But when money was tight, I had to resist the urge to call a repairer for the same reasons – a 15 second repair job would cost a lot of money anyway parts would be expensive.

So I researched the problem (the cold water flow on the washer, like yours) foudn it was a common problem on a machine that age, found the serial number of the part I needed, purchased it on eBay for a fraction of what I’d get from a professional and screwdrived my way into the wife’s good books.

I did the same with the dryer last year, but it turned out more economical to purchase a much younger replacement. I pinpointed the problem but I wasn’t confident of installing a new motor OR putting the thing back together again afterwards (it was in a hard-to-get-to spot in the machine), so eBay to the rescue for a 2yo machine.

anyway, yeah, sometimes the simple solution is the correct one. keep your appliances clean, maintained frequently, etc., and they’ll last a long time.

My husband was so impressed and I felt uber-empowered. Sadly my husband now has me take a look at everything that’s broken…I think it might have bit me in the bottom…

We live in the city and our apartment building replaced its ancient top-loading washers last summer with the so-called “high-efficiency” units.
Talk about an oxymoron.

I truly do not understand (or believe) the hype about these machines.

We now spend more because you have to use special detergent, etc. designed for these units. Plus, the units themselves cost more per use.

But worst of all: They simply do not clean clothes as well as the old machines.

I’ve read all the science behind high-efficiency. And it literally does not wash.

Our clothes no longer smell fresh and no matter how much we now spend on various “softeners” (we also use vinegar for our non-white items), clothes remain ‘hard” –an indication that there is not enough water being used to rinse them out.

Quite a few of our friends have purchased these pretty new things. And yes, there are some bells and whistles that actually work.

But the majority report that they don’t clean better and most don’t clean even as well.

Every new thing is NOT an improvement.

FYI: We’re the kind of folks that are still bemoaning the death of our old toaster a few years ago. A simple model that worked. When we replaced it, the newer models had tons of bells and whistles, but did not do a good job with the basic feature: Toasting.

And regardless of how much money we have, etc., I want things to last. I hate the mentality that now exists (and that you are forced into because of the high cost of repairs) that you just “throw it out” if it stops working.

That, of course, is being questioned more and more as people simply cannot afford to replace stuff. But DIY repairs, again, not always the answer.

It’s too bad there is no such thing as service repair co-ops. THAT’s what we need, for sure. It’d be worth a small yearly fee to know that a few trusted service folks would fix anything as needed.

Meanwhile, the biggest rip-off is the way that repairs are handled even when under warranty.

Two weeks for a washer repair part? Come on. Those things should be in stock in the U.S. somewhere for overnight shipment.

What are you supposed to do when your fridge breaks down?

And good luck to the poster with the washer with the stuck door. Something tells me that they will tell you that you voided warranty when you broke open the door and end up charging you a bundle more.

That’s the way the warranty rip-off works.

I cleaned it out and it worked fine, until a few weeks ago, and now it’s acting up again. I’ll have to make time to do this again because I REFUSE to pay someone hundreds of dollars to do this when I can manage it on my own.

Good luck!

Personally, I’ve got a good track record for both DIY and knowing when to call in an expert. If the problem is not “obvious”, and/or covered in my Home Repair reference book, the item’s owners manual, or a thorough online search to see if others have the same problem, then I generally call in an “expert”. I haven’t had to make very many phone calls.

PS I still have a very old refrigerator..(on my back porch as a 2nd refrigerator for extra stuff).
It has the hang down freezer compartment which needs defrosting every so often. It has never given ANY trouble in all of these years. I am 67 and it belonged to a woman who was old enough to be my mother. THINGS USED TO BE BUILT TO LAST.

As you know….we are burying ourselves with all of this toxic waste.

So I was putzing along with my old washer. Until, one day the washer finally broke. Now you would think I would NOT be happy that my washer broke. But I was! Now was my chance to join the elite crowd and get a new washer! And I did! I got the coolest washer EVER — a Sears/Kenmore Oasis HE washer. And even though our old dryer worked just fine I just had to have the matching dryer. And oooohhhhh it’s all computerized, all I have to do is push a button and it figures everything out for me! Yippeeee! In blue even! Specialty colors that cost extra. I am very, very embarrassed to say how much I spend on those two items. Suffice it to say that it was ridiculous and I literally get sick to my stomach when I think of it today.

So here I sat with my new washer and dryer that was supposed to be so much better! (they weren’t). And they were that designer blue color that nobody EVER SAW because my laundry room is upstairs in my bedroom behind closed doors.

Boy was I an idiot.

So guess what happened About a month after the warranty ran out? The new Sears Kenmore Oasis Elite BROKE! It broke with a full load of laundry sitting inside. And guess what? The lid locks so I can’t open it. My laundry is stuck inside. I can’t get it out. The washer will not power on. It is dead. The lid is locked. I call Sears service. They can’t come for TWO WEEKS. Two weeks for my laundry to sit inside the washer and ROT. My husband, who can fix anything, can’t fix this because it is all computerized and needs special computerized parts. Parts I can’t get for TWO WEEKS until the guy comes out to see what was wrong. And he will charge me $65 plus mileage for the service call just to give me an estimate on what is wrong. NO WAY.

So I look it up online. Turns out lots of people are having problems with the Kenmore Oasis Elite and it is a controller problem that they are aware of but will not go ahead and issue a recall. Pretty much it is too bad so sad, you were a sucker for buying the washer in the first place.

So yeah. Now, I have a nice $1200.00 washer (that’s just the washer) with a known issue that Sears will not fix without charging me an arm and a leg. All while my clothes are rotting under the locked lid.

So here is what I did. I pried open the lid with a screw driver, breaking the latch. Got my soaking clothes out and rung them out in the tub. Then I called Sam’s Club and told them my sob story. They have a cheapo basic washer for $299.99. That will cost me LESS than having Sears come out and look at this one to try and fix it. And I can get my clothes washed today. And if this one breaks, as long as I save my receipt, Sams will take it back and replace it. Even if it breaks 5 years from now they will replace it.

So yeah, even I can get caught up in the “new car smell” of a pretty shiny washer. Learned my lesson. Never again.