Money Laundering Dear Suzy,
Do you know where I can find reliability reports on Asko washers, dryers, and
dishwashers?
After reading the manufacturer’s brochures, some Usenet postings, and some
“green” websites, I’m convinced that these appliances really do conserve water
and electricity, but I can’t find anything on how many times I should expect to
call in the repairman. Are we talking about lonely repairfolk here, or those
who drive up to your house in a Mercedes?
I would like to conserve, but with the price tags on these, I really need to
carefully budget how much it costs to maintain them, and know when they are
expected to wear out (hopefully much longer than it takes the average makes).
Staying green environmentally and financially is my goal here….
Thanks in advance.
Anthony Y.
Dear Anthony,
Unbelievable. After only 164 columns, someone finally asks me something I
actually know a little about. It just so happens I own an Asko washing
machine! If I’d been told back when I was a bohemian teenager quaffing
wheat grass juice and driving a two-cylinder Honda Coupe and denouncing
galloping consumption that 20 years later one of my prize possessions would be
a washing machine, I would have overdosed on Tolstoy and tofu on the spot.
My little baby — the Asko Superior — came with a seizure-inducing price tag,
but since we’re on a rainwater collection system, where water is more precious
than money, and the little darling uses 17 gallons per load compared to the 55
gallons a conventional top loading washer guzzles, I thought, “What do I need
all this money in a savings account for anyway?”
It is kinda hard to stuff the same amount of clothes into its tub that I once
tossed into my Whirlpool, but it does get them cleaner, even using less than
half the detergent. The clothes seem to flop around forever as they’re rinsed
five times, so a wash cycle takes longer than a typical machine. But this Swede
spins the load at a dizzying 1,300 rpms! (The first week we got the machine,
Richard and I would pull up a chair and grab a beer to watch the spin cycle.)
You make up for the long wash cycle because the clothes are almost dry before
you put them in the dryer.
I’ve had the machine for two years and last week it stopped draining. Right
before I called the repairman, I decided to see if it had a filter and see if
maybe that filter were clogged. I lost the instruction manual long ago, but
figuring out the filter-thingy was easy. Oooh weee! I’ve got to start
cleaning out our pockets before I wash our jeans. There was about $9 in change
and $14 worth of screws, bolts, and nails clogging that puppy up. It’s worked
like a charm ever since.
I think Consumer Digest bestowed the Asko washer with a Best Buy
rating, their highest. I’ll bet you can also check one out in person at this
weekend’s EcoFair, January 24-26 at the Austin Convention Center.
This article appears in January 24 • 1997 and January 24 • 1997 (Cover).