Replace $1000 Oasis HE with 1984 Maytag??

13 years ago

Hi!

We just bought a home that came with a 2007? Sears Oasis HE2 Canyon Capacity washer and GE Dryer. Dryer is working great. We still haven't sold our other home which included a hand me down washer from my mother -- a traditional 1984 Maytag that used to clean my clothes when I was a kid.

It got out everything from my daughter's poopie and pukie baby clothes. However, when we pull clothes out of the Oasis that have vomit or feces, the stuff is still stuck on! There will literally be caked on puke where we left it.

My wife wants to trade washers, however, it just seems ridiculous that a 25 year old washer cleans better than a $1000 5 year old washer. We are using Costco washing machine detergent that has an HE amount, but also works for regular machines. Other than that, we've tried every setting, but it just doesn't look like the clothes are getting to be in any significant amount of water. The only thing that seems to work is to put every load on the 95 minute cycle -- that still doesn't work for heavy soils.

Is there something I can do to try to fix this thing? Before we do a service call, we'll just trade back to the Maytag. Oh, the washer lid also has quite a bit of rust, I don't think there is a speck of rust on the Maytag. The worst part is that I don't know anyone who can transport the washers for me, so I'll have to pay some one.

Comments (8)

dualref
13 years ago
That Maytag you have is one of the "good ones". In the 90's Maytag started cheapening their product and they became pretty unreliable. The one you have is still the original Maytag high quality.

Heck yes, I'd make the change. If your Maytag does bite the dust, parts will still be available for it for years to come. If you put new belt, hoses in it and maybe a pump it'll easily last another 25 years. And these are not expensive to replace, either.

Sometimes HE machines are not all they are cracked up to be. Some are good, some are not so good. The Kenmore Oasis in particular did not earn stellar customer reviews, either.

I think you'll be much happier with the Maytag.
jtabler
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm thinking the same thing. What exactly is the savings of having a washer run for 85 minutes instead of 25 and sometimes running a 190 minutes for a second pass. High efficiency is not how I would describe it!
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georgect
13 years ago
Yeah, stick with the old Maytag.

These new washers don't use enough water to even loosen and suspend soils.
mara_2008
13 years ago
I know I sound like a broken record, but this is yet another example of a supposedly-the-same washer being completely different from Maytag Bravos. I have never had any such problem as this, not even when washing yucky old comforters and towels we used for puppy beds when our dogs were very young.

jtabler, do you not wash feces out of baby clothes/bedclothes, etc, before washing them in the washer? When I had babies, I always flushed feces down the toilet, then soaked the diapers and/or clothes in a 10-gallon pail of water in which I had dissolved borax (1 c.) in hot water. If they were white only, I added 1/4 c. of Clorox to ensure bacteria was killed.

When I washed them in the washer, I dumped the contents of the pail, water and all, into the washer, ran them through a spin-only cycle, then washed them in HOT water and good detergent. I used white vinegar in the final rinse to be sure all detergent was out so that baby's skin wouldn't become irritated.

If you don't want to do this and you want an HE washer, you definitely need a washer which has an internal water heater, as that will give you true hot water (140 F or above). Otherwise, the bacteria from the feces will not be killed. The '84 Maytag undoubtedly gives you true hot water -- even so, I would deal with feces as I mentioned above.
jtabler
Original Author
13 years ago
Mura-

I don't know about your broken record, but we never did any pre washing.

However, baby stuff aside nothing ever seems clean because there is hardly any water. If you do have this washer, i'd really like to know why ours is so much worse than yours.

I'm also not sure about the may tag supposedly-the-washer issue. To be honest I was excited about this washer when we bought the house, so I'd like it to work. However, telling my wife to put more effort into the wash is not the solution!
mara_2008
13 years ago
jtabler, my "broken record" comment was not addressed to you, but to those who think Oasis washers are the same as Maytag Bravos, which is what I have.

My earlier post was not about "pre-washing"; it was about flushing feces down the toilet and then soaking baby diapers/clothes, etc, before washing them. I used a 10-gallon diaper pail for this, which meant I could accumulate a sizeable load before needing to wash.

I've only known one other person who did not flush feces down the toilet and soak the diapers/clothes before washing, and she was never able to get them truly clean, even with an old-fashioned washer like your Maytag.

You definitely need true HOT water (140 F or higher), and the Oasis most likely does not supply that. I don't know of any HE washer which supplies true hot water without an internal water heater.

For your bsby's sake, I sincerely hope your wife is using Clorox, hydrogen peroxide, or Lysol disinfectant (not the same thing as Lysol household cleaner) to kill fecal bacteria when she does the baby's laundry.
weedmeister
13 years ago
Why do you have to trade? Just keep both.

I have a friend with 6 kids. At any one time, 3 were in diapers. She used cloth, not disposable. She ALWAYS washed them twice. Once in hot with disinfectant, the other wash with something less harsh. (I never asked.)
oasisowner
13 years ago
jtabler, we struggled with an Oasis for 4 years and finally got rid of it. We now have the Maytag Bravos (without the internal heater). It does not break down as the Oasis did every few weeks, but I am not happy with the cleaning. The low water levels occasionally leave dry spots on some clothes and stains are not removed. I would go with the old Maytag.