Purchasing appliances

[sk8pics]

I bought a Bosch dishwasher and the first time I tried to use it, the soap dispenser did not work. Called the company and they sounded surprised (like I did not know what I was doing) but they sent a guy to put in a new part. It works and I love this dishwasher. It is so quiet that there is a little red light on the floor so you know it is running.

Mine is like that, too, and especially during the quieter times in the cycle I have to see if the light is on so I know it's running.

 

[nlloyd]

I am tending towards the Bosch 800 series for the dishwasher, but am wondering about the hidden panel. Is it good enough to be able to see a red light reflected on the floor when the machine is running or would you prefer to see where in the cycle it is? I often open the machine midway to add some crockery or utensils and it would be good to know how far along it was in its cycle. I am going to see if I can find a Bosch 800 series machine at Best Buy tomorrow.

Am so looking forward to a quiet dishwasher after years of having to plan carefully regarding best time to run, due to noise.

For the washer and dryer set, I would like a top load LG in white. This leaves me with three choices: steam, turbo, and standard. I have read that steam doesn't really clean better than regular and so am going to go with the turbo. This model has lots of very good reviews from customers, but not such great reviews on Consumer Reports because it is not as efficient with water, apparently.

Reading Consumer Reports for these appliances is quite odd. Almost all the highly rated top-load washer and the dryers are made by LG, whereas almost all the recommended dishwashers are from Bosch. I would have expected to see a little more variety.

 

[Lizziebeth]

I have never opened the dishwasher once it is running. I would have to look at the book to see if that is OK. I have a Bosch with hidden panel. It does not tell me how far along in the cycle it is, but tells you how long the cycle is when it starts. I wash everything on the "speed 60" cycle. It does not use much more water than the most energy efficient cycle which takes forever in Lizziebeth time (I am not that patient).

 

[Sarah]

When we bought our dishwasher in January, our local appliance store chain said they no longer recommend Bosch. They still sell them as people want them, but it's not their recommended brand anymore. They've had a lot of issues in recent years (I believe my mom had a Bosch and it died a quick death). They actually recommend Miele and that is what they use in all their stores. We've had it since January it works for us. We have the entry-level one so it's less fancy, but it's still the nicest dishwasher I've ever had.

 

[Baby Yoda On Skates]

I am tending towards the Bosch 800 series for the dishwasher, but am wondering about the hidden panel. Is it good enough to be able to see a red light reflected on the floor when the machine is running or would you prefer to see where in the cycle it is? I often open the machine midway to add some crockery or utensils and it would be good to know how far along it was in its cycle. I am going to see if I can find a Bosch 800 series machine at Best Buy tomorrow.

If you do get one from Best Buy, I highly recommend that you inspect the unit carefully before it is installed. Best Buy delivered a dented dishwasher which has been slowly leaking for the past three years and ruined my hardwood floor and cabinets. We didn't catch it until the floors warped and water was leaking into the basement.

 

[quartz]

When we bought our dishwasher in January, our local appliance store chain said they no longer recommend Bosch. They still sell them as people want them, but it's not their recommended brand anymore. They've had a lot of issues in recent years (I believe my mom had a Bosch and it died a quick death). They actually recommend Miele and that is what they use in all their stores. We've had it since January it works for us. We have the entry-level one so it's less fancy, but it's still the nicest dishwasher I've ever had.

I have a Miele vacuum and love it - will certainly check out the larger Miele appliances next time I need them.

 

[annie720]

Mine is like that, too, and especially during the quieter times in the cycle I have to see if the light is on so I know it's running.

When my daughter moved into her condo rental last year, it had the same Bosch dishwasher that I have. She called us to ask how to turn it on. It was already on and running, but she didn't know about the light on the floor and couldn't hear it.

 

[BaileyCatts]

Does anyone have opinions on Speed Queen appliances? I don't see that mentioned and I've had several people ('round these parts anyway) reco Speed Queen. I don't need bells and whistles, and I'm only one person so don't need heavy use durability like families would. I only have to do laundry maybe 2 times a month. Price would be the biggest for me. I pretty much live in jeans and T-shirts these days so as long as it don't shrink my stuff is all I need. And a dishwasher that doesn't leave my glasses and utensils all cloudy looking like they haven't even been washed, even though I just pulled them outta the dishwasher.

 

[Spun Silver]

A highly recommended repairman who looked at my troublesome fridge advised me to get basic levels of appliances because the fancy stuff, like exterior ice makers, tend to break. He also strongly recommended buying US-made appliances (if you're in the US, obviously) because there are big delays in getting parts from overseas. My experience supports what he says - I've been waiting 9 months for a couple of parts for that refrigerator. I just got the cheapest Bosch dishwasher (recommended for at least 5 years by Consumer Reports, because I bought the same one for our last house too)... so far so good.

 

[Lizziebeth]

I did not get an icemaker because THREE of my friends/relatives had leaks that flooded the place. When it happens when you are not home, it means an insurance claim and lots of repairs to the house. I make ice the old fashioned way in ice cube trays. We don't need that much ice so it works for us.

 

[annie720]

I did not get an icemaker because THREE of my friends/relatives had leaks that flooded the place. When it happens when you are not home, it means an insurance claim and lots of repairs to the house. I make ice the old fashioned way in ice cube trays. We don't need that much ice so it works for us.

I so want a simple refrigerator. We're getting ready to go on a 3-week road trip and it always makes me nervous that I might come home to a flooded kitchen because it happened to a neighbor. In addition, ours (Samsung) shoots out the ice at an angle where it misses the glass. I never use ice anyway.

 

[Cachoo]

I have ancient Kenmore appliances. They still work well after all of these years although they are nothing fancy.

 

[clairecloutier]

Anyone have recommendations for top-loading washing machines??

We've nursed our current LG washing machine along for 9 years, with a number of fixes being needed, but it seems to have come to the end of its life.

We definitely want another top-loader model, not a front-loader.

 

[sk8pics]

I have a GE that I’ve had for probably more than 10 years and like very much. One of my main criteria was that it should not get off balance with a small load, and it is fine no matter the size. It also has a feature that automatically senses how much water to use, and that works well too. Finally, it has a hand wash setting that I do use and that works fine too.

I would try to find the model number for you, but they probably don’t make that one any more. But at least you see the features.

 

[doubleturn]

Anyone have recommendations for top-loading washing machines??

We've nursed our current LG washing machine along for 9 years, with a number of fixes being needed, but it seems to have come to the end of its life.

We definitely want another top-loader model, not a front-loader.

I bought my top loader GE Washer almost a year ago at Lowes. Model #: GRW720BSN1WS. There is also a matching dryer if needed.

Very happy with it, as I can wash my full size comforter easily.

 

[Judy]

A highly recommended repairman who looked at my troublesome fridge advised me to get basic levels of appliances because the fancy stuff, like exterior ice makers, tend to break. He also strongly recommended buying US-made appliances (if you're in the US, obviously) because there are big delays in getting parts from overseas. My experience supports what he says - I've been waiting 9 months for a couple of parts for that refrigerator. I just got the cheapest Bosch dishwasher (recommended for at least 5 years by Consumer Reports, because I bought the same one for our last house too)... so far so good.

I always go with nothing fancy.

 

[nlloyd]

We bought a top-loading LG washer (WT7305CW) and dryer in November last year and have really been disappointed with the washer. It leaves a white residue on the clothes unless we use the deep fill option. We called LG and they sent a technician who said this was common with LG top loaders. He claimed that the side-by-side motion wasn't enough to get the clothes sufficiently clean/wet on the regular cycles and that we should use the prewash. That hasn't worked either. The machine was highly recommended by Consumer Reports (one of the very few top leaders that are) and on the Home Depot and Best Buy websites. We bought it from Best Buy and the technician said LG would not replace it as they sell their machines at a discount to Best Buy. They wouldn't be willing to provide a new machine as they would make a loss.

The technician also mentioned it wasn't possible to get to the draining pipe in the top loaders (there is a panel on the front loaders) and to empty them. This meant water that was stuck in the draining pipe got sucked back into the next load.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to think of his explanations. It seems crazy that we should not be able to use the normal cycle on a new machine. This technician was an independent contractor sent out by LG. We have a Best Buy warranty and will try them next, although they likely use a similar group of contractors.