I used to have an ancient Maytag washing machine. Actually, I had 3 of them. Very easy to service and repair. When I took a wife, she began to complain "that old washer STINKS". Nothing I could say or do would change her mind. So, about 7 years ago, we bought a brand new Maytag. Wouldn't you know it, last week, she started complaining that it stinks. I did the research, and there's no water filter in it, just a lint filter, which is totally inaccessible - it's under the basket, so you'd have to tear the whole machine apart to get to it. Nothing on YT, either. Operator's Manual makes no mention of it anywhere, but it's one of only two parts that applianceparts.com carries for this machine. "Just keep cleaning it", i says....
I still have an ancient old Maytag electric dryer - old enough to be made in Newton, Iowa. Very easy to work on. A few months ago, I tore it completely down and did a deep clean, which was very rewarding - lint everywhere inside. Replaced the outlet pipe (was cheap foil) with a full metal one. Now, the hot moist air BLASTS from the outlet, outside!
This machine has a habit of burning up the thermostats, located right near the heating coil. I have replaced them several times. Local appliance dealer stocks them for me. There is a cool down at the end of the dry cycle, and if you pull the clothes out without letting them cool down, i think that the thermostats heat-sink until they blow.
The way one usually detects a blown thermostat is that the clothes won't dry. In a pinch, it's simple to just jump the terminals on the thermostat to get that load dry. It's a 5-minute temporary fix.
On to the dehumidifier. We run it continuously in the basement during the summer to keep the humidity down. We get about 5 gallons of water a day out of the air. A couple of weeks ago, it started pissing on the floor. It's about 15 years old, a Frigidaire. Luckily, I found an EXCELLENT video on YT to walk me through the disassembly, which is not entirely intuitive. Got all the covers off and discovered that the weep holes in the collection tray under the coils were plugged with slime so it was overflowing. Same for the fins on the evaporator - about half-obstructed with mold/slime. Luckily, I was able to direct a garden hose spray downwards, parallel to the fins and they cleaned up nicely. Hit them with Purple Power, and did a second flush. Works like a champ again!
-Paul
