More and more, consumers are interested in finding appliances with quiet operation. Noisy refrigerators, dishwashers, and laundry appliances can be especially intrusive in apartments, or homes with open floor plans. If you have a second-floor laundry room or laundry closet, a quiet washing machine might be crucial for your sanity!
Normal sounds in new washing machines include clicking and humming, gurgling or running water sounds as the washer fills and drains, and the sound of the basket spinning up and down in short or long bursts. One of the major factors tied to noise reduction is vibration reduction - the two go hand in hand! Although it's unlikely that you'll find decibel levels for most washing machines (unlike with dishwashers, where there is plenty of competition to be the quietest dishwasher), there are several key features you can look for from different brands that will help you find quiet washing machine models.
Panel ready appliances are a high-end design trend that you might be considering if you're constructing a new home or extensively renovating your kitchen. No need to try to match finishes or buy everything from one brand - you can get the seamless look with your custom panels and handles. If this is the case for you, you'll certainly need a dishwasher! KitchenAid makes some of the most popular dishwashers on the market today, and (as of this writing) there are two panel ready KitchenAid dishwasher models currently available.
In this article, we'll take a look at these models, including their features, pricing, and links to customer reviews! Many panel ready appliances offer high-end features and design, and the KitchenAid panel ready dishwasher models are no different. Both are high-end models pricing at $1,149 and $1,699 respectively.
Are you considering a suite of black stainless steel kitchen appliances? Finding a matching range hood just got easier with our black stainless steel range hood reviews! In this article, we'll review five chimney-style range hoods available in black stainless steel from several brands. We recommend taking a look at these models in person, because each brand has a slightly different take on black stainless steel - read our article Black Stainless Steel Appliances - Reviews (Pros and Cons) to find out more!
Now, let's dig into the chimney-style black stainless steel range hood options currently available. These are an important appliance to consider if you're looking into appliance packages to bundle a kitchen revamp into one purchase. The products are numbered for your convenience but are listed in no particular order.
If I had to guess what the number one issue is at the core of the questions, comments, and complaints I receive through this blog, it'd be reliability. Our mortgages, rents, health care costs, and even grocery costs have increased significantly over the past 30 years - more than can be explained by inflation alone - and wages have not kept up. So people want to know whether an appliance we reviewed will last, or why their appliance got top marks but broke down within 2-3 years.
And the fact that I can't answer that very legitimate question is a source of frustration for me.
If I can't answer the real question, I'd at least like to explain WHY I can't answer it. So, let's dig in: What are the barriers to predicting appliance reliability?
Are you staring at dishwasher product descriptions and wondering what "Mega FanDry Pro" actually means? Do customer reviews constantly mention complaints about a dishwasher's drying performance? You're in the right place. We're going to cover how dishwashers dry your dishes, how they've changed from the dishwashers of the early 2000s, and how to tell if your dishwasher is drying normally or if something might be wrong with it.
If you are in the market for a new washer, you are probably trying to learn as much as you can about modern washing machine technology. One of the big themes in today's market is HE laundry detergent - short for High Efficiency laundry detergent. So, what is it and why are many new washers using it? This article will answer all of the common questions people have about HE detergents and these low-water washers as well as help you avoid overuse of these detergents (and the wash problems that can result from overuse).
"I called a local repair company about this, and they said they no longer do warranty service for [manufacturer] because they don't pay enough."
I see phrases like this quite often in comments and product reviews. Usually, people are frustrated because they haven't been able to get timely warranty service on an appliance. If your relatively new washing machine has started leaking, or food is spoiling in your 6-month-old refrigerator, finding out that you'll need to wait 2 weeks or more to get it repaired is just adding insult to injury.
But I want to clarify how appliance warranty service actually works, and why it is the way it is.
If you aren't deep in the laundry industry or a hardcore Speed Queen fan, you might have missed the controversy over Speed Queen's new top load models released in 2018. They had to make changes to meet energy efficiency requirements, and some of those changes involved the wash action of their top load models. This departure from what their fans were used to resulted in some backlash. Long story short, the new wash action is gentler overall, which is not necessarily a bad thing - but it wasn't ideal for some of Speed Queen's customer base. (Despite this controversy, as of this writing all of the TR series of washers have over 4.5 stars from customer ratings on their website.)
The TC5 is a return to tradition with a lot of the features that people loved about Speed Queen's 2017 and earlier washers. It was updated in 2021 from the TC5000WN to the TC5003WN. We'll compare in-depth the differences between the TR5 model and the TC5 model below! (Speed Queen also released a front load model in 2019 - click the link to read our review!)
