Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Washer, Dryer and Fridge Brand Recommendations

Q: I am looking for recommendations for good washer/dryer and fridge brands that are not too expensive and that you are happy with.

A: I think most of the Appliances Companies (i.e KitchenAid, Whrilpool, GE, Frigidaire) have good products starting from Less to High end as per their options. New appliances lasts easily for more than 5 Years or more as per usage. I always used Whrilpool for my Washer Dryer and they are awesome in all mean and fits my Wife needs J (She is the main user) and Whrilpools are in mid range from pricing not too high not too low and comes with the best options used by most people.

A: Don’t forget to take into account the lifetime cost of the appliances. Paying 500 dollars for a refrigerator that will use 2000 dollars worth of power over it’s lifetime is more expensive in total that a 900 dollar model that uses 1200 dollars worth of power over it’s lifetime. These are all estimations, but I think the point is made.

A: My fridge is an Armana and while I don’t hate it, nothing about it makes me go “YOU GOTTA BUY THIS!”.

My Washer & Dryer however we love love love. We have the Bosch Nexxt set. Some people may think its overpriced, but we have had 0 problems, and with two kids it easily gets used enough to have exposed something if it shoddy.

A: +1 on the Bosch washer. A nice thing about it is that it uses very little water, since they are front-loading.

They also remove nearly all the water from the clothes in the spin cycle, so you use less energy drying the clothes. That will help pay for the higher initial cost of the washer.

A problem we’ve had with ours is that since it’s a front-loader, the door has to seal tightly. If you don’t let the door stand open for a while between loads, then the residual moisture can’t get out, and we’ve seen a little mildew around the door gasket.

A: Yes you need to leave the doors open on front loaders (and preferably dry around/under the rubber gasket/seal at the end of a load). We got an LG Steamwash front loader back in May and its been great – as you say the clothes come out nearly dry.

A: +1 on the Bosch Nexxt. Expensive but I don’t regret it. Whisper-quiet washer, gets all the water out; dryer is done before you know it. Excellent capacity (I have the 500 series).

Only complaints:

· Can’t disable the beeping when washer is done, and it’s a bit obnoxious in my opinion (would prefer a gentle chime). It does get my butt off the couch to throw stuff in the dryer, that’s for sure.

· Almost immediately, washer door stopped closing tightly if I just let it swing shut. When you start the washer it locks the door but if the door isn’t fully closed, it makes a “grunk grunk grunk” sound when it tries to grab the door hook, and errors out. I have to press on the door while pushing the start button. This is not as scary as it sounds, but a little annoying.

I always leave the washer door cracked open (maybe that’s why it doesn’t swing 100% shut?) so have not had any mildew problem.

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