Some
years back, my friend Chris over at Miller’s Last Resort blogged about buying a
new washing machine (here and here). She seemed – well, distraught – over the decision, and in
the end she sent her husband to make the final selection and purchase. I
thought at the time – with gentle affection -- that her reaction was a little
over-the-top, but I’ve changed my mind. (I borrowed the picture off Chris' blog.)
It
doesn’t seem possible, but it’s been ten years since Mike and I downsized from
“the big house” to a new lifestyle, dividing our time between the farmhouse and
the small modular town home. The big house sold quickly – three months before
the modular home was delivered – during which time we lived in a camp trailer. Suddenly in the moving process, I realized that I would need to do our laundry. (Spending time at a laundromat didn’t
appeal to me.) So, Mike bought an old GE clunker for $135 and hauled it to the
farmhouse. He said it was just a stopgap, that eventually I could have a new
machine, but I’m still using that clunker. For a couple of years it leaked
yellow oil on the floor, and typical of its generation, it tends to “walk” when
unbalanced. But hey! It runs and gets the clothes clean, so I’ve put up with it
all these years.
Mike
says the time has come for that new machine, so Saturday we stopped at two
appliance stores. Interestingly enough, the disseminated information was the same at both stores. In fact, they even showed us the same models (basic
top-loaders, such as Amana, Speed Queen, Whirlpool, and GE). Water efficiency
is important to us, but both salesmen were quick to point out that with water
efficiency, your clothes don’t get clean. At the same time, one salesman
estimated we’re using 40 gallons of water per load with the old clunker. As we
were leaving the second store, the salesman said, “Or, you could look at a
front-loader.” But we’d already been there half an hour and I’d had enough.
The
delivery charge to the farm would add $70 at both stores, though one salesman,
a friend of Mike’s, offered to help him load it on the pick-up and then ride his
motorcycle to the farm to help unload and install.
Suddenly I could understand Chris’ plight. It would just be fine with me if someone else made this decision. I’ll accept the surprise with grace.
Another
option is to take the present town machine, a 15-year-old Frigidaire Galaxy
(just like the one in the Fargo series), to the farm, sell the dryer, and buy a
new washer and dryer for town.
What
do you think? KW
4 comments:
Aha! So you wondered about my sanity? (LOL) Yes, shopping for washers is a mind-boggling event these days, what with the myriad of options and then there's the cost.
I do love mine, but I've had to be crafty to compensate for the water saving features, which I'm sure often negate those same water-saving features. And big loads will throw the machine off balance so I need to be in the vicinity to stop the machine and redistribute the item(s)(our bedspread being a prime example). I'm sure it's because of the lack of water which causes the clothes to become a huge wet clump instead of allowing them to float and spread out as they would in an abundance of water.
Oh how I wish the government would stop messing with our everyday items. Don't even get me started on light bulbs.
I would never question your sanity. I just thought you were over-reacting.
When you go into the store with your request and the first thing the salesman tells you is that you're going to be disappointed with the product -- and it happens not once but twice -- well, it just makes you wonder.
And they also said we could override the water-saving feature, but then you're paying for a feature you aren't using. Neither salesman tried to sell us anything but bottom-of-the-line machines.
Hallie will discuss light bulbs with you. I still miss the outlet on my stove.
Mike leans toward taking our present town machine to the farm and buying a new set for town.
My vote is to take the existing ones to the farm and get new front loaders for the town house. We love our front loaders and find our clothes to be clean and very soft.
Your set is brand new, Hallie. What brand did you buy?
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