Washing machine blues and boogie

If you thought this would be a post with a cool blue's song then you will be disappointed. Maybe I will dig up a song to go along with the post but this remains to be discovered. This is strictly about the stirring saga of trying to find a new washing machine that will actually get your clothes CLEAN and will last hopefully 10 to 20 years. Environmental 'footprint' was taken into consideration but I am about having clean clothes and a dependable washing machine. I did not set out to please the EPA or the environazis that have ruined so much with stupid government regulations and overreach. Whether I was successful or not here remains to proven over time. Of course, snark and ranting will be mixed into the post.

This story starts back in 2003 with the purchase of a Maytag Neptune front loading washer. The Neptune I purchased was the first generation Neptune and in some ways was a mistake. The Neptune cost around $650.00 back in 2003. After three weeks the control board and motor went out and was replaced under warranty. These were made in France which pretty much explains why they failed and thus was part of a massive problem with the first run of Neptune washers. Next there was a terrible mold problem that three factory fixes failed to resolve. This is a problem with most front loaders. I resorted to leaving the door open, using copious amounts of white vinegar to keep the mold at bay but this problem was never solved and resulted in a class action suit against Maytag. To this day the Neptune has suffered from a mold problem and it is very nasty. Next another board went out and locked up the motor and toasted the board. Once again, fixed under the extended warranty I purchased. About 5 years ago the bearings for the tub went bad and the machine howls like an F-16 on take off with the throttles to the stops. My Neptune has continued to limp along, bad bearings and all up until 21 days ago when it also started groaning and rattling and shredding pieces of plastic from the door, tub seals and drain assembly. All in all it has been an OK unit. I liked the idea of using less water and detergent with the front loaders. This was also before the idiotic limits the statist, environazi government placed on how many gallons a washer can use while washing. The Neptune actually did very well getting clothes clean and spinning out the water. I got estimates on repairing the Neptune and it was not worth repairing as they were running from a low of $400 to a high of $650.00 plus it is 13 years old. I have excellent repair technicians who are honest and know the products. So I was left with having to start the task of getting a NEW washer. Forget a used one as my luck is terrible with used appliances. I just replaced the dishwasher a year ago and knew the new appliances generally sucked compared to the old ones. The dishwasher replacement was a great learning lesson and the one I ended up with has been decent but not as good as the 14 year old Kitchen Aid it replaced. Thank you EPA, stupid dirty, smelly hippies and the environmentalists who have probably NEVER worked a real job nor gotten really filthy, dirty from their work or had their work clothes be covered in oil, grease, ashes, fluids, blood and gore, chemicals or contaminated by massive smoke from fighting fires or forest dirt and duff from working in the woods. Thank you for enslaving us with mediocre, cheaply built appliances that do not last and seem to break at every turn. Lousy appliances that are more driven by fancy technology, electronics, digital controls that are way more expensive to repair and do not do the job they are designed to do, well at all.

I started my search for the elusive new washer by looking at professional reviews and then the consumer reviews which are much better at assessing long term reliability and how well a product DOES work for you, me, the consumer. The washing machines that the professionals raved about and loved were extremely expensive, loaded to the gills with fancy controls, low profile of no agitator if it was a top loading washer or front loader that did not use enough water to actually get your clothes clean. The lack of enough water was a constant complaint for both new top and front loaders. Once I got into the consumer reviews the machines the professionals loved were loathed by the consumer. Imagine that! The complaints ran all over the place. Excessively long run times due to so little water being used, clothes not rinsing well, coming out of washer dripping wet, poor agitation of the clothes, detergent not rinsing out due to not enough water resulting in multiple cycles to get the clothes 'clean'. Then there was the failure of parts, poor warranty protection, poor build quality, cheap parts, excessive use of plastics and the worst of all, POOR factory service. It did not seem to matter which manufacturer I looked at. I considered both front and top loading machines. I looked at Samsung, LG, Fischer Paykel, Bosch, Whirlpool, Kenmore, GE, Hotpoint, Maytag. I looked and read reviews on low end models to high end models. General consensus is that the new washers are very poor compared to ones built and designed years ago. I spent two weeks reading and researching and thanks again to the government and the EPA, most new washers really did not cut the mustard at all. What is one to do?

Here is what I did and it is not the solution for everyone but then I care first about clean clothes, durability and the environment second. Say what you want about me, call me horrible names, I seriously could care less. I hate the Toyota Prius and similar cars. Stay out of way if you drive a stinking, I am 'so special' Prius. All you hippies can fook off and go wash your stinky hippie rags and panties in the river upon the rocks. While you are down at the river washing your clothes, jump in and drown yourself and help us by ridding us of your stupidity. Many years ago I owned a Speed Queen top loading washer and loved it. I lost it in my first divorce. Speed Queen is an older American company and all they make are laundry cleaning, drying machines, made in the USA. No ranges, no refrigerators, just washer and dryers. So I went to the company website and I liked what I found. Consumer reviews were even better. A bad, poor review was extremely rare and some of these people had owned their Speed Queens for over 20 years with nary a spook of trouble. Speed Queens are what you find in most commercial laundry sites. The warranty is very good. Five years total on ALL parts, lifetime on the stainless steel tub and 15 years on the motor and transmission. Got that last one? 15 years on the motor and transmission. Unheard of these days. Most other companies offered a one year warranty, or a two year and again many reviews were terrible regarding the warranty service. Speed Queen does not make a huge variety of washers and dryers. They have stuck with what works and has stood the test of time. They make both front and top loaders. Price was a more than I had in reality but a local appliance company offered me a decent deal and I bought one. It cost me $950.00 (goodbye tax returns and there went my new rifle I was wanting) and this was with a five extended warranty to play it safe, mainly to cover electrical surges as here in central POORegon our grid is very old and unstable. It is a top loader with analog, dial controls. I CAN control the amount of water, the temperature of the water and a wash cycle takes 30 minutes, not an hour or two or three hours. No digital controls and no buzzers or songs to let you know the wash cycle is done. It uses any detergent and it is old school agitator design. This machine gently flogs your clothes and can easily handle loads for a family of four.  It does not have a huge tube of 4.8 or 5.0 cubic feet. The tub fills almost to the top with water if need be and online one can find a simple tweak to 'adjust' the water control valve. Mine was ordered with a two speed transmission so it is coming from the factory in Wisconsin. I had a plethora of colors to choose from, basic white. Fine with me. Do I want something in a dumb designer color that is going to break or not work well? Nope,could care less and there in no wife around to badger me about matching the old Neptune dryer which is still working fine. No wife is turning out to be really good and a nice change. It will be tough with my orthopedic wrecking yard of a body but it is just me and AJ the wonder dog. Parts be be a bit of challenge here on the West coast but I can live with this if it does not break very often. The beauty of the Speed Queens is that they use enough water and it is simple why they get your clothes so clean. The washer weighs in at just under 200 Lbs and the cabinet is solid steel. Most of the other new washers weigh half as much. 98% of the parts are American made and sourced. The government hates this company and their products. After 2017 buying a washer like this will become much more difficult thanks to new regulations coming into play. I hate the climate change morons, their agenda of enslavement, population elimination and control.

The environmentalists want you to be saddled with a piece of junk that does not get your clothes clean and will not last. But hey, who cares if it is better for the planet, right? So do you buy a washer that uses more a bit more water, lasts many years and gets your clothes clean, is easily repairable or buy an environazi, earth muffin, tree hugger, prairie fairie approved washer that sucks and will end up being crushed in five years or less? I opted for the right choice, I hope. I pray it is the last washer I have to buy and I can leave it for my two kids to fight over after I cross the rainbow bridge to be reunited with all my dogs. I consider this washer to be the International of the laundry business. International makes truck and they made outstanding light trucks up until 1979-1980. I have owned two Travelall's and excellent trucks they are. A bit quirky and parts were a pain. I plan on hunting for an old International 4x4 3/4 or one ton Travelall after I sell this house and downsize. Of course, this depends on having enough funds left after I get into another home, if I can.

Nothing fancy and the model I purchased

Why did PatriotUSA babble on about a washer and do I really give a damn about this?

Here is why and yes, you should give a damn. First of all as many of you know, products today are poor in both overall quality of parts and build. Finding a well built, made in USA appliance is very difficult and I could care less about supporting a global economy and community. I want my money spent here on USA made products and I want to support workers in MY country, not some far off country across the ocean where workers are not treated very well and their products are overpriced for you get. Second is the fact of what the government is trying to force you to buy. Look at light bulbs here stateside as just one example. I purchased a large stash of the old incandescent bulbs up to 100 watts so I do not have to buy the new CFL or overpriced LED bulbs. Third is what you the consumer has the power to control and purchase. I would have stayed with a front loading washer but I am tired of the drawbacks and a new Speed Queen front loader was out of my modest price range. The environmentalists, our GLOBAL governments want you to buy a piece of junk for poor old mother earth and to help combat globull warming, climate change and do not think this does not come under the 'greater good, EVIL' of UN Agenda 21. If you do not know what UN Agenda 21 is then follow the links at the bottom of the post. These are starter links and I encourage you to understand what is at stake here. Our everyday purchases are being whittled away in the name of saving the planet and enslaving us. Yes, that means you and me. Our global governments, the stinking, smelly old hippies, the new age progressives, the collectivists that make up the environmental movement of today do NOT want you to be able to go buy a Speed Queen washer or dryer or any other well built, long lasting product. The globalists want YOU in small, clustered housing, no car ownership, no real home ownership, reliant on public transportation, no creature comforts like air conditioning, lowering mine and yours standard of living to help out those poor third world countries. Agenda 21 is a policy of global enslavement. It goes down to the lowest local levels of government to elect people who will enforce this nefarious policy of slavery to the statists in charge.

Thanks for reading and posting when I can. Life has been a real bitch but not the end of the world. I am slowly moving into a better place.

I remain, as always, your obedient and humble servant.
PatriotUSA

UN Agenda 21 - Coming to a Neighborhood near You

Agenda 21 American Policy Center 

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Tags: Washing machine boogie, Washing machine blues, American made, Durability, Timeless, Speed Queen, Environmentalists, EPA, Government overreach, UN Agenda 21, Slavery, Globull warming, Climate change, Tree huggers, Hippies, Earth muffins, Prairie fairies To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the Patriot's Corner. Thanks!