Friday, April 4, 2014

If your washer/dryer ain't broke, don't replace it!

I learned a valuable $2090 lesson today: if your washing machine ain't broke, don't replace it!

The story I went to Lowe's for a new laundry set. My washing machine was functioning but not cleaning my clothes well and my dryer took too much time, not to mention it practically burned my clothes. I found this wonderful set at Lowe's and figured well now is the time to buy!

After leaving Lowe's I decided to buy a really sturdy washing machine pan (our set is on the second floor, so one puts a pan underneath to catch the water in case it leaks from the machine), so I headed over to Atlantic Appliance Parts in Quincy, MA. Boy, am I glad that I did that.

Billy and Donna at Atlantic Appliance Parts are AWESOME. They told me that I should not throw away a perfectly good washing machine. Furthermore, they commented that the machines these days don't last as long! They asked me a couple of questions, got the model number of my machine (Kenmore Elite from 1999) and told me that my washing machine could be fixed with an $9 washer agitator dog. Wow. Donna took me through the fix and it was easy!

I pressed, as I was still not excited about burnt clothes. Well, she said, you probably need to clean the dryer hose and ensure that the air is venting properly. I pulled out the dryer; and lo and behold, there was lint sticking out of the hose connected to the dryer!


I removed the hose and cleaned the lint from the dryer connection and also from within the hose! Then I also cleaned out the hose and connection that leads to the exterior of the home. This one wasn't that bad but still needed a little TLC.



Look at all of this lint!!


I promptly returned the set I had just purchased at Lowe's after spending an hour with my current washing machine and dryer. So far, the set works much much better! Clothes clean and no burnt clothes.

Total savings $2090: $2100 for the super Whirlpool Cabrio 8900 washer/dryer set that I returned to Lowe's less the $10 ($9 plus a bit for tax) for an agitator dog.

Lesson learned: if your washer or dryer ain't broke, then don't replace it!

Thanks for stopping by! Bex Wilder

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