Ruth's Life is Good: 3-30 Lovely New Appliances!!!

New Samsung Washer

New Samsung Dryer

I know I have mentioned in the past that Larry is a participant in The Home Depot Seeds Program. This is a program where he has the opportunity to receive products for free and then write reviews on them. Many of the items they offer him are inexpensive but a view have been over $50. He has been a part of the program for about a year and if we are not traveling he has been able to select some products each month. He enjoys receiving and reviewing these items. The Home Depot e-mailed him a couple of months ago and told him he had been selected to participate in a special offer and he would be able to receive either a free patio set or barbecue grill. There was quite a good selection of each and they were expensive products but after thinking about it a bit we didn't need either one (our grill is perfectly fine and we have a small patio set that works well) so he turned them down. A few weeks ago Larry got another e-mail that said he was eligible to receive a free Samsung washer and dryer to review, there was no choice on selection, one high end model in one color. Our current washer and dryer still work fine but they are getting on in years so after a bit of thought he accepted. About a week ago Larry got a phone call from a vendor for Samsung asking to send someone out to do measurements and check the connections to ensure they will fit and hookup correctly. They delivered them this morning and they are great. Almost to pretty to hide in a laundry room. The washer is a high efficiency model and needs detergent designed for energy efficient washers. We had to go to town and purchase the correct detergent so while we were in town we did our weekly shopping. According to the owners manual energy efficient detergents are designed to produce few if any suds. At the store we discovered that most soaps today meet this standard, who knew? Our old soap did not. When we got back home we had lunch and then we played with the washer and dryer. We did a few loads of clothes but before doing this Larry read the owners manual to see how to operate the machines. The washer has a lot of options and cycles and interestingly it does not have an agitator. It does have a pre-wash tub built in where you can hand wash and pre soak your clothes. After using this tub you lift the tub and clothes fall in the washer. The amazing thing about the washer is how it works. It sprays the water into the washer and has a sensor when to stop. During the wash cycle it swishes the clothes back and forth without an agitator. I don't know this as a fact but I would believe not having an agitator has multiple benefits, your clothes won't get worn out from rubbing on the agitator, they will not get stuck around it and your wash loads should stay more in balance. I didn't try a blanket or quilt but I think it would work better without an adjudicator, they will be able to move around freely. All the controls are in the back of the washer and dryer. You don't have to use a knob to set the cycle instead you just touch what mode you want. Larry keeps telling me not to push the buttons, simply touch them. The washer and dryer have a safety feature that would be really good for families with children, when you close the lid before it starts the cycle it locks the lids closed. One problem I found is the height of the washer. I'm about 5'5" in height and I have to stand on my tip toes to get the clothes out of the bottom of the washer. This washer has a really large tub and without the agitator and with the built in scrub tub I guess it is deeper. My old washer tub was 22" deep and the new Samsung washer is 27". Both the washer and dryer have a window so you can look into them while they are running but the window in the washer is too dark to see inside. The dryer has a steam dry option but of course to get stream you must have it hooked up to a water supply, not a problem for most folks since their dryer is next to their washer but our units sit across from each other. Looks like Larry will have another project figuring out how to get water over to the dryer. So far I really like both the washer and dryer.


Control Panel of the washer Built in pre-soak, scrub tub, very cool

The washer's tub, don't fall in

In the evening we went to Georgetown to dance with the Shirts 'n' Skirts Club. It was a special dance, where Brad Caldwell did the calling for the square dancing tips and Lucy Pate did the cuing for the round dancing. The dance started out with eight squares and a lot of round dancers. We had a spectacular time. Brad did an outstanding job and Lucy did a grest job of cuing.