Poor description here. I thought I was getting an old school water-guzzling top loader. What I got was a high efficiency machine that doesnt use much water and the lid locks through the whole cycle. This is basically a top loading front loader. Bought for my 82 year old mom and she was sorely disappointed. However I am expecting this to be a great machine overall. Love Speed queen.
I finally have clean clothes again. After the last 6 yrs with a GE top load HE piece of garbage I started to doubt whether my memory was even correct after all, as in did I only imagine that my previous washing machines with agitators and actual WATER in the wash cycle were really cleaning my clothes? I would even google "do HE machines clean" and would get 9 people saying yes, they're great, to one saying absolutely NO. I was in that No category because my machine, at least, did not. I would pull the clothes out and see the exact same spots and dirt I'd put them in there with. So after 6 yrs enough was enough, even for over $800 I was willing to find out the answer because I was tired of scrubbing out spots at the kitchen sink with a toothbrush prior to washing. Thank goodness for this Speed Queen. IT CLEANS CLOTHES!!! Beautifully.
I got this with the dryer that matches it. They are both incredible. My clothes smell cleaner with far less soap. I'm sure it's using less water than my older washer. Clothes feel better too. This is a quality machine. So glad I got it.
We battled our high price front load washer for years. It never cleaned the clothes properly and we had to resort to rinsing them in the bathtub. The clothes smelled like mildew the minute any heat from the sun hit them. I was spraying myself down with Lysol and body sprays all day, but you could still smell the mildew. After MONTHS of research and reading, we finally settled on this Speed Queen. It is like the old school washer your mom had in the 1980s that actually worked and produced fresh, clean clothes before the government stepped in to make everything high efficiency which does not use enough water or enough hot water to rinse out the soap. This Speed Queen works!! We bought straight from Amazon, had it delivered to our door, and it was a perfect experience. I also applied for the Amazon Prime card to make the purchase because I didn't want to wait on saving up for it, and that, too, was a flawless transaction. I was approved and had the machine purchased and on its way immediately. We have used this machine each day for several months, and it is wonderful. It washes quickly, it fills right up to the top and if I want to add an extra rinse, I can do so. I have considered buying another one to hide in my closet to use in 10 years when this one breaks. I like it that much and am pretty sure that with the way things are going with government regulation that these machines won't be made in the future. GET ONE - you will not regret it!!!
I never write reviews, but felt the need to give my opinion on the Speed Queen washing machine. Simply put - this thing is built like a tank. After 4 years of disappointment with a Samsung HE machine, I purchased the SQ and couldn't be more happier.
My brother has worked in the appliance parts business for decades, so when I needed to replace a washer, I asked him for a recommendation, and he said hands down Speed Queen made the best, most reliable products, so that is what I got. It runs quiet and does a great job cleaning the clothes.
I bought my AWN432 from a local dealer a year ago. Wonderful washing machine with a smooth motor and transmission. It hasn't given me a moments worry since the day I got in March 2016. I mostly use the Heavy Duty/Perm Press cycle on Normal and my wash is clean and done in a half hour. Gorgeous rugged stainless steel tub. Looks and feels like it's built like a tank. The manual knobs are easy to use and the kind I prefer. It gives me the options to add additional spin time or rinses with just the spin of the dial. I can soak for as long as I want simply by pushing the timer knob in, then pull it back out to begin the process of washing after a nice long soak. The automatic softenor dispensor works great. I feel confident with this washer as it seems to be old school ruggedness and build quality. You won't regret buying this machine a bit. 5/24/17 update - I thought I would share some additional info. that you might be interested in. I usually use the Heavy Duty/Perm Press cycle. There are three timer positions within that cycle which effect how long the wash agitation lasts...Heavy, Normal, Light. On Heavy the wash agitation is around 15 minutes. On Normal the agitation is around 9 minutes. On Light the agitation is around 6 minutes. I typically use Warm water and about a three quarters filled tub. Using that as a reference the complete cycle time (start to finish) on Heavy is around 37 minutes, Normal is around 31 minutes, Light is around 28 minutes....your times may vary depending on your water pressure and height of tub fill.
SPEEDQUEEN 432 PROS: HOT' WATER: straight out of the tap and is not diluted by cold water as many new machines today QUICK 'CYCLE: A Heavy duty hot water cycle is just 30 minutes. QUIET: Oh so quiet!!! It is almost hypnotic to listen to the soft whoosh. I' live in a condo so having a quiet machine is important as the laundry closet is in the living room. LARGE CAPACITY: easily washes four queen size sheets and eight pillowcases, plus pajamas, and other assorted clothes. ADD' WATER 'FEATURE : Becaue the government has placed water restrictions on all washers the water does not go all the way up to the top. But you can override this feature by the add water feature. ('make sure to watch so you don't overfull washer) SOAK: you can soak the clothes as long as you like according to the prescribed manner by Speedqueen. Water will not automatically let out after seven minutes as most new machines do COMMERCIAL MACHINE: heavy duty commercial quality washer, same as the laundromats use NO 'COMPUTER: No lid lock, no computer to malfunction, simple rotary dial. STAYS 'IN 'BALANCE: machine NEVER goes out of balance even with bathroom rugs!! CLEAN 'CLOTHES: Gets clothes really clean, and if you have grass or dirt it washes right out of the machine unlike some new machines. XTRA Rinse Cycle: CAN 'USE 'OXY-'WASH: no new HE machine recommends OXY'WASH as it will destroy machine over time. STAINLESS' STEEL 'TUB: great feature. CONS: You have to add water softner by hand if you use the extra rinse cycle.'Not a big deal. I bought a Speedqueen 432. LOVE' IT! LOVE 'IT'! 'LOVE 'IT!! It has no computer, no lid lock, no automatic release of water if you try to soak the clothes in the manner prescribed by SpeedQueen. It has hot water right out of tap!' Hot water is not diluted with cold. No 2 -3 hour wash cycle with the hot water as in the new style machines. QUICK cycles! Regular hot water cycle is still only 30 minutes!! You have to love Speed Queen for that. 'the Speed Queen is only machine on the market where you can still get hot water out of your tap without it being diluted with cold due to the new government regulations). It works. That is all I ever wanted was a machine that get clothes clean and works. Once again I must say LOVE' IT!' LOVE 'IT! 'LOVE 'IT! Their technical department at Speed Queen Rocks! They really know their stuff. They are trained. (Whirlpool tech dept seems to have no training. You might as well pull a girl off the register at your local market for help.) I' have had this machine for three months now. I expect it to be reliable as the reviews by people on internet are fantastic. My friend's aunt has hers for 20 years now and it is still running. However I will give updates as it ages. You can buy it on Amazon. I bought it from a local Mom and Pop Appliance Store. Speedqueen does not sell to the Big Box Stores. I had to have someone lift it and place it for me so I had to buy from a local store with men to do this for me. It is a commercial washer with a 3 yr warranty. 5 yr on motor and 10 yr on transmission. My best suggestion is to carefully research the unit you buy. The new government regulations have messed up what used to be a simple project-- to buy a washer that gets clothes clean and works without computer errors. Nowadays you must ask for cycle lengths, water temperatures and pay very close attention to the reviews. If three people out of ten have a lid lock issue that is a 30% failure rate. Many machines get great reviews in Consumers Reports but then the actual reviewers out in the real world say the machines fail due to computer errors, or spins holes into their clothes, or in spite of all precautions their clothes smell like mold. There are many real world reviews that say the water temperature for a hot water wash was really 60 degrees in the winter. If you have allergies and need a hot water cycle then do lots of research and get a certifed NSF'allergen cycle. But as I have read some machines say they have this cycle but don't actually deliver in actuality...this includes LG and Samsung who have both have admitted problems in this area. LG'admits this was a problem and says it was fixed but recent reviews suggest otherwise. LG is a 3 hour hot water wash, Samsung is 2 hours, and Kenmore is 100 minutes. (this is supposedly green technology!) But whether you get the hot water is another story. People sticking a thermometer in the water are getting 60 degrees for a hot water wash. Computer errors abound this year in the land of washers.'Reviewers complain of computer errors and their clothes trapped in the washer until a repair person arrives. Lots of unhappy washers out there right now thanks to the new government regulations for 2011.( if you are not one of them then thank your lucky stars).'From what I have read, if the company does not obey they don't get their tax rebates. At this point there are too many problems with the washers this year so I went with the Speed Queen as it has no computer, a hot wash in just 30 minutes and my clothes will not smell like mold. How I wish someone had written this on a review so I could have purchased the Speed Queen first. There really is no comparison between the Speedqueen 432 and the Whirlpool WTW4800XQ. Speedqueen wins hands down. Whirlpool machine was such an ordeal breaking on the second wash load. PLease read my review on Whirlpool if you are tempted to buy the whirlpool. UPDATE: DECEMBER 2015 My Speed Queen has never had a problem. It works great. I still LOVE this machine. There is no question that I would recommend this machine to everyone.
Our 28 year old Whirlpool washer died. Several customer reps, when checking to repair or replace, said today's washers will not last that long, but maybe half that time if we're lucky. I checked front loading, newer fancy front and top loading with way too many digital options to be a serious washer. We found a highly rated, reliable, made in the US, washer that could be delivered in just a few days. Bought it, installed it easily. I even had to return hoses that I bought from a big box store - to be ready for the unit. The washer came with their own hoses. Most companies that I checked did not include them. We have used the very quiet, smooth running machine. It has dial options and minimal digital "stuff" to break quickly. I would just like some color options for the fun of it; however, after hours of researching for a replacement, we are very happy after just a couple of months usage.
This washing machine replaced a, literally, model year 1991 Maytag washing machine that came with my house when I bought it in 2015. After 25 years of being in the house (and nearly 2 years of my own use), I retired the Maytag this past December. It still ran, but it gotten noisier and noisier and parts availability was scarce. Not even Maytag themselves maintained any specs on the machine to refer to. Even when I rented, I had an the old-style agitator washing machine I dragged from apartment to apartment so when I went to buy a new one, I was a little bit unsure because the new HE styles always came with groans and complaints that clothes were never clean and that the machines felt cheap. I went to a few appliance stores, selected a model, found the store selling it for the best price and went there. The one with the least amount of terrible reviews under $700 was the goal. The salesguy approached me and wrote down my order. He said he would be GLAD to sell me the new machine I had selected, but he just wanted to *show* me the Speed Queen. I stood there like the clueless recent-new-homeowner-guy-in-his-mid-30s that I am. "Huh? A what?!?" At first, I was skeptical. Speed Queen. Reminded me of laundromats. I'd never seen a Speed Queen in anybody's home before. Everybody buys Amana, LG, Samsung, Maytag. Speed Queen sounded like an off-brand with an inflated price. Did this guy get a sick kickback if he sold me this trash? But, then it all made sense. Being in a laundromat gave it a weird connotation, but honestly -- those machines are in absolutely CONSTANT use and this company is able to create a machine that can deal with it, and furthermore, make it their specialty since residential sales are clearly not their strength. They RELY on commercial sales. He asked me to consider it. Read the reviews on them. Try to find a source that doubted their ability. I could not find one. I could not find a single place on the international interwebs that said they were a "bad buy". Yeah, there is nothing HE about them. It sucks up electricity and water at the same rate as my 1991 Maytag. But, you know what? Those clothes came out clean -- no questions asked. Most of the reviews on the newest designs the big guys were making were negative. That they didn't use enough water to remove dirt and stains. That their electronic components were unreliable and often rendered the machine useless when they failed prematurely. Here's the Speed Queen smiling dopily in the corner. It uses gallon after gallon of water, you'd think wastefully. Like your grandma's old power-sucking washing machine. You think I'm going to say it's "Not Your Grandma's Washing Machine". You're wrong. It *IS* your grandma's washing machine!!! And it's effing amazing. Not a single LED light bulb on it's display. Not a single touch-sensitive sensor to change water temperature. Nope. This here is a series of chintzy-looking dials on a stationery backplate. No bells. No whistles. No displays. This washing machine is here to tell you that you don't *NEED* that crazy stuff. Moreso, it's going to prove it to you. It's going to cost you *more* than an entry level HE machine, which is enough to scare most people off. It looks like something you could buy on Craigslist for $50, why should you spend [enter list price here] on it? Here's why. My friends and coworkers still whine about their HE machines giving out, breaking down, requiring replacement every 5 years. Fighting for repair within warranty 6 months into ownership. They still have coffee stains on their shirts. Pizza grease on their pants. Their white socks look like they ditched shoes for a day and wandered a swamp. *My* clothes are clean. CLEAN, I tell you. I've only had this machine for 6 months, but I know I won't be replacing it in 5 years. Because Speed Queen has a 10-effin-year warranty on most components! I know, I know... "most" components. You'd be right. My appliance dealer, though, gave me *in writing* that everything is covered for 10 years... except the transmission. That's only covered for 15... what?!? Loads? No, you animal -- years. FIFTEEN YEARS for that part. Did I mention it's made in Wisconsin?!? Yeah, this washing machine smells like America's heartland... because that's where it came from. It's blown in fresh from dairy farms where all the best cheese in 'Murica is made (but a special shout-out to all those European cheeses, too -- you make the world go 'round!). I'm giving this Speed Queen a FIVE STAR review because it's unafraid to be unoriginal. It has ONE JOB, cleaning your clothes, your sheets, your curtains, your small areas rugs like it's 1990... and it actually freaking does it right the first time. I am converted. Consider me in.
Sudath de Silva
Not a conventional washer
Poor description here. I thought I was getting an old school water-guzzling top loader. What I got was a high efficiency machine that doesnt use much water and the lid locks through the whole cycle. This is basically a top loading front loader. Bought for my 82 year old mom and she was sorely disappointed. However I am expecting this to be a great machine overall. Love Speed queen.
Johannes M. Koch
It Actually CLEANS Clothes, What A Concept!
I finally have clean clothes again. After the last 6 yrs with a GE top load HE piece of garbage I started to doubt whether my memory was even correct after all, as in did I only imagine that my previous washing machines with agitators and actual WATER in the wash cycle were really cleaning my clothes? I would even google "do HE machines clean" and would get 9 people saying yes, they're great, to one saying absolutely NO. I was in that No category because my machine, at least, did not. I would pull the clothes out and see the exact same spots and dirt I'd put them in there with. So after 6 yrs enough was enough, even for over $800 I was willing to find out the answer because I was tired of scrubbing out spots at the kitchen sink with a toothbrush prior to washing. Thank goodness for this Speed Queen. IT CLEANS CLOTHES!!! Beautifully.
Shannon S Green
Clothes feel better too. This is a quality machine
I got this with the dryer that matches it. They are both incredible. My clothes smell cleaner with far less soap. I'm sure it's using less water than my older washer. Clothes feel better too. This is a quality machine. So glad I got it.
Ebony Jones
Clean clothes and towels . . . finally!! EXCELLENT WASHER!!!
We battled our high price front load washer for years. It never cleaned the clothes properly and we had to resort to rinsing them in the bathtub. The clothes smelled like mildew the minute any heat from the sun hit them. I was spraying myself down with Lysol and body sprays all day, but you could still smell the mildew. After MONTHS of research and reading, we finally settled on this Speed Queen. It is like the old school washer your mom had in the 1980s that actually worked and produced fresh, clean clothes before the government stepped in to make everything high efficiency which does not use enough water or enough hot water to rinse out the soap. This Speed Queen works!! We bought straight from Amazon, had it delivered to our door, and it was a perfect experience. I also applied for the Amazon Prime card to make the purchase because I didn't want to wait on saving up for it, and that, too, was a flawless transaction. I was approved and had the machine purchased and on its way immediately. We have used this machine each day for several months, and it is wonderful. It washes quickly, it fills right up to the top and if I want to add an extra rinse, I can do so. I have considered buying another one to hide in my closet to use in 10 years when this one breaks. I like it that much and am pretty sure that with the way things are going with government regulation that these machines won't be made in the future. GET ONE - you will not regret it!!!
Pamela Michelle Peavy
Simply put - this thing is built like a tank
I never write reviews, but felt the need to give my opinion on the Speed Queen washing machine. Simply put - this thing is built like a tank. After 4 years of disappointment with a Samsung HE machine, I purchased the SQ and couldn't be more happier.
Jennifer Krupa-Hawk
You get what you pay for.
My brother has worked in the appliance parts business for decades, so when I needed to replace a washer, I asked him for a recommendation, and he said hands down Speed Queen made the best, most reliable products, so that is what I got. It runs quiet and does a great job cleaning the clothes.
Emmie Lou
Confident It Will Last
I bought my AWN432 from a local dealer a year ago. Wonderful washing machine with a smooth motor and transmission. It hasn't given me a moments worry since the day I got in March 2016. I mostly use the Heavy Duty/Perm Press cycle on Normal and my wash is clean and done in a half hour. Gorgeous rugged stainless steel tub. Looks and feels like it's built like a tank. The manual knobs are easy to use and the kind I prefer. It gives me the options to add additional spin time or rinses with just the spin of the dial. I can soak for as long as I want simply by pushing the timer knob in, then pull it back out to begin the process of washing after a nice long soak. The automatic softenor dispensor works great. I feel confident with this washer as it seems to be old school ruggedness and build quality. You won't regret buying this machine a bit. 5/24/17 update - I thought I would share some additional info. that you might be interested in. I usually use the Heavy Duty/Perm Press cycle. There are three timer positions within that cycle which effect how long the wash agitation lasts...Heavy, Normal, Light. On Heavy the wash agitation is around 15 minutes. On Normal the agitation is around 9 minutes. On Light the agitation is around 6 minutes. I typically use Warm water and about a three quarters filled tub. Using that as a reference the complete cycle time (start to finish) on Heavy is around 37 minutes, Normal is around 31 minutes, Light is around 28 minutes....your times may vary depending on your water pressure and height of tub fill.
TodoLakas Udani
BEST WASHER!!! LOVE IT!
SPEEDQUEEN 432 PROS: HOT' WATER: straight out of the tap and is not diluted by cold water as many new machines today QUICK 'CYCLE: A Heavy duty hot water cycle is just 30 minutes. QUIET: Oh so quiet!!! It is almost hypnotic to listen to the soft whoosh. I' live in a condo so having a quiet machine is important as the laundry closet is in the living room. LARGE CAPACITY: easily washes four queen size sheets and eight pillowcases, plus pajamas, and other assorted clothes. ADD' WATER 'FEATURE : Becaue the government has placed water restrictions on all washers the water does not go all the way up to the top. But you can override this feature by the add water feature. ('make sure to watch so you don't overfull washer) SOAK: you can soak the clothes as long as you like according to the prescribed manner by Speedqueen. Water will not automatically let out after seven minutes as most new machines do COMMERCIAL MACHINE: heavy duty commercial quality washer, same as the laundromats use NO 'COMPUTER: No lid lock, no computer to malfunction, simple rotary dial. STAYS 'IN 'BALANCE: machine NEVER goes out of balance even with bathroom rugs!! CLEAN 'CLOTHES: Gets clothes really clean, and if you have grass or dirt it washes right out of the machine unlike some new machines. XTRA Rinse Cycle: CAN 'USE 'OXY-'WASH: no new HE machine recommends OXY'WASH as it will destroy machine over time. STAINLESS' STEEL 'TUB: great feature. CONS: You have to add water softner by hand if you use the extra rinse cycle.'Not a big deal. I bought a Speedqueen 432. LOVE' IT! LOVE 'IT'! 'LOVE 'IT!! It has no computer, no lid lock, no automatic release of water if you try to soak the clothes in the manner prescribed by SpeedQueen. It has hot water right out of tap!' Hot water is not diluted with cold. No 2 -3 hour wash cycle with the hot water as in the new style machines. QUICK cycles! Regular hot water cycle is still only 30 minutes!! You have to love Speed Queen for that. 'the Speed Queen is only machine on the market where you can still get hot water out of your tap without it being diluted with cold due to the new government regulations). It works. That is all I ever wanted was a machine that get clothes clean and works. Once again I must say LOVE' IT!' LOVE 'IT! 'LOVE 'IT! Their technical department at Speed Queen Rocks! They really know their stuff. They are trained. (Whirlpool tech dept seems to have no training. You might as well pull a girl off the register at your local market for help.) I' have had this machine for three months now. I expect it to be reliable as the reviews by people on internet are fantastic. My friend's aunt has hers for 20 years now and it is still running. However I will give updates as it ages. You can buy it on Amazon. I bought it from a local Mom and Pop Appliance Store. Speedqueen does not sell to the Big Box Stores. I had to have someone lift it and place it for me so I had to buy from a local store with men to do this for me. It is a commercial washer with a 3 yr warranty. 5 yr on motor and 10 yr on transmission. My best suggestion is to carefully research the unit you buy. The new government regulations have messed up what used to be a simple project-- to buy a washer that gets clothes clean and works without computer errors. Nowadays you must ask for cycle lengths, water temperatures and pay very close attention to the reviews. If three people out of ten have a lid lock issue that is a 30% failure rate. Many machines get great reviews in Consumers Reports but then the actual reviewers out in the real world say the machines fail due to computer errors, or spins holes into their clothes, or in spite of all precautions their clothes smell like mold. There are many real world reviews that say the water temperature for a hot water wash was really 60 degrees in the winter. If you have allergies and need a hot water cycle then do lots of research and get a certifed NSF'allergen cycle. But as I have read some machines say they have this cycle but don't actually deliver in actuality...this includes LG and Samsung who have both have admitted problems in this area. LG'admits this was a problem and says it was fixed but recent reviews suggest otherwise. LG is a 3 hour hot water wash, Samsung is 2 hours, and Kenmore is 100 minutes. (this is supposedly green technology!) But whether you get the hot water is another story. People sticking a thermometer in the water are getting 60 degrees for a hot water wash. Computer errors abound this year in the land of washers.'Reviewers complain of computer errors and their clothes trapped in the washer until a repair person arrives. Lots of unhappy washers out there right now thanks to the new government regulations for 2011.( if you are not one of them then thank your lucky stars).'From what I have read, if the company does not obey they don't get their tax rebates. At this point there are too many problems with the washers this year so I went with the Speed Queen as it has no computer, a hot wash in just 30 minutes and my clothes will not smell like mold. How I wish someone had written this on a review so I could have purchased the Speed Queen first. There really is no comparison between the Speedqueen 432 and the Whirlpool WTW4800XQ. Speedqueen wins hands down. Whirlpool machine was such an ordeal breaking on the second wash load. PLease read my review on Whirlpool if you are tempted to buy the whirlpool. UPDATE: DECEMBER 2015 My Speed Queen has never had a problem. It works great. I still LOVE this machine. There is no question that I would recommend this machine to everyone.
Maj Jackson
This is the machine; forget the fancier ones
Our 28 year old Whirlpool washer died. Several customer reps, when checking to repair or replace, said today's washers will not last that long, but maybe half that time if we're lucky. I checked front loading, newer fancy front and top loading with way too many digital options to be a serious washer. We found a highly rated, reliable, made in the US, washer that could be delivered in just a few days. Bought it, installed it easily. I even had to return hoses that I bought from a big box store - to be ready for the unit. The washer came with their own hoses. Most companies that I checked did not include them. We have used the very quiet, smooth running machine. It has dial options and minimal digital "stuff" to break quickly. I would just like some color options for the fun of it; however, after hours of researching for a replacement, we are very happy after just a couple of months usage.
Nathaly Desilets
Old School Clean
This washing machine replaced a, literally, model year 1991 Maytag washing machine that came with my house when I bought it in 2015. After 25 years of being in the house (and nearly 2 years of my own use), I retired the Maytag this past December. It still ran, but it gotten noisier and noisier and parts availability was scarce. Not even Maytag themselves maintained any specs on the machine to refer to. Even when I rented, I had an the old-style agitator washing machine I dragged from apartment to apartment so when I went to buy a new one, I was a little bit unsure because the new HE styles always came with groans and complaints that clothes were never clean and that the machines felt cheap. I went to a few appliance stores, selected a model, found the store selling it for the best price and went there. The one with the least amount of terrible reviews under $700 was the goal. The salesguy approached me and wrote down my order. He said he would be GLAD to sell me the new machine I had selected, but he just wanted to *show* me the Speed Queen. I stood there like the clueless recent-new-homeowner-guy-in-his-mid-30s that I am. "Huh? A what?!?" At first, I was skeptical. Speed Queen. Reminded me of laundromats. I'd never seen a Speed Queen in anybody's home before. Everybody buys Amana, LG, Samsung, Maytag. Speed Queen sounded like an off-brand with an inflated price. Did this guy get a sick kickback if he sold me this trash? But, then it all made sense. Being in a laundromat gave it a weird connotation, but honestly -- those machines are in absolutely CONSTANT use and this company is able to create a machine that can deal with it, and furthermore, make it their specialty since residential sales are clearly not their strength. They RELY on commercial sales. He asked me to consider it. Read the reviews on them. Try to find a source that doubted their ability. I could not find one. I could not find a single place on the international interwebs that said they were a "bad buy". Yeah, there is nothing HE about them. It sucks up electricity and water at the same rate as my 1991 Maytag. But, you know what? Those clothes came out clean -- no questions asked. Most of the reviews on the newest designs the big guys were making were negative. That they didn't use enough water to remove dirt and stains. That their electronic components were unreliable and often rendered the machine useless when they failed prematurely. Here's the Speed Queen smiling dopily in the corner. It uses gallon after gallon of water, you'd think wastefully. Like your grandma's old power-sucking washing machine. You think I'm going to say it's "Not Your Grandma's Washing Machine". You're wrong. It *IS* your grandma's washing machine!!! And it's effing amazing. Not a single LED light bulb on it's display. Not a single touch-sensitive sensor to change water temperature. Nope. This here is a series of chintzy-looking dials on a stationery backplate. No bells. No whistles. No displays. This washing machine is here to tell you that you don't *NEED* that crazy stuff. Moreso, it's going to prove it to you. It's going to cost you *more* than an entry level HE machine, which is enough to scare most people off. It looks like something you could buy on Craigslist for $50, why should you spend [enter list price here] on it? Here's why. My friends and coworkers still whine about their HE machines giving out, breaking down, requiring replacement every 5 years. Fighting for repair within warranty 6 months into ownership. They still have coffee stains on their shirts. Pizza grease on their pants. Their white socks look like they ditched shoes for a day and wandered a swamp. *My* clothes are clean. CLEAN, I tell you. I've only had this machine for 6 months, but I know I won't be replacing it in 5 years. Because Speed Queen has a 10-effin-year warranty on most components! I know, I know... "most" components. You'd be right. My appliance dealer, though, gave me *in writing* that everything is covered for 10 years... except the transmission. That's only covered for 15... what?!? Loads? No, you animal -- years. FIFTEEN YEARS for that part. Did I mention it's made in Wisconsin?!? Yeah, this washing machine smells like America's heartland... because that's where it came from. It's blown in fresh from dairy farms where all the best cheese in 'Murica is made (but a special shout-out to all those European cheeses, too -- you make the world go 'round!). I'm giving this Speed Queen a FIVE STAR review because it's unafraid to be unoriginal. It has ONE JOB, cleaning your clothes, your sheets, your curtains, your small areas rugs like it's 1990... and it actually freaking does it right the first time. I am converted. Consider me in.