When Ron and I got married 14 1/2 years ago my Papa Walker bought us our first washer and dryer. He basically took me to Lowe's one day and said, "pick out what you want." I chose a matching set of Admiral, a little known then, and now appliance name. Now, 14 1/2 years later the washer, though only one setting works completely, is still cleaning our clothes. The dryer lasted for about ten years before dying and I cried because it was a gift from grandfather and he had passed away by that point. We purchased an affordable, but "great working" dryer.....it lasted for a year and half before it died. In an effort to ensure a LONG time before the next dryer we went to the furniture and appliance store and after looking, long and hard at every model, we chose a high, tech computerized (I mean had we ever bought the matching washer this thing could TALK to it), touch screen, expensive GE Profile. Because I hate to buy appliances, especially when they aren't totally broken and for sentimentallity, we never got around to getting to the matching washer, but, man, was this a smart and beautiful dryer. And, you talk about drying some clothes?!?!? I could push the button for "khakis" and withing a specified amount of time (that the dryer itself determined) Ron's pants and our other whites would pop out wrinkle free.
Flashforward about 2 1/2 years.....shortly after we moved in here I noticed a mysterious "thunk" when using the dryer. I blamed it on the moving people. And, then about a month ago we noticed that after a couple of runnings of the same load they weren't drying as quickly as they used to. And, then, last night! I put in a load of towels, pushed my towel setting and three hours later, I still had wet towels! Ron did a little investigating and decided that he would get up today, take the dryer apart and clean it (we did this for one of the previous dryers and it helped keep it running for a while longer). He did get up this morning, ran some internet-idead diagnostics and determined that the problem is the blower....it had gone out! Apparently, in the internet research, this is the most common problem of this model. And, it isn't exactly an easy or inexpensive fix. We mulled our choices ---- order a $200 part and spend countless hours putting it in (according to those who have done it, it is a real pain and best left to a professional) or pay about $500-700 for a repairman to order the part and fix it. We decided the best option was to go to Lowe's and/or Home Depot and just buy a dryer.
And, that is exactly what we spent our Sunday doing. We couldn't get good answers for our questions and Lowe's and we headed to Home Depot where we chose a semi-technologically advanced Maytag. Out of stock. The only two dryers in stock were a (ha!ha! NO WAY!) GE Profile or a really inexpensive Admiral, the same brand as our original and the 14 1/2 year later model!
After loading it in the car, Ron, Clay and I HAULED this thing up the stairs; I would have paid good money to have been watching this as I pulled something in my elbow and Ron pulled something in his back. Now, as I type, Ron and Clay are hooking it up and I am preparing for a HUGE laundry battle that might take a few days for catch up.
I figure that because this one was about 75% less than the Profile and not fancy at all, it will last for another ten years. At least that is what I am hoping!
And, by the way, I fully intend to suck it up and go buy the new washer to match in a few weeks. Because of the non-emergency status, I will have Home Depot deliver and fight the stairs, though! :)
1 comment:
I can totally relate...We spent our Saturday at Sears and Lowe's looking for a refridgerator!! Our hose on the back broke before Christmas, and Craig tried to fix it and couldn't. Instead of taking care of it with the busy holiday in full swing, we decided to turn the water off (we didn't have and ice maker or water in the door, but it wasn't too bad). Then, the Thursday we went back to school, Craig noticed that everything in our freezer was thawing. We decided the best thing to do was get a new one. In fact, I've been meaning to post a picture of it. I need to get on that...
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