[OP]
Contributor
Many of my friends complain that their modern washing machines do not get loads of clothes completely wet. They also complain about the "feature" that the lid locks while the machine is running. Are there hacks to get around these inconveniences? Are there modern machines that don't have these problems?
Contributor
Yes. It's been around for well over 400 years.Originally Posted by Stephen Tashiro
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"
- Wm. Shakespeare, Henry VI
When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.
Contributor
I suspect, based on the experience with our new washing machine, in an effort to use less water, the machine measures the height of the load and dispenses water appropriately to cover the load. How ever, our top load LG washing machine has a button "Water Plus" that seems to override the machine's original function and uses more water. The locked lid can be opened on our machine by simply pushing the same button that starts the washing process.
Last edited by Ken Fitzgerald; 08-09-2023 at 4:57 PM.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
Contributor
Some years ago I as at a Lowes in a farming community looking at washing machines, the appliance sales person said that folks there who worked hard and got their clothes pretty dirty typically bought a top loader that they could add extra water to because they would get the clothes cleaner than top loaders without the add water feature or front loaders.
Hobbyist woodworker
Maryland
Contributor
A bit off thread. I was in a beach house on the N. Carolina Outer Banks that was a 70's prefab rancher on 10'? stilts so that any ocean over wash would pass under the house. It was a bit odd when the house swayed/rocked with every pulse of the old school top loader agitator.
Hobbyist woodworker
Maryland
Member
Top load or front load. My front load LG does an excellent job and gets all laundry both wet and clean. It also does an excellent job with water extraction in the spin cycle.
I am guessing that you are talking about top load machines?
Contributor
We have a top load LG with front controls, easy to reach. Doesn't like large loads, error message on spin with large loads. Had to replace the 4 balance rods after 5 years, not sure if this is early. Push button to unlock. Direct drive dryer. Brian
Contributor
We wear out a washing machine in the dog room about every two or three years. We just get the cheap LG front loaders. They do a fine job with washing really dirty stuff, but even the better ones short of commercial machines won't last with 2 or 3 loads a day for that long.
In a rental house, where there is a Lot of laundry to do between guests, including lake towels and thick bedding, we recently replaced an ancient Maytag top loader that still worked but was noisy and slow, with the largest top loader LG. It does a remarkable job with large loads and is relatively fast and quiet. It even has a waterproof materials cycle, so all the mattress covers can be washed safely, and it does a great job with those too.
Contributor
We buy 20+ year old used Maytag family washers from our local appliance repair guy who completely refurbishes them. They are then good for another 15-20 years.
The new alternative is Speed Queen, a little pricey, poor in buttons and screens, but works well (and quickly) for a long time.
Moderator
Not experiencing that with our GE "smart" machines, although they are front load. Didn't have that problem with the LG units in the old property, either. For front loaders, locking is mandatory. I suspect for a top loader there's a specific reason they are doing that.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
Stick your hand inside when its on spin and I think you will know why it is locked.
Our 15 year old top loader doesn't lock but the spin stops if the door opens.
Contributor
Living in a low population area like we do, there are not many choices without having to drive a long ways to get one. Lowes is about as good at getting such appliances from as Amazon is for other things. When one is getting close to end of life, we order one online from Lowes, they show up with the new one tomorrow, and haul the old one off. I don't even have to walk out to the truck to go anywhere and no laundry piles up in the meantime. I already have the old one unhooked, and if it's a drier the cord taken off.
They won't hook them up if you don't buy new hoses, or a new cord for the dryer, but I'd rather hook them up myself anyway, so they just tote them in and set them where they go, and carry the old one out.
Contributor
That is a detail that blows my mind. When I was young we used hand trucks to move appliances up and down stairs and into homes. Now it looks like the delivery people use a harness and carry them in without using a wheeled dolly.they just tote them in and set them where they go, and carry the old one out.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Appliances are getting like TV's and refrigerators. They're getting closer and closer to figuring out how to make them out of nothing. Two guys easily carried in the new washer and dryer together into the rental house with those straps. Those old ones were heavy, but still worked so I had given them to someone who needed them.
We also had a new refrigerator put in the kitchen, and the old one moved out to the garage which is now a game room. The same two guys were talking and joking moving in the new refrigerator, but were popping sweat and paying attention to what they were doing moving the old one 20' out into the game room. It was empty, but I don't know how old it is.
Contributor
The harness method isn't really that new at all. I had a washer and dryer taken from the basement over 45 years ago and the harness was used. I asked why not a dolly and they said it was easier particularly on stairs to use the harness, which IIRC was nothing more than a broad strap.
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