My greatest appliance fear has just arrived and is sitting in my basement.

Of all the appliances I fear, the number one is the washer and dryer. Why? As a kid we didn't have one. We went to the laundromat.

But also, there just seems to be so much that can go wrong. From the washer dryer hook ups to the vent... ... seems so easy not to work.

So my washer and dryer arrived. I used the LOA to make sure it was easy to get them in the house. And it was. Seriously amazingly easy. But I didn't go far enough with my imagining. I had been told that they would have all the equipment I would need. They didn't.

They went to hook up the vent and it broke apart. Ok fine they will fix it right? Nope they pull out the aluminum extender and are going to use the cheap aluminum extender to vent the dryer. Um.. I could not stay quiet. I told them I wouldn't use that for the entirety of the vent and I wanted my vent run to be used. Well now they broke it... so no worry you can just use vent tape. HA, nope they don't have vent tape. So, ok fine. I go to the hardware store and get some vent tape. All set.

But get this... when it arrives they tell me I need to run the dryer for 30 minutes to get rid of an oil smell that is in there. Um... no, I mean is it just me? I just get this thing and now I have do YOUR bidding? Seriously.

Well I can't do it tonight because I have to go to work tomorrow and I would prefer not to find out there is a problem that causes a fire at 9 PM.

Seriously frustrating.

I wish I had someone who could tell me how to use it and really walk me through making sure it is properly installed. I will never use this company again and I will give them a bad review on yelp.

I just googled it, and it looks like the 20-30 minute first run empty to get rid of an oil smell is pretty common, and recommended by several manufacturers.

Congratulations on your new arrivals!

I have always purchased all my appliances at Lowe's & added installation. They have always had everything necessary with them for the installation. My washer & dryer are in the basement too.

Lol....they brought a new washer & dryer & the washer didn't work. I had the option of them fixing it or them bringing another new one. I chose the NEW. My dryer is still doing well but this is my 2nd washer. Turns out it is more expensive to replace the computerrized parts than to buy a new one. Such is our disposable life.

I bought a nice french door refrig from Lowe's too. Only thing, the doors didn't hang right. They kept sending someone out till they got it right. Best refrig I have had now. Installation quality is important. I understand your frustration & concerns.

I have a front load washer & dryer. Don't remember having to run it to get rid of oil smell but it has been quite a few years now.

Emily, your post reminded me of our (fairly new) washer. When our old one finally gave up the ghost we ordered a new one from Costco. They came and installed it seemingly without incident, but --- it is taking some getting used to.

For one thing, where we used to select everything using dials, now it's digital. When you turn it on it goes beedle-beedle-bleep. Then there is silence for a while. Then it starts going, chunk-chunk. Chunk-chunk. Then it stops. After a long while the water starts to fill, which it SENSES. It KNOWS how much water to use.

Then it goes chunk-chunk some more. At first I was sure it was defective, but it turns out that's just the way it's designed. How it ever gets the clothes clean I do not know, but it does. Thank God.

Oh, and they included some new soap products with it where the soap was contained in some sort of film which was supposed to dissolve in the water - I guess the idea was to save paper or something. But that didn't work --the clothes came out with little bits of film all over them.

Anyway, best of luck with yours. Happy laundry day!

Appliances are so frustrating these days!

I don't remember having to run my dryer to get rid of smells... an oil smell would worry me. Isn't oil flammable? It doesn't seem like something that should be in a dryer!

I just had a new dishwasher installed. What a mess. It took EIGHT (!) visits from various people, and nobody actually bothered to re-attach it to the bottom of the counter, so it tilts forward when I open it. Next time I have a handyman over, I'll ask him to take a look.

Mopey - That's funny about your new washing machine! My dishwasher seems a little similar... it's very quiet (no chunk-chunk, thankfully) - but it does do a little bit of "chug-a-lug whoosh whoosh chug-a-lug whoosh whoosh" with a lot of silence thrown in for confusion.

It also doesn't dry as well as the old one, which I expected based on research and reviews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mopey Oh, and they included some new soap products with it where the soap was contained in some sort of film which was supposed to dissolve in the water - I guess the idea was to save paper or something. But that didn't work --the clothes came out with little bits of film all over them.

Thanks for the warning. I had already thought I should test the washer with clothing I don't care about too much first. Maybe towels.

Just frustrated though because there seems so much to it. But I have decided to take the directions in with me to work and read them first.

I got a machine that would be noisey because it is in my basement but I have to say wow... it is really noisey. When they were testing the washer I definitely knew they were.

So I used the dryer. Very surprised that it is super noisy. Honestly it makes more noise than my heater. You can clearly hear it on the second floor and it is in the basement. I cannot see if I have any leaks in the vent but, it does not seem that I do. One surprise is that even on medium heat it is extremely hot. I am hopeful that once I put clothing in there it will be less hot. I was going to use the washer but, I don't like what they gave me... a pod. So I am going to go to the store and get the liquid stuff.

I always set my dryer to "most dry" & "low temp" (not air dry). It may run longer but I guantee no shrunk cloths I can't fit into. Only thing I run at the next higher temp are towels. I also started using the wool dryer balls instead of the dryer sheets. Really love the way cloths come out better.

Oh yes, my washer & dryer are in the basement too & the sound echoes even more. Sounds like a rocket ship about to take off down there sometimes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eskielover [ Only thing I run at the next higher temp are towels. I also started using the wool dryer balls instead of the dryer sheets. Really love the way cloths come out better.

Well I am pretty happy with it because I just did my first load on medium and the "vent" wasn't as hot (assuming with clothing in there it made a difference) and I dried everything including towels in 30 minutes. Perhaps all dryers have this feature but mine has a "cool down" at the end of the cycle. I really like that as the clothing came out cool and the venting is cool the moment I am done.

Ok I did my first load of wash. Pretty happy with myself. All went well.

I do have a question... I have a headache after doing it and though I think that it is impossible for carbon monoxide to be an issue (plus i have alarms and they didn't go off) -- if my venting isn't properly hooked up.... could it be? I have an electric dryer. I have heard it is impossible with an electric dryer.

No gas, no carbon monoxide. When I changed my farm house from propane to all electric my worries went away.

This link might give you more information on electric dryers & their venting
Does an Electric Clothes Dryer Need to Be Vented? | Hunker

Glad all is working well & you have established what works for you.....it is a relief I am sure

One thing I think is amazing and also helped a lot... is there are you tube videos of my washer working with the top up. So you know exactly what to expect.

YouTube

YouTube is great. I have learned how to do most of my repairs using YouTube. They have the best information to learn from & see how things work