Let's Talk Tuesday: Major Appliances

Remember when you could count on an appliance lasting about 20 years? Case in point: I bought my first washer/dryer combo in 1988 when we moved into a duplex. I went to a Maytag store (remember appliance stores?) and picked out whatever was the most cost-effective purchase at the time.

We moved into our first home in 1990 and took the washer/dryer with us. The dryer lasted until our third basement flood, probably around 2004, when it finally died on us. Two feet of water will do that! Our washer, though, was a powerhouse. When we bought a new dryer, we put both up on cinder blocks, since we were having '100 year rains' every other year at that point, causing water to come up through the basement drains.

By 2010, our 22 year old washer's agitator was becoming ridiculously loud, even from upstairs. It was working fine, just super noisy. We bought another Maytag top loader, but left it there when we moved in 2012 (big mistake, which I predicted). But our 'new' home had a 2007 LG front loader washer and dryer, so only 5 years old. That's when the problems began.

They looked high tech and fancy, but the washing machine not only smelled bad, it did not clean the clothes. I would pull out sheets or jeans and find dry spots on them, where water never reached. The gasket that lined the door had black mold spots that would not come off, no matter what bleach or vinegar solution I used. I'd leave the door open (which, in a narrow laundry room, is a nuisance) but it didn't help with the odor. Two years in, the washer suddenly stopped mid-cycle one day and a red error code came up. Unfortunately, LG products can only be serviced by 'qualified' maintenance businesses, so I had to wait a week for someone who came from 30 miles away. $200 later, it was fixed. Note, you can buy a washer for less than $500.

 

It lasted another two years until a red error code came up again. I told my husband I wasn't investing any more money into that piece of crap, so I went to Lowe's and bought a bottom of the line GE top loader with an agitator. Low and behold, it actually cleans the clothes and does not stink:

A few months ago, a red code appeared on the LG dryer. After watching various youtube videos and attempting a variety of fixes myself, I gave up and went to a big box store. Once again, I bought the cheapest GE dryer I could find.

I was patting myself on the back for my economical purchase until I dried my first load of clothes. Then, this happened:

Am I at the conclusion of a basketball game or am being released from a maximum security prison? Holy cow, who thought this was the right sound to let a household consumer know that their clothes were dry?? Obviously, there was no testing this in the store, not that the thought I would have to worry about an obnoxious buzzer ever crossed my mind. Every dryer I've ever heard had a pleasant bell dinging at the conclusion of a cycle.

This post focused on washer/dryers, but I've not had much luck with any of the 'high end' appliances in this home, which all seemed to have been replaced by the previous owner (an engineer, I might add) between 2007-2011. So far, we've had to replace the washer, dryer, refrigerator, wall oven, and basement upright freezer. We've also made multiple repairs ourselves to the 2011 dishwasher, including parts that have cost over $100.

What has been your experience?