Hunting for The Perfect Washing Machine & Dryer

I started changing up our laundry room back in November just before Thanksgiving. It all started with that yellow dresser there. We had to make some modifications to it and well I just ran with it and decided I wanted to freshen up the entire space.

When I was suppose to be packing to go to Ga I was in the laundry room painting the cabinets. Note I am still not done yet. We had our trip and then getting ready for Christmas and then something unexpected happened.  

I was doing laundry one evening and oops! The water level knob broke completely off the washer. The entire compartment fell off into the the washer machine. I was not to pleased but then figured it was a sign. Our Maytag set was 8 years old. When we purchased it they told us that appliances are not made like they use to be and to only expect 7-8 years out of it. Well two years ago the washer started giving me fits. So many fits that we almost broke down and purchased a new set then but we didn't. We could not figure out what we wanted so I just dealt. It would constantly go off balance and was not washing as well as it should have been. After the knob broke off I washed clothes on the small water level for almost two weeks and then the machine just went bonkers so we HAD to break down and purchase a new one.

After much debate and lots of research we decided on this LG Top Load HE set. The reviews were fabulous and it is top on Consumers Reports. It did have a handful of complaints though like several other sets we were considering. Really it just seemed like a crap shoot on any of them but we were reassured by the 30 day money back guarantee that HomeDepot has. 

I was super excited when they arrived.

They were all shiny and new and a little too fancy but that is what ya get these days. 

We liked the fact that it has a stainless steel non rust drum. Right away we did a load of towels. We wanted to see just how much water actually went into the drum because we had read complaints that there was not enough and that clothes were not washed thoroughly. It took an hour and ten minutes. Hmmmm. Was not a fan of that but I was able to wash ALL of our towels in one load instead of two so I figured I could deal with the longer wash time. The towels flip and flopped and were fully emerged in the water so for us no issues there. When the load was done it does not buzz but sings a little tune. Call me silly but I really liked that.

A red flag did go up though when I lifted the washing machine lid and I found this sticker. This sticker was not on the display set at the store. To me this could pose a huge problem especially if we had smaller kids.
Loved the dryer on its first run as well. The towels came out fabulous and I was ready to wash EVERYTHING in the entire house. After the next load not so much.  

Major issue for me is how wrinkled the clothes came out of the washing machine. We tried everything from smaller loads, note you can not wash small loads with this set, to using liquid fabric softener and different settings on the machine to no avail. And yes I shake out all of our clothes before they go into the washer and after before they go into the dryer. We had hoped that the new dryer would get the wrinkles out but nope. It didn't not even dry jeans all the way. I washed some sheets and a blanket and the dryer said the load was dry. The sheets were but the blanket was still soaked. It took me three tries to get it to dry the blanket and only after I went from the bedding cycle to the normal cycle did it finally get dried.
Out of the 12 loads I did in a week I literally had to stand there and babysit the washing  machine for 7 of them. It constantly went off balance even though I loaded it as the directions said. If you do not put enough clothes in there it goes off balance and you have to add more. If you put too many they come out even more wrinkled. To try and balance itself out the washer drains all the water out and then fills the drum up with water again. Not sure how that is energy efficient. Only once did that fix the unbalanced issue. It will attempt to fix itself twice before it dings for you to come and move everything around.
I had had enough! We paid way too much money for this set for it just to be pretty so we went to Home Depot to see what our options were. Don who had helped us before was fabulous. We had no issues with the return and were told if the new set we ordered was not satisfactory to come back and they would take care of us. It was a nice surprise.

Source
So even though I was hell bent against a front load from the beginning we ended up ordering a LG front load. Several reviews had stated that they started out with the top load and had the same issues we had and went to front load and loved it so we figured why not. Again this set is top in Consumer Reports. We did not purchase the pedestals. I didn't want them to be too tall. They are actually the same height as a normal washing machine so I figure if I can bend to put things in a dryer than I can bend to put things in the washer too. speaking of which I a 5'7 and have normal length arms. Getting all the clothes out of the top load is a challenge. I have toe hand on my tippy toes to get to things in the very bottom. That and they have a funny smell to them. Not sure what it is and was hoping it would go away but so far it has not. I hope the new front load is smell free.

The new set does not arrive till Jan 3 so while we are waiting I am working on new shelving for in here!:) Crossing our fingers that the new set will be perfect for us.

Please feel free to let me know your thoughts on either of these sets! I am all ears even if you have something different just in case we have to start from scratch all over again.

Treasure Hunt Thursday #87

Welcome to THT #87!  I hope that everybody had a fabulous Christmas enjoying time with family and friends!! I know I sure have enjoyed being with all three of my men and thus I have not paid too much attention to the computer this week. To be truthful it has been a nice break. I did however want to get THT up for those of you who wanted to come on over and party and aren't busy with holiday festivities!
Instead of sharing my top picks from last weeks party though today I am sharing one of my truest treasures!

This little guy turns 7 today!!! I have no idea where the time went because it seems just like yesterday he was this little.

Happy Birthday to my Littliest! Mommy cherishes every moment we get to spend together. 

Now on to the party!:)
 What would be a HUGE help and encourage more comments not just from me but others as well would be for everybody to take off their required verification codes for leaving a comment. This seems to take just a few seconds of time but when you have to do it on 30 or more blogs it takes up a TON of time. Last week most everybody had turned off their Word Verification which made it so much easier for me to stop by everybody's links! Thank you!
READ THE RULES PLEASE!:)
Now on to this weeks party! As with all parties there are the normal rules. You must link back to From My Front Porch To Yours in your THT POST. Just common courtesy. If ya don't link back ya don't get to party. Only link up to your Treasure Hunt Thursday post and NOT your blog homepage. Please No advertising and PLEASE NO MORE than 3 links from the SAME party goer. Also NO MORE linking up to your own link parties. I am seeing more and more link ups of just people promoting their own linky parties. I know it takes time to go back and make a separate post to join the party but it is just the polite thing to do. If you find your post deleted it is not because I am a meany, I just have to make sure the rules are being followed. You can save some of your posts for the following weeks party!Please only link up new posts and not posts that you linked up the week before.
Also be sure to visit at least the link before you and after you to just say Hi! It makes partying all the more fun and remember if your link has had the most visits you will get featured on Tuesdays! If you are new around here I would love it if ya become a follower!:)

Our Christmas Tree 2012

I know I am a little behind on sharing our tree this year and I apologize. I am having hard time getting pics this year for some reason. Anyways, here is our tree.

Normally it takes me about an hour to an hour and half to find the perfect tree. I drive my boys insane literally. This year was a record breaker though. In 15 minutes the perfect tree was tied to the top of Lucy and away we went. 

Our tree sat in the foyer for a day or two till I could get the furniture moved around.Then I moved it into the living room.

Mom says the secret to easily moving a Christmas tree from room to room is to place the tree holder on an old comforter. That makes it super easy to pull around the house if need be.

I wish this tree was a fake because I just love it to pieces. 

One of the reasons I love it so much is because it has the beginnings of little pine cones all over it. At least I think that is what they are. Either way they are cool. We have never had a tree with them before.

This year I retired our old star after 11 years because the lights kept going out. I was excited to have found this pretty one at Lowes.

I kept the decorations simple this year and did not use very many. As matter of fact Oldest kept asking me when we were going to decorate the tree!;)

Another new addition this year is our galvanized bucket. It is my solution to keeping the fur babies out of the tree water and then proceeding to barf on the tree skirt. It has worked like a charm! I can't wait till next year after the bucket has weathered some. 

I retired our old ribbon and used burlap ribbon for a more simple look. Next year I am wanting to add some gold beads.

This is The Hubster who was refusing to move from the sofa so I could take pics for y'all. I threatened to include him in the post and thus here he is!;) 

This is my view while washing dishes!

The kiddos are finally out for the holidays as well as The Hubster off of work so the next almost 3 weeks will be full of family time. I hope that everybody is enjoying their holiday season thus far!
Thanx for stopping by!