Any Front Loader washer testimonials?

[MF1455v]

We have had our Maytag Neptune set for 2 years now and had no problems other that the mildew problem already mentioned. That was just on the bottom of the door seal where a small amount of water stands at the end of a cycle. Was going to call Sears (where it was purchased) or Maytag. Just happen to talk with the Sears service man at the store one day before doing so. He told me how to correct the mildew problem.

Once a month put 1/4 cup of granular dish washing detergent (cascade) and 2 cups of bleach in the tub area before closing the door. Run thru a cycle and the mildew is gone. We have been doing this for the last 3 months and have not seen the mildew come back.

 

[dmccarty]

JJT,

We bought a Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer earlier in the year.

They are great. Before we could not keep up with the laundry now it is not a problem. They can hold alot of clothes. The washer spins at 900 RPM and wrings out most of the water so that the dryer has to work very little. The washer is what causes us to wait. The dryer drys faster than the washer washes.

Right now I'm on city water. The washer uses a maximum of 15 gallons. It figures out how much water to use. My water bill has gone down by at least 25%. I'm saving a good $25 a month.

One thing that most people don't know is that a dryer wastes heated/cooled air. All of that hot/wet air the dryer vents from the house was treated air before it got to the dryer. The less time that dryer runs the better.

The Maytag and Whirlpool washer/dryers are pretty close in capactiy. The difference for us was the the Whirlpool controls are on the front of the machines while Maytags are on top. In the new house we the cabinent top will fit over the washer/dryer so we have one 12 foot long work space. We could not do that with the Maytag.

The machines are expense but have been well worth the money for us.

Later,
Dan

 

[JJT]

Folks,

Thanks a million for the feedback. Based on this, CR and some legwork, we are going the Maytag Neptune route. We have a small appliance dealer 1 town over with the unit priced at $800, (the same as Lowe's and HomeDepot). Over the past 15 years we've done a ton of business with them. No BS, no games, just the best price and they service what they sell.

Thanks again, JT

 

[dmccarty]

JJT,

I forgot to mention in my post about Maytag prices and the big box stores.

We are building a house and worked out a 10% off deal with everything we buy from Home Depot. They are changing the rules Jan 1st and we would not be able to get the 10% with the new rules. I don't know if this is just the particular store or company wide.

Since we need new kitchen appliances we wanted to save the 10% by buying from HD. We did not pick the appliances because of the brand but based on features. Maytag has a dishwasher, it was installed yesterday /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif, range, and fridge that we want.

The problem is that when we tried to buy the appliances we where told that Maytag does not allow the big box stores to discount Maytag brands. The Mom and Pop stores can but HD cannot. When they said this is triggered a memory of an article I read in the WSJ about the priceing so I knew they was not a telling a lie. The day this happened I spent EIGHT hours in HD putting togather a list of things for the house. I was sitting in the appliance section and the Maytag representative appeared. She confirmed that we could not get the 10% at HD but the smaller stores can discount. I kidded her that Maytag was going to loose the sale to GE since I could get the 10%. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif She was fun to work with and honest.

What we ended up doing was going to the local Mom and Pop store for prices. Our first visit he did cut something like 3-5% off the price. The second visit and what we ordred worked out to something like 10% maybe a tad more. The wife did this one so I only roughly know the prices. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif So we ended up with Maytag for four of the five appliances. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The Lady In Blue 's company won, we got a fair price, and we helped on the smaller business. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have to say some good things about HD since they have been beaten up on TBN for years. The group of people we have delt with in this store for the last few months is excellent. They have gone way out of their way to help us out. I can't say enough good things about them. I'm not talking about one or two people but a good dozen or so. Its been one thing after another they have helped us with. We spent well over $20,000 with a smaller window/door company. The person we delt with I'm pretty sure is on commission. He made lots of money and was going to get more for interior doors and trim. He would not answer email and phone calls.

HD got the buisness. Their employees who most if not all of them are not on commission worked harder for us then the sales guy at the other company. I have been very impressed with this store. Once we are done they are getting a letter and I plan on meeting the manager to tell him how happy we have been with the service the employees have provided.

FYI,
Dan

 

[Michigan_Mike]

We just replaced a 3 year old Kenmore front loader.
It seems the bearing went, and it was going to cost $700 to fix a $600 wahser.
Sears offered a $50 coupon if we bought a new Kenmore.
That didn't happen.
My wife really likes the front loaders, so now we have an Amana.

 

[Bird]

Mike, I guess those things happen with any brand sooner or later. We had a 2 year old GE dishwasher spring a leak in the pump (oddly enough, discovered the pump leaking on our 5 year old Kenmore washer the same day). I went and bought a pump and fixed the Kenmore with no problem. But I couldn't see how to separate the pump from the motor on the GE dishwasher, so I called and learned that you don't separate them; they're only sold as a unit; for $180. Needless to say, we had a different brand of dishwasher the next day. And I've always had a high opinion of Maytag products until last year when our daughter's dryer quit. The only Maytag service people I could find and contact wanted $100 for the "service call" plus whatever it took to fix it. Since I had a pickup, two wheel dolly, etc., I wanted to just take it to them to get it fixed. Nope, nobody did that; in home service only. So I seriously doubt that I'll ever own another Maytag product even if they are good.

 

[gsxr1100]

I am with you Maytag Neptune FL for over 2 years and love it. Top loaders? Who uses that old stuff????? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Uses less water too and easy to fix. Buy the parts online and save big time. Fixing them is easy, just need to find out what is wrong.

 

[RSKY]

I got the cheap Tru-Value vent, didn't cost that much but it sure dries faster. The vent appears to be aluminum and very thin.

 

[BigEddy]

We the Kenmore FL, 4 boys and a muddy yard. We do a lot of laundry and we love it.

Nobody mentioned one thing - We now do 1/3 the number of loads we used to, because the FL fits so much more in than did our old washer. About twice as much as the largest conventional washers, and 3 times what our 15 yr old one would hold.

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I am with you Maytag Neptune FL for over 2 years and love it. Top loaders? Who uses that old stuff????? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Uses less water too and easy to fix. Buy the parts online and save big time. Fixing them is easy, just need to find out what is wrong. )</font>

Two years old and it needs fixing already????? Doesn't sound like a quality product to me, or did you just get one of the lemon colored ones???? Our top load is 10 years old and still has all of its original parts... 4 - 6 loads a week. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Now that you've switched to a front loader, you need to send the soapy water to a lab to have it analyzed to see if there is any difference from using the top loader...... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif