Why I chose Speed Queen

Those of you who follow me on Instagram and Facebook already know that I recently bought a Speed Queen washer and dryer.  Sadly my 5 year old Maytag washing machine bit the dust two weeks ago, leaving me in a bit of a lurch.  I reached out on social media asking for your thoughts and recommendations.  And I seriously can not thank you all enough for sharing your honest and helpful advice!  You all made the purchase process so much easier!

Out with the Not That Old

#byefelicia

So, I’m sure you know how that whole If-you-give-a-pig-a-pancake thing works, as one thing always leads to another, especially for the design-obsessed.  With the new set in the house my decorating wheels have been turning.  And I’ve decided to a spend a little time sprucing up our good, but very basic and kind of boring laundry room.

But before I share my design thoughts and plans for the laundry room, since so many of y’all seemed interested, I’m going to share why I chose to go with Speed Queen.  In the hopes that it will be helpful for any of you who may be in the market for a new washer and dryer.  Shopping for appliances is no fun, in my opinion, I’d much rather shop for throw pillows.  😉  So hopefully this post makes the process a little easier for you.

Why Not Just Fix the Maytag?

This wasn’t the first time my Maytag washing machine had a problem.  In fact, this was the fourth time.  Twice while under warranty it had a small issue.  Of course, even under warranty, we still had to pay the $75 “warranty service call” fee. Why do warranties always work like that?

Last year we had a problem with the machine that cost us $175 to fix.  So a couple weeks ago when my machine once again broke down, I was kind of in a mood.  I was hoping it would be a small problem.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  The service technician, which I trust, told me it would be a $450 repair.  My eyes popped out of my head!  $450?!  He said there was a good bet that once repaired we wouldn’t have any other major problems with the machine, but that appliances these days were really only built to last about 7 years.  Ugh.  I was already over the 5 year mark, so that didn’t exactly make me feel too good.

What Did I Think of Our Maytag?

Truth be told, I didn’t really like our Maytag Bravos washing machine.  Apart from the fact that she was pretty and my favorite color, I didn’t think she was very good at her job.  With no agitator, many times I felt that clothes didn’t really get clean.  I’d end up rewashing things a lot.  And even though this was a top loader, it still kind of stunk from time to time.  .

The dyer always worked great.  It never gave us a problem.  And if I wan’t such a weirdo about having to have a matching set, I would have just kept the dryer.  I plan to sell it to recoup a bit of the expense we laid out for the new set.  Hopefully someone wants to buy just a dryer.  Bueller.  Bueller.

So Why Speed Queen?

My initial thought after realizing we were going to need to buy a new machine was to go with a front loader, merely because it would be nice to have a countertop in our small-ish laundry room.

So I took to social media to ask all of you for help in deciding between a top or front loader as well as any other recommendations you might have.  Many of you recommended steering away from a front loader, citing all kinds of issues from smell to inconvenience in not being able to soak clothes, etc.  In addition, many of you raved about Speed Queen, a brand I had never really heard of before.

So I called around and talked to lots of appliance repair companies asking them for their opinions, and they ALL said the SAME THING, “Speed Queen is the only brand we never get called to work on.  They just don’t break down.”

But Aren’t They Twice the Price?

Yes, Speed Queens are more expensive.  It’s true.  Though it also depends with what you’re comparing them.  They’re built to last at least 25 years.  Whereas most other brands currently on the market have a 7 year (maybe 10 if you’re lucky) expiration date. They cost twice as much, but they last three times as long. 

When I added up the price we paid for our Maytag set plus the cost of repairs made in the past five years, the cost of buying Speed Queen was only a couple of hundred dollars more.  For the dependability and longevity that Speed Queen has been proven to provide I think the price seems fair.

Apart from price point, online reviews also noted that Speed Queens aren’t “pretty” and they don’t offer the “bells and whistles” that other brands do.  While all of this is true, what’s important to me is effectiveness, dependability and longevity.  And in those areas, Speed Queen puts the competition to shame.

Let’s face it, even when an appliance breaks down while under warranty it’s still a giant pain in the rear.  Mommas you know how hard it is when your dirty laundry pile starts growing into a mountain.  Then there’s the old “we’ll be there between 10am and 3pm” repair service deal that basically knocks out your whole day while you wait to have your machine fixed.  Good times.  You can’t, in my opinion, put a price tag on not having to deal with those kinds of nuisances.

Going Old School

So we decided to get back to basics.  We went old school.  We went with Speed Queen.  The only upgrade we got is a touch panel, but other than that our machines are basically like the ones my grandparents had for 30 years.  And I for one am looking forward to never having to a buy a washing machine ever again.

A video posted by CARMEL PHILLIPS (@ourfifthhouse) on Jan 24, 2017 at 12:16pm PST

It’s not a large capacity washing machine.  I thought at first that would take some adjusting to, but as it turns out I actually prefer doing smaller loads.  The wash time is shorter than the Maytag, so it doesn’t take any longer to wash and dry the same amount of laundry.  However, I find it a less daunting task to fold small loads as opposed to giant ones.  And in about 10 loads over the last few days, since my laundry had really piled up high while I was out of commission, I haven’t had to rewash a single thing!  Insert the praise hands emoji!

Now for the Fun Part

So now that we’re back in the clean laundry business, I’m ready to give our laundry/mudroom a little sprucing.

I’ll be back tomorrow to share my design thoughts and inspiration!

*This post was not sponsored.  I wish it was.  😉  As always my reviews and thoughts are honest and genuine.  If you’re looking for more helpful advice on washing machines, I recommend reading the comments on my Instagram post.