Tim R wrote:

Speed Queen still makes a commercial quality washer available to consumers. It costs more, a lot more, but sometimes you get what you pay for.


I _really_ hope that's true, because I ended up buying a Speed Queen.
Whether I fell for the hype or made a good choice will take a long time
to learn. Price was roughly the same from the local dealer as for an on
line purchase, the dealer has a parts and service department that maybe
will be helpful. For even money, I went local.

The best way to have clothes last longer while still getting them clean is supposed to be cold water, long presoak, and short wash cycle.

I'd suggest that tumble drying is a major source of wear; just look in
the lint trap. A short wash cycle won't hurt, if it gets things clean
enough. On that basis I elected to keep the old dryer, which is almost
never used, and spend the savings on a better washing machine.

The service manual question is still unresolved. I did notice that
Dexter Laundry puts their manuals on-line gratis, but they don't
have much of a dealer network and the machines are rather large.
If there's need, maybe my dealer's service department will help.

Thanks to everybody who replied, this was a most interesting thread!

bob prohaska