I'm not overly in love with our 18 mos old GE Harmony top loading HE. I wanted a top loader because I do a lot of overnight soaks, but this thing has a mind of its own and is always teetering on the edge of not working. We keep waiting for the day when we have to call the repairman.
And 18 mos later, the GE Harmony dryer still has an odd petrochemical odor that stays in the clothes for 24 hours after drying. I'm not real fond of that either.
Sounds like a lot of trouble. If you are going to get rid of it, see if a scrap yard will take it. there is a lot of recoverable metal in a washing machine. Or maybe someone would take it for parts. If there is a 2nd hand appliance dealer, I bet they repair and refurbish a lot of stuff. That would significantly reduce the environmental impact of getting rid of it so soon.
I have a store-brand front loader that has been great. I am pretty sure it is made by Frigidaire for the store. I have a Frigidaire gas dryer that is also good, though you must have a substantial part of the year when you can dry on the line. (-40 is not very good for that, lol)
Put it on Craigslit.
I'd repair it one more time and disclose that you've had to work on it, but you're bound to recoup some of your money, at least.
I've had a Sears/Kenmore front-loader since 2000 or 2001. This isn't one of the fancy ones that slices, dices, and makes bread; it's just the plain ole' white front-loader like in a lot of laundromats. I think it ran about $800 back when we bought it.
I love that thing. Clean clothes, low water use, and it just keeps washing.
The only problem I've had with it was recently, when I tried to wash a 27-year-old handwoven rug in it, and the rug, er, disintegrated. My bad, I clogged up the impeller.
Luckily, I've cleared impellers before, and it turned out to be much easier to clean that one than any of my top-loaders. And it's back to washing great.
I'd get rid of it - like someone mentioned, it's mostly recyclable (is that a word?) and someone could use it for parts. I really wanted to save water but I'm going back to a top loader. Our 2 year old maytag hasn't worked from day one and I don't know anyone that hasn't had problems with a front loader (6 people and 3 brands). The companies that make them don't care about quality, I guess. I feel guilty about getting rid of ours too, but I'm wasting more energy and polluting more driving to the laundromat when ours breaks down than I would if I had a top loader that worked. If you find anything that conserves water and actually works, please let us know. I'll be looking for something soon.
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