bjarvis | Laundry disaster

I put a load of towels & sheets into the washing machine, then headed upstairs to warm up some soup. When I returned, there was a half-inch of water throughout the basement laundry/furnace room. Not good.

The mystery is that there is little evidence of a machine malfunction, yet I can't see any other possibility. There are no visible breaks in pipes, all other appliances are working well and the washing machine itself seems to be operating correctly. The water itself was clean and odourless, indicating it was either a rinse cycle or fresh water rather than drained or waste water.

On the good side, the soaked areas all have tiled floors rather than carpets so clean up has been easy. I was tempted to dash out to buy a wet/dry vacuum but it seems now unnecessary. We are however going to be shopping for a new washer & dryer. This isn't the first time and I'm getting a little tired of mopping the floors in this way.

Anyone have any recommendations (or warnings) about various models of front-loading washers?

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Hmm. Usually the drain hose goes into a standpipe, and if there's any slowdown in the drain from the standpipe it will overflow from there. If there's any sign the standpipe had water flowing down it, I'd check to make sure it's not a slight blockage in that drain rather than your machine which is at fault.

I have no useful advice re new machines, though some of the new Euro-style frontloaders (which are considerably more efficient in water and energy use) have been troublesome. Consumer Reports did something on them recently... Feb 2005. Get a gas dryer if you can (much lower operating cost.)

The drain hose from the machine pours into a large sink adjacent to the machine which is draining correctly and has no signs of having overflowed. A gas dryer is definitely our preference. And we've heard of some problems with front-loaders so we're treading carefully. The current equipment works (kinda) so we'll take our time with the purchase, perhaps making it a household xmas present later this year.

Kenmore and Whirlpool are extremely reliable.

Randy & I purchased a pair of mid-range/high-end "LG" front-loaders based on the then-most-recent Consumers Reports ratings. They're quiet, very energy efficient, and seem to clean effectively without being terribly hard on clothing. We've been extremely happy with them, and would buy either model again.

If you like, I can get you the precise model.

I'd love to have the model information... it will help tremendously when we go shopping. Thanks!

We're using:

Washer = LG Model #WM2032HW
Dryer = LG Model #DLE5932W (electric)
(DLG5932W for gas version)

I believe Consumer Reports has ratings for both models on their website (http://www.consumerreports.org).

The washer is mid-range for the product line, but we haven't missed the fancy cycles the higher-end products offer, and the one we picked turns out to be more water efficient than the higher-end model. ?! Go figure.

For info on LG's various models and submodels, they have a nice matrix located at:

http://us.lge.com

...but you'll need to browse down through "products", "home appliances", "washer" or "dryer" to find it.

Hope this helps!

Shortly after I moved into my last apartment (this would be May-June 1998) I got stackable Frigidaire front-loader + its twin dryer. I paid an extra $35 for the Hudson's Bay Co to actually assemble them on-site into a top-and-bottom pair and twas the best $35 I've ever spent, after watching them do it, and the video(!) that came with the machine telling how to use 'em, and how to stack the pair.

I was extremely pleased with them, and would recommend them to anyone.

Now I realise a) you live in a house, so footprint isn't quite so demanding as it was in my 21st storey condo, so you may not need a stackable, b) this was an all-electric setup (yes, yes, it used water to do the laundry), but gas was not an option for moi, so this isn't directly transferable information.

(I also had a 1-metre-square white enamelled steel lid -- from the washer -- in my storage locker for seven years. I spoze I could have converted it to a card table, and heaven knows the kitchen could have used the counterspace -- but it belongs to the new owners of 2101 now)

I don't have the model info, coz the laundry machines done got sold with the apartment when I moved this past spring. [I *did* tell you about that didn't I? New address: apt 2108, not 2101, everything else is the same]. The laundry machine in the new apt is an all-in-one Whirlpool washer-dryer. The washer half is a top-loader + agitator paddle. It's OK, but if I had a magic wand, I'd prefer my old front-loading Frigidaire back.

There is a LOT more lint in the dryer lintscreen now, with the top-loader washer, than there was with the front-loader-no-agitator washer. That seems like direct and very visible evidence that the top-loader is being harder on my clothes, pounding that much more lint out of them every cycle.

The front-loaders use much less water - maybe 33% of the top loaders, and consequently less detergent too, which is also an issue if you're paying a) for water or b)more significantly, to heat said water.

All that said, I hope your old washer isn't flooding regularly

Apparently, our old washer only floods when we're not actively watching it. Until we get a new unit installed, I'm using a water detector purchased from Home Depot to automagically raise the alarm should the incident be repeated when I'm not in the room.

I'm just back from Sears, looking at the Kenmore units they had on display; I still have to take a look at the LG models. I knew the frontloader and features would have a higher price tag but the $1400 being asked for the top-of-the line Kenmore was a little surprising; in any case, we'll probably go with a midrange model since the upper end has features we're unlikely to use.

What??? $1400US?? heavenly days.

I've just checked, and I paid $1878.37CDN for my Frigidaire washer/dryer from the Bay in 1998. Even allowing for a)inflation in the intervening seven years, b)CAD/USD exchange rates, c)the $35 installation and $50 delivery fee, $1400 sounds rather high to moi.

(have you considered installing a comfy chair near the current washer and reading a novel while it washes?)

(did I tell you I was in a HomoDepot a week ago today [purchasing plywood - gad how butch] and was shocked - SHOCKED (though not appalled) to discover a Homo there. No it wasn't me, though he was called Chris. A bear behind the customer service desk. I checked, but unfortunately, not on sale. sigh.)

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