Hold tight, this gets a little confusing with all the brands....
Waaaayyyyy back in the day, when I was moving into my first house (at 17, with who was going to end up being Ex #1), I purchased a used washer and dryer set. It was my first that was my "own" and I was so excited because I loved to do laundry. And every few months, the washing machine would die. We could buy a different one with $25 or $50 at that time so it wasn't a terrible thing. Ex #1 was a sports guy so the heavy lifting was negligible for me. We simply couldn't afford new. (This was almost 30 years ago, some of those washers were pink, harvest gold, and avocado green; I never did end up with a gray one.)
There was a Well-Poo dealer/service center 6 miles from us. Everybody local ran that brand of appliances. That meant that every used washer that we bought was a Well-Poo brand; because everybody originally purchased from the local service man.
Fast forward a few years, a divorce, a move close to home with another Well-Poo used washer/dryer, a "love story", a different house, another used washer/dryer set.... Of course, Well-Poo cause I didn't get very far away from home that time either (10 miles). That was washing machine number THIRTEEN. And it didn't take long to kill it. At this point, we had the cash to buy a NEW, MATCHING washer/dryer set and I was going to town to buy them. I was not going to the local guy. I was done.
I got a Gee-Yee set and when that marriage ended, I took them with me. I moved back close to home. The dryer actually died first this time, but it was 10 years old and I couldn't complain. The washer finally died in 2021 at 12 years old. A new (cha ching) El-Oh-Gee washer replaced the old Gee-Yee. The Gee-Yee washer died during a super cold and long winter and I didn't want to put up with a frozen used machine. That's the set that lives in my office. I chose El-Oh-Gee as I had one at my house that I used for 14 years that I really liked. I don't like this new one nearly as well. (I replaced the dryer with a used Frigid-Dare last year.)
In early 2021, the basement flooded in my home. That took out all the major appliances down there, including the furnace. I just kept using the laundry set at the office and went on with life. Last summer, I decided I was done hoofing dirty laundry around in my truck. I couldn't afford a new set by any means but I could afford used. I found a kid that was building a used appliance business, he lived an hour and a half away but was willing to deliver and install. Score! I think I paid $125 or $150 for each machine. Both worked great and I was happy customer, still am. Would totally buy from him again. The washer is an El-Oh-Gee just like my old one (yay!) and the dryer is a Sammie.
This past Friday night, Sammie the dryer died. I'm sure it was just the heating element but I am not dealing with that for a $125 machine. I didn't really like that machine but it worked and I was content with it for the time.
Now that we've covered my laundry appliance drama, let's cover Handsome's..... After his divorce, he found a used Mayflower washer and dryer set. The washer needed repair but it served him well for a couple years. It was a simple set, easy to use. The dryer died first. Anticipating us needing machines, he found a front load, cherry red, El-Oh-Gee set and went to pick that up. Sometime later, he found a used front load, charcoal gray set and put them aside for me. (I drooled, It was purty.)
He installed the red El-Oh-Gee dryer and used it with the Mayflower washer for awhile. The Mayflower washer died a few weeks ago and he brought the red El-Oh-Gee washer in and it was crap; he had been duped. So he took the pretty gray washing machine in and set it up.... Well, it isn't simple to use. It has FAR too many options for a guy that just needs to wash dirty work jeans. I went, looked it over, and watched YouTube videos about how to run it. We got it set up with settings that he can wash and go. He hates the thing. He can't wait to dump it in my lap.
The entire time Handsome is fighting with this gorgeous charcoal gray washer, I'm not really registering what brand it is.
SO, Handsome brought me the matching gray dryer. We got it down the basement steps and installed and it works beautifully. I had to watch some YouTube videos about how to run the thing. It's super fancy. AND.....the gorgeous gray set that half lives at his house and half lives at my house? It's a Well-Poo....
Does brand TRULY matter anymore? There's been so much consolidation....
And no, I'm not going to trade washers with him right now. The El-Oh-Gee at my house is getting weak and having trouble spinning out sometimes, so it's just a matter of time. Then we can go get him a washer that better suits his laundry needs and bring the gray one to my place. Our backs are both out from just doing the dryers yesterday!
Just a note: I don't remember the back in the day dryers going out very quickly. I know one that I had back then, it was 15 years old when I got it and still worked well. And you know these old Well-Poo washers all came from hardworking farm families that didn't let the washers rest either. I have to give Well-Poo credit, now that I'm older, that the machines were hardily built during that era. Because of the colors, I have to assume that some of the machines were from the 70s and 80s and were going to their last home in the 90s/2000s. That's a very long life for a washer/dryer compared to nowadays.