The AikiHomestead
Our Lifestyle Blog as We Create a Homestead in Northern Ontario
2023-05-24
A New Washing Machine
So our old Sonya washing machine finally gave up the ghost after seven years of service.I had JUST repaired it earlier in the year, but it wasn't to be. A week or two ago, with a jarring "clunk", it suddenly stopped agitating altogether.
I understand that seven years isn't really a long time for a washing machine, when models from decades past would last literally decades - but for something cheap, plastic, and designed for apartment use, it definitely paid its own way, compared to the alternative of us having to take laundry to the city and pay to feed machines and spend time at the laundromat.
In any case, we consulted various online retailers and ended up settling on ordering this Comfee model that advertised as being 1.8L capacity from WalMart - an identical price to Amazon (affiliate link), but we have the WalMart MasterCard, so we received a few extra pennies in WalMart rewards by purchasing with them.
So far I am very pleased with it. In an effort to make sure the solenoid in it lasts longer, I did put in place a particulate filter (this WAS purchased from Amazon).
The new machine seems to be notably smaller than the Sonya, but that just means that I have been doing "artisanal small batches" of laundry at a time. It's been easy to keep up, and hanging is nicer when it's just a couple items at a time. I have been making a huge effort to not overload the machine, something I definitely think I was doing with the Sonya.
One slight user interface shortcoming that this shares with the Sonya is that the most commonly used programme (at least in our household) is not the default programme on the machine. With both the Sonya and this machine, the default programme was always an extra heavy wash. On the Sonya it was about three button presses to get to "normal" - with the Comfee, it's actually FIVE presses of the programme button to cycle all the way through EVERY other cycle to return to "normal".
I have also started experimenting with adding oxygen booster to the washing machine. I will perhaps report back if I think it's making a real change to our quality of life.
Otherwise, very pleased to be able to do our own laundry again. Machines like this are perfect for small cabins and families!