Washer and Dryer Replacement

My original thought was to title the post "So fresh and so clean clean..." but I wasn't sure if anyone would get the reference.....so I went the boring route.  For any of you that know what I'm talking about though, good song, right??  Haha.  I actually can't get the song out of my head as I'm typing this.  Does it make you want to get up and dance?  No?  Maybe it's just me.....

But, I digress, back to the point.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we have been on the hunt for a new washer and dryer ever since our 1960's dryer went caput.  Wa waaa.  It was definitely not something we had budgeted for, but we figured that it wouldn't be very efficient to hang dry all of our clothes when the new baby comes.  As much as I enjoy the simpler things in life, I doubt I'm going to have that much time to spare come August.  So the hunt began.....

We asked around for suggestions and recommendations from friends and family, then we scoured the good ol' internet for consumer reports and reviews.  After much deliberation, and a few visits to our local big-box stores (it's so much better to see an item in person before making a big purchase), we made a decision. 

The LG Electronics 3.5 cu ft. Large Capacity Front-Load Washer and LG Electronics 7.1 cu. ft. Large Capacity Electric Dryer from Home Depot.  They were running (and I believe they still are) a 10% off promotion for all Energy Star Appliances, so they ended up being $629.10 each with free shipping.  Definitely not cheap by any means, but they are extremely energy efficient and will save us on both water and electric bills over time.  Plus, we were able to get free shipping and free haul away of the broken dryer!!  YAY!  We didn't have them take away our existing washer though, since it was only about a year old when we moved in last year and still in perfect working condition.  I actually put it on Craigslist yesterday afternoon and had someone come and pick it up by 6 pm for $200.  Don't you love Craigslist?  Aside from worrying a little that a crazy person is going to show up on your doorstep, it is the best thing since sliced bread.  I have had awesome luck with it in the last few months, so I can't say enough good things about it!  I probably could have listed the washer for more money, but since I was requiring pick-up and haul away of it, I thought that it sounded more reasonable at $200. 

So, all in all, we spent $1058.20 (minus the money we received for our old washer) for a new set.  Even with the savings, it is still a hard number to swallow....especially when you aren't expecting it, but I feel good about the purchase and we are absolutely LOVING the new appliances so far.  The washer detects the size of the load and factors that into the cycle time.  There are a lot of buttons, but for the most part, I keep it on the same "regular/cotton" cycle and let it do its thing.  An average size load has taken anywhere from 44 - 50 minutes.  At first, I thought that it was a bit long for a wash cycle, but the trade off is that it spins for a few extra minutes and the clothes come out super dry, which turns into a shorter amount of time spent in the dryer (=lower energy bills).  It's a win-win!!  And the dryer works in the same way as the washer in terms of timing.  It will detect the wetness and size of the load and then determine how long it needs to go for.  This has ranged from as low as 23 minutes to as high as 40 minutes (although the latter was a bigger load of towels, so I wasn't surprised by that one). 

Overall, I am really pleased with our purchase.  The washer seems to use a lot less water than our top-loading GE Profile but it still seems to be getting everything squeaky clean!  The only thing that I've heard to watch out for with front-loaders is that they tend to develop a musty or moldy smell if you don't wipe out the rubber piece inside the door every once in a while.  Based on some consumer reviews, water tends to get trapped there if you close the door right after removing a load.  I have kept a hand towel on top of the washer lately and just wipe out the excess water after each cycle (which only takes a couple seconds) and haven't encountered the smell, so I think it is just a matter of preventative maintenance.  I have also heard that you can leave the door open and let it air out if that is easier.  Right now, we could definitely do that since our basement is wide open, but since we are planning our basement renovation at the moment which will include closet doors encasing the washer/dryer set, we might not have that luxury down the road (more on the basement renovation in the next week or so).

Oh, and another thing about front-loaders that I want to mention is that they do tend to sit very low on the ground (well, the washer anyway, since dryers are typically front-loading anyway) so we are planning to build a storage compartment/stand underneath with some drawers to house extra detergent, dryer sheets, etc.  We will probably just make it out of extra wood that we have lying around and put cute little handles on it.  I'm not sure of the exact design yet, but as always, I will definitely report back on that project when we eventually map it out and tackle it!  They do sell stands for almost all front-loaders, but the LG ones that fit our appliances were $200 each.....and that was just way too much for us to consider spending when we were already digging deep for the purchase in the first place. 

Above are some examples from the Home Depot website of what the units look like with pedestals (or stacked, as the middle photo shows).  They definitely look nice, and it would be a lot quicker to just buy the pre-made ones, but what fun is that?  We wouldn't be true DIYers if we didn't at least try to make them on our own.  So, more on that in the coming weeks.....

Has anyone recently purchased a new washer and dryer?  Do you currently own the LG models?  Do you love them?  What are your thoughts on the pedestals or stackable options?