"High Efficiency" results in a decision

[jeff kushner]

As Kerry and I get my home ready for sale we are faced with a very interesting byproduct of the newer appliance regulations. Kerry's home has a 5yr old set of High Efficiency large front loading fully computerized LG machines. These are very high-end machines with more options and cycles than anyone will use. Steam cleaning, dry cleaning, slave labor...they got it all....BUT I know in my heart, when they break, I will likely be unable to diagnose and repair them. Oh, it also takes 155 minutes to do any size load of laundry plus the dry time....which never really dries.


My set was here when I bought this home 17 years ago, they were 5 years old back then, 23 years old today. They are Maytags and huge.....and I have beat the crap out of them for nearly 20 yrs. There is rarely a load too large....LOL....full loads of towels while my daughter lived here, DAILY! I can also wash and DRY a large load in under an hour. They have been rocks of reliability. While I'm in no real rush for getting my laundry done today....3.5 hrs for a semi-damp load of clothes seems excessively uncomfortable as the result of "high efficiency".

The result of the high efficiency machines seems to present a simple question.....do I want to swap them out?

Here's the part that makes it viable.............I can repair the Maytags easily....they are all-mechanical machines.

We can either ensure 20 yrs of comfortable washing/drying...........OR we can buy new appliances that we don't like the results of when the current ones break.

We don't pay for water or sewer so there's that.

I wonder if I can get the boys to do it for us......LOL one of them has a F350 pickup! LOL

Would you swap them?

Note the dryer is in the Delicate cycle...and it still dries a load in 25 minutes!

 

[Fluffy]

If the clothes are coming out damp then there is a problem with her dryer. There are several things that can cause this. The first thing I would check is the vent. if it's too long or clogged the dryer won't work properly.

 

[wellington]

I have an old washer and dryer that came with the house when we bought it in 2014. I'm not sure the brand. But my repair guy has told me to keep fixing them. That the new machines are crap, won't last no where near as long and that most people hate the new ones.
My repair guy retired and the new guy said the same thing when I asked him.
New appliances look nice, have new fangled stuff on them, yes, like you said no one will use, and they are costly but built as throw aways.
When the new ones break, the cost is usually almost the cost of a new one. Found this out when I bought my brand new frig and stove back in 2015. Frig lasted just over a year. Of course past the warranty. Would have been over 800.00 to fix and the part would have to be ordered cuz no one carries it in stock, unlike my old washer and dryer, parts always on hand.
I bought a new one.

 

[Yvonne G]

You know, of course, that as soon as you make the trade your old, faithful Maytags will bite the dust. At any rate, I'd trade and use the old set.

 

[Cathie G]

As Kerry and I get my home ready for sale we are faced with a very interesting byproduct of the newer appliance regulations. Kerry's home has a 5yr old set of High Efficiency large front loading fully computerized LG machines. These are very high-end machines with more options and cycles than anyone will use. Steam cleaning, dry cleaning, slave labor...they got it all....BUT I know in my heart, when they break, I will likely be unable to diagnose and repair them. Oh, it also takes 155 minutes to do any size load of laundry plus the dry time....which never really dries.


My set was here when I bought this home 17 years ago, they were 5 years old back then, 23 years old today. They are Maytags and huge.....and I have beat the crap out of them for nearly 20 yrs. There is rarely a load too large....LOL....full loads of towels while my daughter lived here, DAILY! I can also wash and DRY a large load in under an hour. They have been rocks of reliability. While I'm in no real rush for getting my laundry done today....3.5 hrs for a semi-damp load of clothes seems excessively uncomfortable as the result of "high efficiency".

The result of the high efficiency machines seems to present a simple question.....do I want to swap them out?

Here's the part that makes it viable.............I can repair the Maytags easily....they are all-mechanical machines.

We can either ensure 20 yrs of comfortable washing/drying...........OR we can buy new appliances that we don't like the results of when the current ones break.

We don't pay for water or sewer so there's that.

I wonder if I can get the boys to do it for us......LOL one of them has a F350 pickup! LOL

Would you swap them?

Note the dryer is in the Delicate cycle...and it still dries a load in 25 minutes!
View attachment 369195

Yes swap them out immediately.! The convenience is so worth it. Just fix it if it breaks and carry on.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

If they weren't LG I would keep the newer ones. Since they are LG I'd replace with the Maytags.

 

[jeff kushner]

More "improvements"

We USED to warm water heaters with gas by enveloping the tank and creating hot water. Today however we have the smaller burner held tight to only 1 small section of the bottom of the tank, creating hot water but also creating air bubbles due to the delta in temps across the tank/lowered surface tension. So when I turn on the hot water, I get spitting, blasting and farts AS the water is coming out.....lots of drama. LOL The heater is only a few months old!

The result is that now I need to buy and install an expansion tank that I've never needed before I list my home. Each of these "improvements" incrementally adds "cost to construction". Most folks have no idea for instance that "ladders" are no longer permitted on most Construction sites, everyone must use Lifts, with 2 man crews even to change a light bulb. Adding costs to the "Cost of Construction'. I don't judge, just do math.

I do see that folks seem to be being conditioned for crazy-high pricing across the spectrum of our lives but I promised Kerry that neither of us would ever become the "biddy" that cries in the store while pointing at something we bought in 1980 for less(imagine that). LMAO

I've watched and followed company mergers for years.....one is generally no better than another. Kind of like RV makers, all 700 of them all buying their components from the same three companies each with their "good, better, best" selections....one is no better than the other.

I will switch the machines if we can get the boys to help on each end. I am going to list this home for double what I paid for it, the pretty LG machines with all their buttons will help support my price! It's only about how things look today, not about how well they work, if they work! I don't judge, just see the picture for what it is.