Asko? No. Ask me instead!

Here's a picture of our Asko front loading washing machine. This is the third one we've owned since 1996. In all fairness, we bought the first one when we lived in Australia where the brand is fairly popular, in large part due to its efficient use of water. When it was time for us to return the States we left our Asko machine Down Under because of continental electrical incompatibility. One of our North Adelaide neighbors eagerly bought the machine.

We liked the performance of the machine well enough to buy a similar Asko after we got settled back in North America. In the roughly eight years that we owned that washing machine it required no fewer than 14 service calls. We stopped counting. I have no idea how many times the repair guys had to come to the house. It needed a new motor. Then it started leaking. The leak went from bad to worse. The repair guys worked on the machine. I worked on the machine. At one point, we had three repair guys at the house at one time. Tools scattered around the floor. Parts everywhere. I recall that last visit. One guy was on his mobile to Asko service in Texas. Another guy had his head in the drum, muttering under his breath while the third guy was talking to his boss on another mobile.

The short story here is they couldn't repair the eight year-old Asko. So, Asko, making good on its lifetime warranty (when the malfunction is related to the stainless steel drum as was the case here) offered us a deal on a new machine, prorated by some sort of formula related to the value of the old machine. Despite my vow to never buy another Asko, we bit. They sold us a new machine more-or-less at their distributer cost, significantly less than we could have negotiated at a retailer.

The new machine worked well enough. But shortly before we moved from Cleveland Heights, it started leaking. I ignored the leak because it was relatively minor and we were so busy getting ready to move across the country figuring I'd deal with it when we got settled. This past weekend I finally got around to confronting the leak. Turned out it was a bad hose clamp on the drain pump. They use these one-shot crimp-on clamps that cannot be reused. A trip to the local Ace Hardware store and we were back in business.

On the upside, these little front loaders are terrificly efficient machines. The Askos require only a cold water connection because they heat their own water to the desired temperature. They use remarkably little water. With a 1,600 RPM spin cycle the clothes come out requiring less time in the dryer. And the absence of a top loader's agitator spindle mean the clothes don't get so beat up. But on the downside, as a brand--and in our experience--the Askos require a lot of service care. I am considerably better acquainted with their innards than I'd like to be. So, if you're considering a front loader, before you buy an Asko, ask me. I think this will be our last Asko. Next time, perhaps we'll bet on a Bosch or Whirlpool.

A Royal Flush(er)

The toilet in our one and only working bathroom (operative word, working) is in much better shape today. The so-called professional plumber I hired last fall to reset it never really earned the phenomenal fee he charged to basically do nothing more than fit a new wax ring. That was back in early November.

I knew by Thanksgiving that the problem had not been fully addressed. But I also vowed to never let the guy back into the house. Intimidated by the innumerable possible quagmires that a somewhat faulty toilet can present, I continued to postpone the inevitable. But today, I finally rolled up my sleeves and got down to business. Turned out the crappy vinyl flooring over the crappy plywood replacement sub-flooring is so uneven that the fixture wasn't sitting level and wasn't firmly affixed to the flange. I recall our former plumber, Alan from Cleveland Heights, showing me how he always uses some ready-mix, quick-set cement to provide a sure footing for toilets.

So, off to the local Ace Hardware store for a new wax ring (with flange!), some new flange bolts, a package of toilet shims and a small container of ready-mix. Naturally, the entire project took five times longer than expected, but the end result, while not as aesthetically pleasing as anything Alan would do, is much improved. I figure we can live with the less-than-desirable appearance (and crappy flooring) until we re-do the entire bathroom sometime before the decade is out.

Two pictures: the first shows the toilet removed with the gray ready-mix setting up around the back of the floor flange; the second shows Fletcher inspecting the finished results.