Whiteware???

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#990954 20-Feb-2014 10:01

Our F&P washer is 12 years old and still works perfectly - it has never been serviced.
Our F&P sensor drier worked perfectly for 11 years, but was damaged (crushed, door broken) by our removalists and had to be replaced.

Sideface

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#990960 20-Feb-2014 10:09

Older F&P products were great and we had quite a few, these were circa 15 years +. Of late the quality of F&P has dropped dramatically. e.g, Our Dishwasher 4 years..replaced with Bosch, Clothes washer 6 years... replaced with Bosch, Cloths Dryer....4 years replaced with Bosch.

Since they moved their production and sold to china their quality is nothing like the old F&P they are a new company with poor quality control.

Normal ain't coming back, the crazy stays.

Hoofhaarted

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#990966 20-Feb-2014 10:13

IMO for a washing machine, look for a front loader.

I reckon they clean better, and clothes come out drier, so if you are needing a dryer, you use less power, as its quicker.

And another rookie mistake, measure the Fridge Hole ( if you have one), Some places have a smaller hole than the larger Fridge models, this is now know from experience :-)

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#990981 20-Feb-2014 10:34

Congrats on your purchase!

When it comes to things like whiteware it's all horses for courses. Some people have great experiences with particular brands, others don't - YMMV.

Completely agree with Sideface about avoiding washer/dryer combo's - AVOID. We have one of these and we had two definite results when experimenting with the dryer function:
1. hot wet clothes
2. doubled electricity bill after only 3 uses of the drying function.

That said, the machine we use is an LG front loader which is absolutely brilliant at washing. It's 7 years old now (still has 3 years left on the motor warranty), gets used a lot and has never skipped a beat.

My only advice for a fridge would be get the biggest one you can for your home/budget. If you get a small one you'll probably end up regretting it after a little while as there's always more you want to put in there, especially if you're having people round for a BBQ or when children start appearing on the scene etc.

trig42

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#990994 20-Feb-2014 11:06

I'd put my 2c in for a front load washer - use less water and do a pretty good job now (and you can stack stuff on top of them). I have the a Panasonic 10kg Inverter Washing machine - works great (and I like that I can pause it too add the sock that dropped on the floor on the way to the laundry after it has started).

I have an F&P dishdrawer - no mech/elec issues (3rd one we've had in 3 houses). Only complaint is the cutlery baskets bottoms drop out (after years of dropping heavy cutlery into them I suppose) but there are good and fast spares available for all F&P items online - just replaced one of said baskets, a fridge door gasket and a couple of door shelves.

My fridge is a 10 year old F&P active smart - works great - just had to replace a gasket and a couple of door shelves, but that was all less than $80 delivered.

I have an F&P elec dryer (sensor model) - works fine, but is a bit noisy now. It would be our oldest appliance (I'd say 13 or 14 years now). It will be replaced with another F&P as the wall bracket and exhaust hoses are already in place.

My recommendation - get the biggest fridge you can fit into your kitchen gap - you will regret buying a small one - they are like cars - as soon as they leave the showroom, their value plummets.
Microwaves are dirt cheap and all do the same thing.
Cheap out on the dryer
Don't cheap out on the Washer.

TwoSeven

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#991053 20-Feb-2014 12:21

I have a Westinghouse fridge/freezer as it is low power (I am keen on energy star ratings). Also a Bosh front loader washing machine and for the Microwave I have a Panasonic 5-in-1 oven/microwave unit.

They seem to work pretty well for me - but I would suggest do some research at a few different stores.

Only thing to remember, is measure where they are going to go - before buying the units. Not all fridges are the same size.

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#991085 20-Feb-2014 13:17

Agree that a drier isn't a critical appliance, and using one can (and should) mostly be avoided if possible. That said, if you're wedded to the idea of getting one, you could look second-hand for this, instantly saving you many hundreds of dollars.

We bought one off TM for $40 or so (and that's for an externally ducted version); totally presentable and still working fine about seven years later. It's hardly ever used but can be really useful when needing something in a hurry (eg, when one of our children has wet their sleeping bag!). You note it'll probably be in the garage, so having the latest and greatest new model may not be an issue for you (and you can always through a cover over it!).

But perhaps you're planning on using a drier heaps (which will of course mean high power bills, unless you go for an uber-expensive heat-pump version), but given the sun and wind do a totally adequate job for free this approach seems crazy to me. I have heard many reports of the drier being the default clothes drying method in suburban US homes - many not even having washing lines!

I wouldn't recommend s/h washing machines or fridge/freezers, though - just not worth the risk of break-downs for appliances used this frequently.

Re front-loading washing machines - one of the reasons I wouldn't touch them (apart from the time they take, the inability to add items...) is the impact they appear to have on towels. My brother's towels were like using a rasp on one's back, and apparently this is a common problem in washing them in a front loader.

TwoSeven

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#991284 20-Feb-2014 18:17

Re front-loading washing machines - one of the reasons I wouldn't touch them (apart from the time they take, the inability to add items...) is the impact they appear to have on towels. My brother's towels were like using a rasp on one's back, and apparently this is a common problem in washing them in a front loader.

Scratchy towels is usually caused by not using fabric softener or because the water is hard and needs to be softened. It (as far as I know) has nothing to do with what type of agitation mechanism is used (the style of washing machine). At least that is my experience of things.

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#991329 20-Feb-2014 19:22

TwoSeven:

Re front-loading washing machines - one of the reasons I wouldn't touch them (apart from the time they take, the inability to add items...) is the impact they appear to have on towels. My brother's towels were like using a rasp on one's back, and apparently this is a common problem in washing them in a front loader.

Scratchy towels is usually caused by not using fabric softener or because the water is hard and needs to be softened. It (as far as I know) has nothing to do with what type of agitation mechanism is used (the style of washing machine). At least that is my experience of things.

Umm, seems to be a frequently reported problem and quite clearly a problem for front-loaders, going by a quick search on the internet, eg comments from Consumer NZ here http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/washing-machines/wash-problems .

You may get around it by using fabric softener but the reality is top loaders don't need this to avoid the hardness problem - I've never used fabric softener in our machines and our towels last years without developing such issues. That link above gives ways to mitigate this problem with front loaders.

MikeB4

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#991348 20-Feb-2014 19:50

Our Bosch front loader does a great job of towels, it can be stopped and opened. It also has a 15 minute cycle option

Normal ain't coming back, the crazy stays.

blakamin

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#991351 20-Feb-2014 19:57

We got a F&P 7.5kg front loader washing machine (that can also be paused to load runaway socks) just before xmas to replace an 8 year old samsung. AVOID!
The door has already dropped and you have to lift it to close. They're nowhere near as good as they used to be. We were actually going to buy an LG, but "we" stuffed up brands and the Mrs price-matched the F&P before I could stop her. ;p
Our LG fridge (2 years old) is awesome.

We have no issues with hard towels unless we leave them on the line when it's 40+ degrees.

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Hobchild

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#991419 20-Feb-2014 21:15

Hey thanks everyone, there's some great advice coming in which is fantastic.

Regarding the dryer, I haven't always had one but they can come in extremely handy, we don't use the landlords one much but it's a peace of mind knowing that it's there if we need something dried quickly, we mainly use it for linens which I might add seems to stop towels from going stiff. ;)

It seems everyone seems to have praise for Bosch with quite a bit of love for LG as well while F&P seem to be a hit or miss for most. I'll definitely be staying well clear of the washer/dryer combo's as everybody has advised.
Just asked my fiance and she said she would prefer a top loader over a front loader preferably without an agitator. She doesn't want to bend over too much and the one she used at her previous flat she couldn't add anything after the cycle had started. Is it just the more expensive ($1000+) machines that can do this or is this something fairly common with a modern front loader? It seems Bosch don't like top loaders either.

blakamin

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#991424 20-Feb-2014 21:25

Hobchild: Is it just the more expensive ($1000+) machines that can do this or is this something fairly common with a modern front loader?

Most new F&P and LG (probably Samsung too) can be paused. Our F&P was $750 AUD... and I wouldn't reccomend them at all. ;p

Hobchild

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#991430 20-Feb-2014 21:38

blakamin: Most new F&P and LG (probably Samsung too) can be paused. Our F&P was $750 AUD... and I wouldn't reccomend them at all. ;p

Front loaders in general or just F&P ones?

vexxxboy

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#991432 20-Feb-2014 21:43

LG have just bought top loader washing machines onto the market and have good deals on them to get people interested , they dont have agitators either . looked at one a few days ago and they look really nice.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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