That was the most touching obituaray..... pass the Kleenex please !!!!! poor dear 'green machine'.s 34 years young...... R.I.P.

Beautifully written obituary, Cynic!
Unfortunately his replacement isn't going to be nearly as faithful and loyal, He'll probably crap out after only a few years.

34 years? Praise the Lord! That's like 200 in washing machine years. You are not going to be happy when you see what's out there. They may be sleek and good looking but they're not like the "good ole days".

That was a good tribute. My daughter is appliance shopping now. They told her that all appliances are only meant to last 5 years. That is disgusting to me.

A touching tribute, and I know exactly how you feel. My Kenmore washer and dryer will be 30 in October, and I dread the day they go to Appliance Heaven. I recently put a pump on the washer--it's first repair job (dryer has never been repaired......knock on wood).

I've looked at new ones--and NOT impressed!

My Mom had her Amana for 45 years, it lived in 2 homes. .Her washer was 55 and outlived her. Last I saw it, it was on the back porch, unplugged. Guess it's gone by now.

Beautifully written! But you had me scared there for a minute!

Are you sure there's no hope at all?....lol but seriously are you?.... with a workhorse like that you are going to be disappointed in the new ones....

geeze, I was starting to tear up !!!!!!!!!! lol

You got me! I was scared to know who "she" was...glad it is someone who can be replaced.

Cynic! You're incorrigible! I was in tears, tears I tell you. I thought you had lost a long-term employee.

I think you need to go stand in the corner for a while! LOL

And send that story to J.C. Penney. They owe you a new washer. Don't worry; it won't last even 1/3 of the time the old one did.

I am truly sorry for your loss. It's terrible to lose an older, dependable, worked-as-designed item knowing you'll have to replace it with the sorry, foreign-made equivalent.

Caroline, I'm being punished far worse than standing in the corner. I've been appliance shopping!

200 in appliance years! I love that! And so true isn't it.

I had narrowed it down to basically two machines. I've been looking at info and stuff on different things for probably 10 years nows knowing that this day would come. I do think it could be repaired and probably not too expensive if I could do the labor myself. Right now, that's not too easy. But, the other issues is the agitator springs are getting weaker and the tub is starting to rust a wee bit. If it's not going to be under warranty, which I still think it should be, then I think it's replacement time.

I pretty much narrowed it down to a Maytag Bravos 950 with the heater or the Speed Queen. While looking I thought I found a bargain. They were $1100 to start, then put on sale, then another sale for 10% off and Maytag has a rebate of $250. Hmm, not too bad. My big scare is the reports of the circuit boards going on them. My sister has the sister unit, the more basic Cabrio and she really likes it. My old Penney's/GE outlasted her "Dependable Care" Maytag. I smirk on that for personal reasons... But when I checked the fine print, the rebate doesn't apply to the top of the line unit. Go figger...

The other that I thought about was a Speed Queen. The repair people pretty much all endorse them as being workhorses built commercial quality and the way they used to be. Not fancy. Not available in 52 different colors. Just heavy duty, reliable and they give a better warranty than anyone else. Mechanical controls, not all circuit boards. Made in the US of A. I talked to the people at a reliable local appliance place and first, he was shocked that I knew about SQ, and secondly said I won't find anything better. He offered to show me the differences but I knew them. I've debated about front loaders vs. top loaders but bending and stooping ain't easy for me so top loader is the best option unless I build a stand for it. The piddly little pedestals they sell for $300-$400 isn't going to do it for me.

They have them in stock and I decided to sleep on it a bit. Being cheap, er, frugal, I still have about 3 years worth of laundry detergent that could be used in the SQ, would have to get rid of that and buy new for a HE machine. Not a big thing, but coupled with a feeling I might need to get a service contract on the more expensive machine, add a pedestal to a more expensive front loader and maybe a service contract. He said he doesn't recall a service call on a SQ machine and they've sold a lot of them, relatively speaking. Wouldn't have to learn a new style of washing. But still debated a bit. Plus I'd have to special order the Bravos where they have the SQ in stock and could deliver in a few days. Why am I even thinking about it? Oh, and the SQ comes with hoses where the more expensive one doesn't. Another $20.

Then this morning about 3 AM I started weighing pros and cons again and I heard a clap of thunder. Yesterday morning there was an explosion, presumably a transformer blew and the power flickered. Reminded me of another thing. With the highly electronic version of a machine, I'd also need a heavy duty surge protector. Surges and spikes are known to take out washers and dryers too. This mornings thunder came as I was pondering things. That pretty much decided it. Mechanical controls, less electronic issues. I really don't need the heater. I've gone this many years getting clean clothes without it. When I need extra hot, I turn up the water heater. And it seems like this is as close to what I had. When they open I'll probably go ahead and order it.

Unless I change my mind in the next few minutes... I hate appliance shopping!

BTW, the old washer was the first appliance I bought for the house. It was a year old floor model so it was marked down. Avocado was going out of style so they marked it down more. I found a scratch on it so they marked it down more. And the salesgirl needed a sale, it was end of pay period...

As you wring your hands in this cycle of life, I hope that the emotions do not drain you. I want not to put a negative spin on this and agitate you, draining your feelings any further.

Do not let your pain deter(gent) you from Gain(ing) a good deal on your new machine. Stem the Tide of tears. Bounce down to the store as if you were on a Downy cloud. Wisk away the old machine and bring in a new Era of clean!

:)

That's Fab, Iowagirl!

Makes you want to Snuggle up with that idea.

Iowagirl, you should TM that and sell it to the appliance stores!

Between cynic and iowagirl2006 I'm cracking up! Wish I had that creative style of writing! I'm witty in person but not so much on paper.

Love this thread!

Cynic, I wish you were close to me. I want that wash barrel! I nned a new fire pit. Someone stole ours a couple of years ago, and we can't find a metal/enamelled wash tub anywhere. They are all plastic now. They make great fire pits!

Tami

Tami! I have one dead machine and one that is approaching the terminal list in my basement! I never thought about using the barrel in the machine for a fire pit... hmmm... LOL!

We have a tractor rim down in one of our pastures as a pit - but I would like a small one at my house.

I thought of this post this weekend when I was at the Sears outlet appliance store and sitting there right in the middle of the store was a brand spanking new set of front loader washer and dryer in AVOCADO GREEN!!!
I can not believe that color is coming back in style!
I had an old set that color years ago.

So you actually may be still in style LOL

Ravencajun, guess I should get out my wingtip shoes and Members Only jacket! Like they say, what's old is new and what's new is old.

Iowagirl, they make GREAT fire pits! The holes in it circulate the air, they are light weight so you can move them where you want them easily. DH drilled 3 holes in the bottom and put stove bolts with nuts and washers in to make legs. We had ours for almost 10 years. Then a couple of years ago, we stored it in the back yard as usual. When we went to get it the next spring, it was gone. We need to keep checking the salvage yards around here on a regular basis, instead of just once in a while when we think about it.

Tami

They would make a great fire pit. I'd pull it out if I had the time to do it. They're heavy and the holes would give great circulation. I could use a firepit too. Oh well, maybe I can pick one up somewhere.