Love our Bosch dishwasher (so quiet!), hate every other major appliance I have bought over past 10 years (including several washing machines rated highly by Consumer Reports). I miss miss miss my original Maytag washer from 30 years ago, before all the new technology, computers in everything, and “updates.” I miss a lot of stuff that used to be made in the stone age.
Just reluctantly renewed our Consumer Reports subscription, because we will need several new cars for various family members over the next few years, plus several other new things (and I do like some of the oddball stuff they review, like blenders and health insurance plans and phone/cable stuff), and I do like their car reviews. Easier than digging out back issues. But I have had terrible luck with their highly rated appliances in general, even when I go crazy trying to find the exact model they review.
Many manufacturers play the “infinite number of models” game, where basically every retailer of any size gets their own unique model numbers. Sometimes the products are exactly the same, sometimes they have very slight differences.
It’s all designed to obfuscate things, IMO. And it allows stores to claim “we’ll beat any price!” and then you read the fine print that it has to be the same model, except literally no one else in the world has that model because it is specific to the retailer.
" If you own a Whirlpool, Kenmore or Maytag front-loading washing machine manufactured between 2001 and 2010, you may be eligible for up to $500 in cash or a voucher toward a new washer as part of a class action settlement."
I ditched my front loader years ago. The guys who delivered the new washer took away the old so I don’t know whaat happened to it. I should ask dh if at all possible do we still have a receipt for it somewhere.
Thank you @doschicos for the washing machine class action settlement link – I did not receive any postcard in the mail. My Kenmore Elite is 14 years old and hubby has repaired it a couple of times, totaling perhaps $200 in parts. I’ve never had anyone come in for repair of the smell, since I use the Sanitary setting with bleach or add vinegar rinses every now and then. The machine has served me well so far!
We have a front loader and had it serviced recently. The guy said ours was actually pretty good, but recommended something called Washer Magic every couple of months.
I use Lemi Shine (a natural product made with fruit acids and citrus oils) once a month on the clean cycle to keep our front loader clean (and Clorox wipes around the front gasket occasionally). Our machine is 14 years old and we have never had a problem.
@Yomama12 : A simple “wipe around the front gasket occasionally” would never work at my house, no matter what I was using.
How do you stop the wettish tendency which then turns to a sludge-like substance from forming?
I have asked my kids and husband to please leave the door to the washer open when a load is done, and do not go in and reach for something above the washer, inadvertently closing the lid.
What air conditions/temp conditions exist in the room where your washer is?
I will try the Lemi Shine, though the idea of running it - hey, wait, you can’t run a front loader with nothing in it, can you? I thought I’d tried that and it just sat there, full of water, doing nothing. I think mine won’t spin without the weight of at least a small load.
@doschicos, for some reason that link is causing havoc once the audio starts so I can’t really tell what is going on with the class action suit/settlement, but I will look into it. Thanks!
@Waiting2exhale You definitely have to always leave the door slightly ajar when not in use, I also leave the dispenser drawer slightly open. I’ve never had any “sludge” just occasional dark stuff on the door gasket, that the Clorox wipe takes care of. My machine, an LG, has a clean cycle, and it runs with an empty machine.
My washer is indoors, in a room about 140 square feet. It’s the same humidity and temperature as the rest of the house and has two windows so is well ventilated. Our house is actually smallish but I’m spoiled with a nice laundry room.
I’ve always left the door open, but thanks to this thread, I pulled out the dispenser drawer all the way. OMG! It was black with mold on the bottom of dispenser and in the opening. Yuck! Explains why I always smelled something strange…
It’s amazing how they can market something so successfully with such a design flaw. I hate everything about my front loader and wish it would break so I can get rid of it once and for all.
