CRAP- ADVICE NEEDED

[Bretsky]

P,

Never heard of craiglist; looking at it there appears to be locations all over. Are there serious shipping charges then ? Have you dealt with them a lot in the past ?

B

[Fosco33]

P,

Never heard of craiglist; looking at it there appears to be locations all over. Are there serious shipping charges then ? Have you dealt with them a lot in the past ?

B

Man, they've been around for a long time.

I had an office next to THE original craigslist in San Fran in '02.

You can do anything there - find apartments, tickets, dates, anything.

It's a flea market of sorts - kinda like ebay in a way.

Craigslist just hosts the stuff from users on their site. You may find someone who lives near you and is moving - they'll just sell it to you and you figure out the rest.

It's the new ad section but instead of a local paper it's all over the country and online.

[Partial]

P,

Never heard of craiglist; looking at it there appears to be locations all over. Are there serious shipping charges then ? Have you dealt with them a lot in the past ?

B

MTP has used craigslist a lot. I bought a bike off their. Their generally aren't shipping charges since for the most part you just go pick up someone elses stuff. A lot of crap is on their. But, if you check religiously for a week or two, you can find someone giving away nice stuff when they are moving. You never directly deal with craigslist, you simply email the user saying you're interested and negoiate with them.

[Partial]

P,

Never heard of craiglist; looking at it there appears to be locations all over. Are there serious shipping charges then ? Have you dealt with them a lot in the past ?

B

Man, they've been around for a long time.

I had an office next to THE original craigslist in San Fran in '02.

You can do anything there - find apartments, tickets, dates, anything.

It's a flea market of sorts - kinda like ebay in a way.

Craigslist just hosts the stuff from users on their site. You may find someone who lives near you and is moving - they'll just sell it to you and you figure out the rest.

It's the new ad section but instead of a local paper it's all over the country and online.

It's not big in WI yet because the only locations are Appleton, Madison, and Milwaukee I believe.

[Freak Out]

Line dry, it saves energy and your stuff lasts longer.

Clothing gets alittle stiff when it's 10 below in Wisconsin.

As long as there is a breeze things will dry, even when it's that cold. I would imagine the humidity is very low that time of year as well.

[Guiness]

Two comments for ya Bretsky...

Haul the dryer away from the wall and pull the back off it. It's light, and it won't be hard. Don't forget to disconnect the vent first!

Once you have the back off, just look for something obvious. Could be as simple as a bad belt, which will be pretty cheap to replace. Get someont to rotate the drum by hand and listen at the back - you should be able to find the problem. You really don't need to be very mechanically adept to figure it out.

Second is wrt front loading washers - they're great! Got one a couple of years ago, and if you do any appreciable amount of washing, they're well worth it. They don't tear up clothes as badly, and will save you money on drying costs - clothes come out dryer, and spend less time in the dryer!

The Miele's are nice, but pushing $2K. Look at the Sears Kenmore/Frigidaire model (they're the same thing). On sale, should run around $800.

Stay away from the Maytag first gen front loaders (Neptune or Saturn or something?). They f@$ is up by tilting the drum back to try and make it easier to load, and it doesn't work as well.

[GrnBay007]

Second is wrt front loading washers - they're great! Got one a couple of years ago, and if you do any appreciable amount of washing, they're well worth it. They don't tear up clothes as badly, and will save you money on drying costs - clothes come out dryer, and spend less time in the dryer!

The Miele's are nice, but pushing $2K. Look at the Sears Kenmore/Frigidaire model (they're the same thing). On sale, should run around $800.

Stay away from the Maytag first gen front loaders (Neptune or Saturn or something?). They f@$ is up by tilting the drum back to try and make it easier to load, and it doesn't work as well.

I got the Frigidaire. Large capacity washer/dryer set for 1300 and a nice rebate back from the electric co. I love the wash machine.

guiness, I heard the same thing about the Neptune. Also heard people complain about them w/ a mold problem around the rubber right inside the door.

[Patler]

Line dry, it saves energy and your stuff lasts longer.

Clothing gets alittle stiff when it's 10 below in Wisconsin.

It's called "freeze drying"!

[Patler]

Two comments for ya Bretsky...

Haul the dryer away from the wall and pull the back off it. It's light, and it won't be hard. Don't forget to disconnect the vent first!

Once you have the back off, just look for something obvious. Could be as simple as a bad belt, which will be pretty cheap to replace. Get someont to rotate the drum by hand and listen at the back - you should be able to find the problem. You really don't need to be very mechanically adept to figure it out.

Bretsky;

Guiness is correct, dryers are very simple mechanically. I fixed my own for years. Besides the belt, things to check when the dryer makes noise as you describe all relate to the drive mechanism:

1. Usually the drum rests on and rotates against some pads or idler wheels on more expensive models. These wear out and are very inexpensive to replace.
2. Some dryer drums have a stub shaft in the back with bushings on it that serve as a bearing. Again, inexpensive and easy to replace.
3. The front, open end of the drum may have a seal of sorts against the frame of the dryer, also inexpensive and easy to replace if worn out.
4. I had a used commercial dryer once. The drive mechanism had a spring-biased drive wheel against the drum instead of a belt. The wheel wore out of round and caused a thumping sound against the drum. A simple and cheap repair.

Its worth a shot at fixing it yourself, so long as the heating unit continues to function. The rest is simple and inexpensive. Besides, think of how you might impress Mrs. Bretsky!

[Little Whiskey]

its funny this topic was brought up. one of my clients is Whirlpool, who this past summer aquired the maytag brand. I had the same talk with one of their head engineers. I asked him what is the best washer that they sell. his answer. the roper, low end washing machine, one of the ones with out the electronic control panels. something with the old fashion dials. he said that they actually get your cloths cleaner than the new front loaders, and the ones without an agitator.
oh ya and one more thing. they make more money on the new front loader washing machine pedistal bases than they do on the actual washing machine.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Here's a tip for guys who have to wear suits...

Don't get them dry cleaned all the time. The heat where's out the clothing faster (many suits have adhesives).

Use Febreeze and dryer sheets instead - hang them outside for an afternoon (sorry for those peeps in WI - it's 80+ here in SoCal today)

Get them drycleaned once every few months (depending on wear - I use one/day - and do 'the method' above every weekend. So 8 uses and two 'spring cleanings' can save you money in both dry cleaning and clothing replacement.

Trust me, you won't smell bad either

Unnecessary dry cleaning will shorten the life of your suit and the balance of your bank account. Get your suit cleaned only when it’s dirty. Get your suit steamed when it’s wrinkled.

You should never dry clean your suit more than twice a year. Not withstanding you've stained it. Feel free to get it pressed though.

Here is a tip. Go buy yourself a decent suit. Decent suits don't have adhesives. They are stitched not fused. The ROI of a good suit is worth it.

[GBRulz]

Re: CRAP- ADVICE NEEDED

9 years ago I bought a used Maytag Washer and Dryer for $250. Washer is going full steam; but the dryer sounds like a dead dog in going round in circles. Loud; sounds ready to die.

ANY ADVICE on where I can find a decent dryer; I'm a used kind a guy as I'd rather spend my additional money at football games, bars, and other misc entertainment.

B

Since it's just me at home, I just bought a cheap ass dryer at Sears for $300. however, for those that have families w/ kids, every person I know that bought a high end washer and dryer set, have sworn by them. They pay themselves off with what you save in water and electricity/gas. It's an investment that you really might want to consider.

Lots of places offer excellent financing and stuff, too. and remember, the day after Thanksgiving sales aren't that far away...you can be sure to find a good deal or two.

Personally, I would stay away from buying used stuff from people. You most certainly got lucky with the set you bought 9 years ago, but what if you get stuck with something that just brings problems?

[Partial]

Re: CRAP- ADVICE NEEDED

9 years ago I bought a used Maytag Washer and Dryer for $250. Washer is going full steam; but the dryer sounds like a dead dog in going round in circles. Loud; sounds ready to die.

ANY ADVICE on where I can find a decent dryer; I'm a used kind a guy as I'd rather spend my additional money at football games, bars, and other misc entertainment.

B

Since it's just me at home, I just bought a cheap ass dryer at Sears for $300. however, for those that have families w/ kids, every person I know that bought a high end washer and dryer set, have sworn by them. They pay themselves off with what you save in water and electricity/gas. It's an investment that you really might want to consider.

Lots of places offer excellent financing and stuff, too. and remember, the day after Thanksgiving sales aren't that far away...you can be sure to find a good deal or two.

Personally, I would stay away from buying used stuff from people. You most certainly got lucky with the set you bought 9 years ago, but what if you get stuck with something that just brings problems?

Then ya toss it out and get another used one. On craigslist they go for literally 10-20 bucks and are often times in very good condition since the people are moving and trying to get something in exchange for them.

[GBRulz]

Re: CRAP- ADVICE NEEDED

[quote="Partial"]

On craigslist they go for literally 10-20 bucks and are often times in very good condition since the people are moving and trying to get something in exchange for them.

10-20 bucks for a good condition dryer? Um, ok.

If people are moving, they're better off selling the appliances with the house instead of the hassle of getting a whopping $10 for them.

All I'm saying is that you get what you pay for alot of the time.

[Partial]

Re: CRAP- ADVICE NEEDED

[quote="GBRulz"]

On craigslist they go for literally 10-20 bucks and are often times in very good condition since the people are moving and trying to get something in exchange for them.

10-20 bucks for a good condition dryer? Um, ok.

If people are moving, they're better off selling the appliances with the house instead of the hassle of getting a whopping $10 for them.

All I'm saying is that you get what you pay for alot of the time.

Fair enough, 100 bucks gets you a nice washer and dryer set, though. Just went ahead and did the research.

I've seen them go for free, and i've seen them go for 10-20 bucks. It ultimately comes down to how motivated one is to finding a deal. I bought a 300 dollar bike on CL for 50 bucks and probably could have haggled it down to about 20.