i have been less than please with my front loading washer since we got it 5 years ago. it was touted as excellent at getting the clothes clean, saving on water and energy, and with no agitator, one could get more clothes into it to wash and do big blankets as well. well, it has not quite measured up. it does NOT get our clothes as clean as the old top loaders and i end up rewashing many things and that is two down on the pros list that it didn't make. the laundry soap is more expensive. the washer smells.

i have been really displease with it, but we paid a lot of money for what we THOUGHT was a superior product. it was not. i told fezzik recently that if we ever end up having to get a new one, i am getting atop loading one again that is NOT high efficiency. i was joking and said "it almost makes me want to have something be wrong with it so i can get one that works better"

i need to be careful what i say.

so we have had the repairman out to fix the washer twice since we bought it. the first time was about a year and a half after we bought it. and the second time was two years ago. remember, it is 5 years old. then about a year ago, it happened for the first time......i found clothes that were ripped up after going through the washer, and this weird grey stuff smeared all over the piece that ripped and other clothes as well and it had a melted rubber stink to it. it was the rubber seal around the front. it continues to happen about once a month with other clothes getting little holes here and there. in the last couple of months, it has happened more frequently, and i finally mention it to fezzik. up to this point, it had only happened to mine or the kids clothes and not his. i was pretty ticked about it, and told him what was happening and that i was (yet again) not happy with that washer. we needed to fix it or get something else.

he says "we'll have to look into that"

i'm sure we all know that did not happen. so it happens again a few days later. fezzik hears mumbling and grumbling (and ok..... there may have been a slight hulking out) coming from the laundry room, and wanders in and asks what the matter is. i tell him it is the washer again, and it ripped up more clothes again and smeared that grey stuff all over the other clothes and ruined stuff. i tell him we need to get this fixed or get something else. i tell him i am sick of this, and go down the list of all the problems with it, (not the least of which is we don't have the money to replace all the clothes it keeps ripping apart, and thus we have less clothes) and he gives me this odd, slightly smirky look and nodding at me like he's not buying it.

dude thinks i am givin' him a story to score a new washer!

so then it happens yet again and one of the babies precious few warm jammies is the victim along with some other items. i will admit, it was a full on hulk out. fezzik comes into the laundry room with this look and says:


"is it the washer again?"






he had to run from the room covering his ears dodging flying borax boxes and full vinegar bottles.







well........







about a week ago, fezzik goes into the laundry room to change out his work clothes from the washer to the dryer. one minute later, i hear growling and yelling and things being slammed around. "THE WASHER CHEWED UP ONE OF MY WORK SHIRTS!!! AND THERE'S THIS GREY CRUD ALL OVER EVERYTHING!!!! I NEED THIS FOR WORK!!! I DON'T HAVE THAT MANY TO BEGIN WITH!!! PIECE OF JUNK WASHER! WHAT'S THE POINT IN USING IT IF IT'S JUST GONNA............

















and that brings us to now. fezzik will not let his work clothes be washed in the washer now and does them himself by hand. the washer is still doing it to clothes




and now i get to get a different washer.






we will have to wait for a few weeks until tax money comes (if anyone even gets any this year), but i am looking to see whats out there now.


i ain't please. i will not get a front loader again, but i have found that the top loaders are getting pretty junky too now. lots of complaints about them not working as well as the last one they bought from the same company. it isn't brand specific either. it seems to be across the board. in the course of looking, i found out the average age of washers is now 5 years. they said the manufacturers make them this way on purpose. of course, they cost a ton of money even for the top loaders too. i went on consumer reports and looked at the ratings for top loaders. one maytag got and excellent for performance, and an excellent for capacity. just what i was looking for. but it costs $600 dollars on average. i started looking on craiglist, and found a maytag dependable care supercapacity for $80. the guy said it is about 20 years old and he just replaced the belt and have used it after that and it works great and is clean.


i am leaning towards this one as it is much more affordable, and it looks to be a good washer. what do yous guys think? should i get the used one and hope for the best, or get a new one? if everyone thinks new, what brands do people think?