gruffbrown

The Ice Dispenser, don't forget that, it's not America without one

jen_andreson

That's correct about the tap, but the temp is controlled by your water heater so can be as hot as you want. Our hot water comes out as hot as our water tank is set to (same as the baths/showers--it's all linked)--we adjusted this to be sure as it was set high enough for laundry/showers but not too hot (to conserve energy). Washing machines do not have thermostats to regulate water temperature. When you select "hot," most or all of the water will come from the hot water tap that the machine is connected to. When you select "warm," the machine will mix in water from the cold water tap in some pre-set proportion. When you select "cool," most of the water will come from the cold water tap, and when you select "cold," there probably won't be any hot water added to the mix at all.

What actual temperature each setting corresponds to would depend on what temperature your hot water heater is set at, what the average temperature of your cold water is, and what proportions your make and model of washer uses for each settings.

If your isn't hot enough the the water heater setting is too low, or water supply hoses are misconnected and you can reset the thermostat to 140 - 160 degrees F (although 120F has been tested as the highest needed for laundry...dishwashers are best higher than that).

So...if yours is too cool then you can adjust it.

We do clean our vents. Inside and out...and we never run the appliances when we're not at home. Hubbies mum had him well trained on that front...but it's amazing how many people don't bother to clean the lint from the inside (let alone the outside).

We also turn our washing machine taps off when not in use...as those have been known to flood or leak due to the pressure (depending how it's plumbed).

RoadWarriorFromLP

Consumer Reports is a highly reputable source for this sort of thing, I would certainly not hesitate to rely on it for reviews. CR conducts extensive product testing and generally provides useful guidance. It also has a magazine and offers consumer guides for sale (available at bookstores), so I'd look at those as well.

Do keep in mind that the price of these products can (and should) be negotiated. Don't just pay the asking price, make a point of haggling the prices, even if you are buying just one item at a time.

jen_andreson

Also helpful, if you're a save the earth type of person


http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/laundry.html

NC Penguin

For the air con, you might want to get companies to come out and give you a quote. Actually, get three companies to come out. Once you get the quotes, you'd be looking at the difference in SEER rating for the air con unit, labor charges, quality of brands.


NC Penguin

NC Penguin

Are you being sarcastic?


NC Penguin

jen_andreson

Nope, it's a good site, but I know that not everyone is interested in energy ratings. I thought the energy star info was helpful (the UK will be rolling this out in the next year or so) as I didn't know anything about water heaters, dishwasher temps, etc.

NC Penguin

I was referring to the your comment preceding the link...

I'm pretty sure the UK has been using the Energy Star standard for years. I remember seeing that on a fridge freezer my Mum bought in the UK in the early 90s.


NC Penguin

jen_andreson

I gathered that and I replied 'nope'. I didn't mean to be sarky. I'm a save the earth type but know that not everyone is...not everyone buys appliances based upon energy ratings.

The energy star system in the UK will be revised/relaunched to include discounts and incentives, such as those the energy star system provides (more than ratings of A-F). To my knowledge the system does not currently offer incentives to buy the ES products. There's a new line of water-saving washers and things that are coming out in the UK to comply and improve on this.

Bob

energy star rating is a load of gonads to be honest, and been in use for years...to get a rating the company has to pay a ton of money for the sticker, doesn't mean it's actually efficient.

jen_andreson

Oh I see...didn't realise. Most of the ratings matched up with others I've seen.

And the energy star rebates? They seemed okay...or no?

Bob

I don't know about the rebates...but the ratings, company would get into trouble for providing false data, but the ratings are provided by the company themselves, and the energy star group compiles the data in a way to be compared against other products without actually checking it...and to get a sticker, I can't remember the amount of money, but I think it was a few years ago about $100K a product....works for the company because it's a tax break being environmental, works for consumer as it's easy to review the info, if true, and it's good for energy star group because they use the money to provide research money for environmental projects, in a gist.

jen_andreson

Thanks for explaining--should have known there was something like that behind it!

I had saved the site ages ago as I thought it was helpful as far as explaining water heaters, what temp to wash at, and all that...as all that was new to me (and hubby wasn't clear on the details). And, there is a zipcode search for available rebates...but I've no idea if they are better than in-store rebates.

Patrick Hasler

When I first moved in with Kate she was a single mum and owned a singlewide on a half acre of land. I think about the second night the house started to shake violently and I thought it was my first earthquake

It was in fact the washing machine on spin cycle. .... I couldn't tell you the make.
We still have the same washer but now we own a real house and I hardly notice it's working.

All the washing machines here seem so out of date ! Back in England I had a Zanusi washer/dryer that was half the size.

The appliance o science

Pimpbot

Bob, how did you become so knowledgable on everything?

We have Kenmore cooker, dishwasher and Microwave, GE washer and dryer and a Whirlpool fridge freezer. No problems with any of them so far.