I just returned from an 18-day sojourn into “flyover country” where a relative (age 61) demonstrated to me and bragged about her new “Speed Queen” laundry duo. She adamantly told me that she wanted machines which performed like her past set which was more than 25 years old and decided on a Speed Queen washer and dryer which was the same as those installed in commercial laundromats except for the coin-operated mechanism. She was VERY happy with them.
I explained to her that my 1988 GE dryer went out almost 3 years ago and I got a very LARGE dryer (MUCH larger than my (circa) 2002 large-capacity top-loading washer) called Whirlpool Cabrio because it was on “clearance” and I wanted to be able to dry large items (blankets, etc) without going to a commercial laundry. (My pets routinely use blankets and comforters, etc, which need to be washed and dried 1-2 times per month.) The dryer has been a huge disappointment. First of all, it takes WELL OVER one hour for it to dry anything (so much for “energy saving”). I have had no less and four service calls on it (I had to get a costly extended warranty for it) all due to its failure to heat. All service calls were performed by the same local contractor. During the last service call, the technician practically took the entire machine apart in attempting to find out why a particular part repeatedly failed. The next service call will result in a settlement from Whirlpool, but not sure if my purchase price will be totally refunded at this late date (abt $760, IIRC).
If I move out of county/out of state in the coming year, I will sell both of my laundry machines on Craigslist either separate or together (with the dryer’s extended warranty) and buy a Speed Queen set at the new location. I want the old-school washer/dryer set (but as new) that my relative has. I won’t buy a “new” set on pedestals (w/o an agitator in the washer and doesn’t use enough water to be effective) in which I have to “bend over” to do laundry. Hello?
The vast majority of the newer laundry machines out there are sh!t and I would say they began to lose their effectiveness in about 2004/05.
