Would you buy a new dryer to match a new washing machine?

[Sadie22]

I noted in the Budget folder that my washing machine stopped working. The machine was eight and a half years old, and the cost to repair was over $500. I have opted to replace the old washer. That means the replacement washer will not match the old dryer which was purchased at the same time as the old washer.

The old washer was a high efficiency toploader. We opted for a red front-loader washer on a pedestal. The old dryer is a black, traditional design, traditional height machine. It still performs as well as when it was brand new.

This is definitely not a budget question. What would you do in my shoes? Would you get a new dryer and pedestal, matching the new washer, or would you keep the old dryer until it is no longer useful?

 

[rchristiansen]

I'd keep the dryer until it stops working. Washing machines and dryers aren't a design feature.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I'm not one that cares if they match or not so I would keep it until it breaks. That said, my dryer went out last summer, a year after replacing my washer, and when I replaced it I actually got one that matched my washer, and I didn't even know it until they set it up.

 

[powellrj]

My washer broke a few years ago and I got one that didn't match my dryer. Doesn't bother me at all.

 

[scrapquitler]

I wouldn't bother. But then again, my washer and dryer are in the basement and I'm the only one that sees them.

 

[avgeek81]

I wouldnt either. I dont think my family has ever bought a washer/dryer at the same time. We just wait unitl one breaks. Ours are in the basement also and even there, they arent next to each other so i dont think anyone would notice if they match.

 

[Momvic5]

I would purchase a new dryer too. After time, I think the fact that they didn't match or line up would bother me. We purchased the fold top for our matching washer/dryer set, and I love that feature.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

If I had the extra money, then yes I would get the matching dryer. Especially if they look so different. My grandma always gets the matching one, it bugs her too much not to. It's yet to be an issue, but I suspect I would too, given I wasn't strapped for cash.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I would buy the best model that fit my needs and budget at the time I needed whatever the item is, period. Matching doesn't matter to me at all, and washers & dryers have different expected lifetimes. I love Consumer Reports, and they rarely recommend "sets" of appliances.

 

[golfgal]

I would probably buy a matching set. My laundry room is on our main floor and visible as you walk in the front door. It would bother me too much to have mismatched machines .

 

[Sadie22]

I would buy the best model that fit my needs and budget at the time I needed whatever the item is, period. Matching doesn't matter to me at all, and washers & dryers have different expected lifetimes. I love Consumer Reports, and they rarely recommend "sets" of appliances.

I have used my online subscription to Consumer Reports so much over the past several years that I kept renewing it. You're right about the sets. Of the washers which I considered, few of the "matching" dryers rate as well as others, if the matching dryer even appears in the ratings.

When we bought the black set, the washer that was in our house when we purchased the house had failed. I didn't like the way the old dryer performed due to its having one temperature setting -- hot enough to melt delicate fabrics. We held onto that old dryer, however, and when DS moved into an apartment with hookups, he took the dryer, along with a working washer a friend was discarding when he bought a more efficient model. Both appliances are still in use. When he moves on within the next year, DS will likely leave them behind.

Our laundry facilities are in our laundry/pantry/mud room, so all of us see them several times every day. A matching set is definitely not a necessity, however.

 

[minkydog]

I guess if it bothered me a lot AND I had the money for it, I would get the matching dryer. That said, I have never had matching appliances. It seems like our washers and dryers have all gone out at different times. We're lucky to have a Sears Appliance Outlet nearby. We shop there for all our appliances. You can't believe the discounts you can get if you're willing to take an appliance with a minor scratch or some other defect that doesn't impede functioning.

 

[DrCavin]

We just moved & bought a washer/dryer. I refused to pay ~$250 for those pedestal, so I made them. Have about $75 in material & 3 hours of time.

 

[babyrich]

if its not a money issue, go ahead and buy the pair; but donate your dryer if it still works. I bet someone could use it.

 

[Sadie22]

We just moved & bought a washer/dryer. I refused to pay ~$250 for those pedestal, so I made them. Have about $75 in material & 3 hours of time.

DH can repair many things, but he's no carpenter. Those are beautiful.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'd keep the old dryer till it stopped working.
As a matter of fact, I just did that very thing....got a new front load washer which is on the pedestal (cuz I am old and don't want to bend way down!) and have the old dryer sitting right next to it.

 

[fairestoneofall]

as long as the dryer is working, i'd keep it. no sense spending money you don't need to just to match something.

in our last kitchen, we had a white stove (14 years old and still ticking), black dishwasher and a stainless steel fridge. the fridge was because we anticipated taking it with us when we moved (the buyers wanted it though). the dishwasher was because we got a great deal on it. we waited and waited for the stove to die, but it never did. so, no need to replace it just to match.

and this was a room you could see. i definitely wouldn't care about it if it were hidden away in the laundry room.

 

[mom2rb]

I don't care but DH does. The compromise was I bought a matching set, but I bought them at the Sears Outlet. They have a few scratches and dents but they match.

 

[DrCavin]

DH can repair many things, but he's no carpenter. Those are beautiful.

Thanks, Im not anywhere near Norm Abram as a carpenter either. They were very easy to make.

 

[tar heel]

It would be hard to convey just how little I care about whether my washer and dryer matches. They actually did for a few years, though, until November b/c my last ones had broken about six months apart. When the dryer broke, I just got the one that matched the washer b/c it was the easy thing to do.

The dryer I a bought in November is a Maytag and it is one lousy dryer.