Harco in Mississauga.
 
Interesting... My wife is asking about repairing our washer. If it were working 100% correctly it might have been worth $50. She is asking about repairing it. I just can't see the feasibility of repairing it. The spin cycle will only work if it is barely loaded. So, there is a belt, or a gear which is buggered up (not exactly a great technical explanation).

The commercial grade machine is an interesting idea. I would rather pay for quality than features we will likely never use.
 
Zoodles95 said:
Interesting... My wife is asking about repairing our washer. If it were working 100% correctly it might have been worth $50. She is asking about repairing it. I just can't see the feasibility of repairing it. The spin cycle will only work if it is barely loaded. So, there is a belt, or a gear which is buggered up (not exactly a great technical explanation).

The commercial grade machine is an interesting idea. I would rather pay for quality than features we will likely never use.
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Yup. That's how I choose my motorcycles as well lol. I just went to the Harco site. These washers and dryers come in multiple coin configurations as well as non-coin but that's not immediately clear. But they do come in regular button start.

Having said all that, Maytag also make basic washer/dryers with "commercial" grade components available at retailers. I don't think they're as robust tho.
 
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Buy topload.Most appliances only last about 7 years now.
 
^ CBC Marketplace did a thing on todays complex appliances. Scary stuff and I don't scare easy.
 
Got a Whirlpool front loader for the house in Toronto about 15 years ago. It's still running.

Got a new Whirlpool front loader for the house in the farmlands two years ago, and the washer shredded the front curtain within the warranty period.
They apparently catch on things and can tear the curtain.
It was fixed under warranty from Whirlpool, and has been fine ever since.
The service guy advised us to zip up heavy duty zippers on things like jeans, and maybe even turn them inside out.
For dryers he advised drying the same weight materials in a load.
Otherwise, the sensor gets confused as dry and then damp things show up on it.

Dufresne where we bought them, were worse than useless.
They said they made the warranty call, when they didn't, so it took an extra week with no washer/dryer before the claim to was filed.
 
I know people who are buying old appliances and refurbishing them because the new ones are garbage. If you think the washers and driers are bad, try those flat-top stoves with the digital controls. What a disaster. Best is to go with the least complicated unit you can find, underneath the parts are all the same.
 
Both our stoves are gas. I miss the double oven we had in Toronto. The new one is a built in, but you can't use the self-clean without toasting some delicate part that's on top at $100+ a shot.
 
I'm sure there is someone in Guelph that repairs appliances, but you can try calling Belmont Appliance at 519-699-4521 they are in the Elmira area.
Elmira Home comfort sells appliances but refers to Belmont appliances for repairs.
 
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dishwasher went Tango Uniform the other day, story of my life right now..
 
Riceburner said:
If you can repair a MC, you can repair a W/D.
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You'd think. I moved my washer to access something else. When I put it back in place it wouldn't work. I tried the obvious things and youtube. Nothing. So I gambled and bought a new circuit board. Instructions that came with circuit board indicated that if you move the washer you sometimes have to reset the circuit board. That was one of those times. I've never seen that on a motobike.
 
Yeah it might not be that hard to fix yourself. I know that dryers are a lot less complicated, but when ours broke down this year, I just bought the parts and serviced it myself and I am quite incompetent with tools.

Zoodles95 said:
Anyone know a handyman or repair service in the Guelph/Tri-city area that might repair the old tank for a reasonable price? I found the likely parts which are buggered:

http://www.partselect.ca/PS334650-W...tm?Inventory=334650&SourceCode=20&SearchTerm=
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There are lots of videos online about this sort of stuff I would think for washers too, especially if you already know the parts that need fixing. Those parts select videos are pretty well done for non-handy people to do the work themselves. For older, well made stuff, always better to fix than replace.

On a side note, I had a dryer giving me problems in my rental condo about 5 years ago where the thermostat and other parts kept failing. The repairman came by about 10 times to keep replacing the thermostats and other parts and trying to see why the problem was happening. He charged me for the first replaced thermostat and never charged me again because he was so curious to see what was causing the problem. He took that thing apart so many times. He lost so much money on me and I kept offering to pay him and he said that he makes so much money off other people's stupid problems that he liked having a real problem to diagnose and didn't care about the money. Turned out in the end it was a blocked duct not in my unit, but just past the walls of my condo, because the building did not clean their ducts due to a change in property management.
 
It might be best to take the front panel off, or the back if it's one of those, and check that everything isn't rusted into solid slabs first.
 
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