Recommendations Needed - New Washer and Dryer - Moving in 2yrs

6 years ago

Hi All - Been awhile since I've been around. My 17, going on 18, year old Fisher and Paykel GWL11 Top Loading Washer and corresponding dryer (rebadged GE) are starting to show their age. While still functional (more or less) I'm debating about the cost of fixing - by a pro, not me (already estimated in the hundreds of dollars) or replacing. However, we are planning on selling our house in 2 - 3 years. Where we live, the washer and dryer will be part of the sale.

The dryer is the most annoying at this point. The sensor I believe is gone so we can only use it on timed drying which doesn't seem to work as well and takes even smaller loads a minimum of 60 minutes to dry. The washer, which I do love, is starting to squeak when filling up but one of the pumps I think is dripping water into the tub basin when it is off. Can be just a little bit or up to an inch or more of standing water in the tub within a day or two. Not a huge deal but I just worry about one day it will just stop altogether given the age and these symptoms starting to show up.

Soooo... curious to hear thoughts on how you all would proceed but I'm also trying to prepare if I need to fully replace one or both with something decent, affordable that I can live with for a couple of years (i.e no SpeedQueen in my immediate future - maybe my next house). Washer has to be a top-loader and physically about the same size as my Fisher & Paykel.

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Comments (4)

dadoes
6 years ago
There are no "pumps" involved in water dripping into the tub. There's a hot and cold water valve, each replaceable separately. The valves don't pump anything, they simply open or close to allow the incoming hot and/or cold water to flow or not. Either one can wear and fail to close fully, or get clogged with a bit of debris (such as sand/grit) in the water supply and fail to close fully. Shutting off the supply faucets when done using the machine will prevent the dripping ... although the suspect valve(s) may get worse and the dripping may increase to a more substantial flow.

A squeak when filling could be the main motor/basket bearing (the basket rotates at 25 RPM while filling, but also much faster during spin) ... or bearings going bad on the drain/recirculation pump, which runs for several mins during the Eco Active period at the start of all cycles except Perm Press, and of course also runs during drain and spin periods.

A failed auto-dry sensor won't have any affect on how long a load takes to dry on Timed. The heat and airflow operates exactly the same on both Auto and Timed ... the difference is the sensor controls the movement of the timer on Auto. The dryer has two heating elements, perhaps one of them has failed which reduces the heat input and that *will* result in a longer drying time.
apple_pie_order
6 years ago
For the dryer taking a long time on Timed Dry: have you cleaned out the exhaust duct and outside vent in the last few months? Lint buildup may be the culprit for long drying times. Sometimes there's a lot of lint buildup inside the dryer, too.
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Faith M
6 years ago
I purchased a Samsung toploader (with impeller) and a Maytag Commercial with agitator. Both are terrible. The Samsung cannot clean whites properly. Our socks are filthy looking, even after several washes. The rest of the clothes seem okay. The Maytag was awful. Not sure if it was defective, but the agitator did NOTHING and the clothes pretty much sat still for the entire wash. If I could go back in time, I would repair my old Kenmore TL washer. It actually used water, the agitator was powerful, and it cleaned our socks!
Larisa Batchelor
6 years ago
Maybe find a good used top load set. Those machines last a long time and repairs are generally cheap.