Ever heard the sound of a failing washer? I’ll tell you first hand that it just isn’t pleasant. Maybe because you feel the pains of having to dole out money for a repair or a new machine, neither of which would be insignificant in cost. At least, that was the case for me. The washer and dryer at my house are 12 years old so I knew the day was coming, but it’s still hard taking that initial hit to the wallet, even if you know (as I do being in the field of energy efficiency) the true cost is more that that initial cost.
I don’t take these types of decisions lightly so I did my homework. (But, I also have kids, so I had to move fast. If you have kids, you know how hard it is going without a washer for any length of time!) I have an uncle who knows a bit about these machines so I first made the call to him. I needed his help to determine if there was promise in fixing it or if it’s best to replace it. After hearing the sounds and learning of the problem, he assured us it was time to bury this washer. The silver lining here is that at least this time I got to choose my washer – and efficiency was top on my feature list. At if I choose well, I will get a return on my investment. So, on to the purchase.
I started with Consumer Reports. The great part of Consumer Reports is that they include energy and water efficiency as important features on these machines – two of the most important to me. I also value a machine that washes well like most do. I found a few that met those criteria and then it was time to check with ENERGY STAR. If it has that logo, I’ll feel better. Remarkably, I was able to narrow my choices down significantly with those two resources. The final check was in regards to the price. I made calls to the top retailers of these products to see where I could get the best price. I found my retailer and off to the store I went. Really, it was as easy as 1-2-3.
Our new, energy-efficient, front-loading washer showed up this weekend…and I can honestly say we are quite happy with our purchase decision. And we didn’t waste any time…shortly after the installation, we ran our first load and watched this lovely machine do it’s magic. It still impresses me that we have technology right at our fingertips that help us do better for the environment. This machine uses significantly less water and energy than our old machine, which, by the way, was taken away for recycling and proper disposal.
Love the neighbor. But don‘t get caught.
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