About five years ago, I bought a new home. It came with an old washer and dryer, but the washer failed after one use. It was not covered by my home warranty, so I suddenly was in the market for a new one.
I thought I would be getting a trendy front-loader, but my research showed numerous complaints of long wash times, mold, musty smells and reliability and operational issues. At least one person I knew said they switched back to a top loader, and another junked a $1,200 machine after only three years because of reliability problems.
I went to the locally owned, independent retailer where I buy all my appliances and shared my concerns about front-loaders with the proprietor, Rick. But as I walked through the aisles of top-loading washers, everything I saw either felt cheap or was loaded with costly bells and whistles I did not want or need. What I wanted was a solid, reliable machine that was unfussy and easy to use, would clean my clothes quickly and last a long time.
Fatigued and frustrated, I leaned back on a nearby washing machine. It felt like I was leaning on a solid block of steel. Surprised, I turned around, saw the mechanical dials and looked at the name. It was Speed Queen.
"Speed Queen!" I exclaimed. "The Speed Queen washer and dryer at my old townhouse are 37 years old and still running. They make stuff for Laundromats — their machines are built like tanks."
"Yes," Rick replied. "People love them. It's old school, it's fast, it's solid and they never break."
Have you ever heard someone say, "They don't make them like they used to?" A Speed Queen washer might be one of the few products in existence today that is made even better than in years past, without the cost- or corner-cutting that diminishes quality. Manufactured exclusively in Ripon, Wis., to the same commercial standards as Speed Queen Laundromat equipment, they are expected to last at least 25 years doing eight loads a week on average. The machines have an industry-best three-year parts and labor warranty, a 15-year transmission warranty and a lifetime warranty on the drum. They also look and, as I discovered with my fortuitous lean, feel like quality. Even the paint has the deep, solid finish one would expect on a luxury car.
My Speed Queen may use a bit more water and electricity than the newfangled machines, but I have clean clothes fast — a cycle is only 28 minutes — from a machine that will last decades, and I have absolutely zero reliability or operational issues. I am not alone in my enthusiasm. If you read user reviews online you will not find a more fanatically loyal group than Speed Queen owners.
When my dryer died last week and joined the original washer in appliance heaven, I didn't need to shop around. I called Rick, and the matching Speed Queen dryer was there that afternoon.
Available only at independently owned retailers, a mechanical control, top-loading Speed Queen washer lists for $879. (speedqueen.com)
A cheap solution
Q: Can I connect my Amazon Dot to an old stereo receiver?
A: You can connect it to a receiver with a miniplug-to-RCA stereo connection cable. They sell for about $5.
Send questions to Don Lindich at donlindich@gmail.com. Get recommendations and read past columns at soundadvicenews.com.
