Need To Replace 20 Year Old Maytag Dryer

[farscott]

We moved my wife's Speed Queen dryer from AL to our new home in FL. The FL home came with a GE laundry pair. I pulled out the GE dryer and moved it to the garage on a dolly. I then moved the Speed Queen dryer to the laundry room on the same dolly. It was remarkably heavier and stiffer. I would guess the Speed Queen weighed 60% more than the GE.

[Tabasco]

Did you know...
Fritz Maytag, the son of the founder and inheritor of the Maytag fortune is responsible for Anchor Steam beer and Maytag blue cheese? He basically started the craft beer revolution with Anchor Brewing in San Francisco.

[Borderland]

My wife has Maytag MCT (Maytag Commercial Technology) washer and dryer. She said she wanted new matching W/D. Off course I said there's nothing wrong with the old stuff I had when we were married. No dice. So I said just buy whatever you want and I'm out of the equation. I learned that's the best POA along time ago because anything that won't work is then my fault for suggesting it. So she spent an insane amount of money for a set about 10 years ago. I think the washer was serviced once in that time. Plate on the face says 10 year warranty so I guess it's top of the line. IDK because it's not my department and I don't use them.

So Maytag if you have to buy new. Prices are insane but everything is these days. OK boomer.

[Borderland]

Washing appliances pretty much all suck these days. SWMBO insisted on another GE dryer last weekend when we had to replace her four year old gas one with electric, but after opening up the old one to convert it to LP (long story)… I ain’t impressed. Light weight stampings and generally crappy construction, and this in their mid to high tier model.

We had an early front load Maytag HE set that we purchased in 2002, the washer only lasted until 2014 - with only two adults in the house, so not much use.

I think they're all made in MX these days. Parts availability is probably going to be the biggest factor for any of them. If China has anything to do with it I'd stay away.

I'd probably talk to a repair guy, not a sales person, before I bought anything new.

Just had a service guy in here yesterday for the water heater. He said buy American made anything if you can. Said the HWH was American made and a good one. I feel kind of stupid because I thought a thermostat or element was bad. Turns out it was the temp setting was too low. I guess I'm just old school. Yard it out-a-here and replace it. He said that was common in the business a long time ago. We had a good laugh.

I googled Maytag and Mexico just now and had this popup.

Hello, are you thinking about manufacturing in Mexico?

My name is Ricardo. If you have any questions about costs, locations, labor, skills, logistics, regulations, etc., I am happy to answer them.

I'm glad Ricardo reached out to me. Was Ricardo a bot?

[Oldherkpilot]

I dunno, @baddean. My buddy / neighbor / repair guy, (who is the repair / maintenance guy for a local hotel), is going to stop by later and see if there is something we may have forgotten to replace...but at some point throwing money at an older machine is probably not the wisest course.

It could be a bearing, a support glide, I dunno. It's a pain in the ass taking out the drum and replacing, all the while not being able to see where the problem is...

If your dryer made it to 20 years, my recommendation is to repair it if parts are available. I understand your hesitation about putting money into an old machine but think most (apart from the high-dollar stuff- Bosch, etc) of the new offerings are disposable units. In the meantime, pack wisely and heavily if you head to the laundromat.😁

[CSW]

We went with LG recently. That doesn’t meet your requirement of minimal bells and whistles, but so far we’re happy. Had a GE, won’t be going that route again for a variety of reasons. Avoid Samsung. That’s consistent among all the service techs and salespeople we talked to prior to purchase.

Mid range LG here as well. Did the washer/dryer at the same time.
No Bluetooth, no bells or whistles.
It's been flawless for the last 3 years.

[blues]

If your dryer made it to 20 years, my recommendation is to repair it if parts are available. I understand your hesitation about putting money into an old machine but think most (apart from the high-dollar stuff- Bosch, etc) of the new offerings are disposable units. In the meantime, pack wisely and heavily if you head to the laundromat.😁

We repaired it months ago. Replaced belt and a couple of rollers, but the "squirrel cage" was the main culprit that was making the racket. Of course, it was the last thing we tried thanks to @Guerrero and maybe a couple of others who may also have mentioned it.