Appliances

Couldn't live without my Oreck vacuum. They are awesome and super lightweight. They vacuum easily on carpet as well as hardwood floors with no transition (no buttons to push or bending over). We have wood throughout our main floor and only carpet upstairs and in the basement. I use the Oreck on the wood daily and it's fabulous. It has bags, but they are super simple to change. It comes with a great warranty and has worked like new for YEARS. My mother in law has had hers for over 15 years now and has only ever changed the bags (she does take it to an Oreck store once every 18-24 months for a "tune up" though -- about $40). We don't have bad allergies or anything in our house, but Orecks are supposed to be very hypoallergenic. There is never a cloud of dust or anything when I change the bag.

We have a front loading Kenmore washer / dryer combo. I will never go back to a top loading washer again. My clothes are cleaner, the machine uses less water and energy and works great. It's also really quiet! Kenmore is nice because it's inexpensive and the same thing as Whirlpool, but I'm sure other brands work great too. Don't forget your tax credit for buying an energy star rated machine. :)

PS- Central vacs are awful. We have one in the house and you have to carry this heavy, long tube anytime you want to vacuum. That sucker is way too much for my back and it can make a mess when you bend over to hook it into / take it off the wall.

I love my Kenmore appliances. The only appliance in my house that isn't a Kenmore is the dish washer that came with the house that I haven't been able to replace yet. I have a front loading washer and dryer that I've had for almost 10 years now and haven't had any problems with. I have to do a load of wash a day to keep up and they have been terrific!

I have a Dyson vacuum that I love but it is pretty heavy to haul up and down the stairs. It doesn't have a good handle for carrying. Other than that the vacuum has been awesome! I suggest that you purchase your vacuum somewhere that you can "test drive" them and make sure that they are comfortable for you to use.

K.,

I'm not too sure about a washer and dryer, but as far as a vacuum goes, I can tell you what not to get and that's a Dyson. You will hear everyone on here rave about the Dyson, but I absolutely cannot stand my dyson, especially for the money I paid. They guaranteed a warranty that they wouldn't stand by and I paid almost as much in repairs as I did to buy it... anyway, check them out at the BBB and you will know exactly what I am talking about.

My mom has the maytag front loaders and loves them. They use half the time and soap and her clothes turn out just wonderful! Good luck
~J.

I love my Oreck too! It is so lightweight that it is no problem for my back. You can get the 8 lbs. Oreck for a couple hundred dollars. My mom had that one for years.

I bought the Oreck XL or something like that for about $700 and I love it! It is only 9 lbs. and comes with a 21 year warranty, complete with free annual tune-up. (If you buy this one, get it at the store that will do your tune-ups; if you buy it online they won't do the tune-ups for free, otherwise they cost about $40.)

It does a great job and it has an easy to change bag. If you have problems with allergies, do NOT get a bagless, they are such a mess to clean. You have to dump them every time you use them and the dirt flies everywhere, so you have to do it outside, but you still end up breathing it all in. Yuck! I don't know why anyone likes bagless.

The Oreck comes with a bag that contains all the dirt and also has a HEPA filter, so it's great for allergies.

Good luck! What fun moving into a new place!

Front loading washers are the only way to go. It was $$$$ on water and your clothes will be cleaner. If I was to suggest a good vacuum that is fairly light weight that helps with allergies it would be a Rainbow. Expensive yes but it can also be used on hardwood floors. I love mine. My Mom and Grandma both have one that has lasted or 30 years. So it is well worth the money. I also love it because it traps the allergens and dirt in the water so that it doesn't go back in the air. It also makes the house smell fresher when you use it. I would highly recommend this. I think that it is twice the vacuum then a Kirby.

I have GE front-loading washing machine. I like it because it uses less water than top-loaders. You do have to wipe out the seal on the door, because some flaw in the design often leaves a little bit of water in it. I just use a piece of the laundry that I'm putting in the dryer. If you use the machine every day, not a big deal, but if you take a couple of days off it can get that awful mildew smell.

As for a vacuum, we have a Miele. It is expensive, around $800.00. BUT totally worth it. It is a canister vacuum that has a separate motor that runs the carpet cleaning attachment, which makes pushing/pulling easier, and boosts the cleaning power. I would buy this machine again no matter what. We had laminate flooring and carpet in our last house, and this vacuum did a great job on all surfaces. The attachments for vacuuming the furniture are good.

Congratulations on the new house. Have fun!

Another Vote for the oreck here. I don't have one, but my mother does and has since my childhood. I remember the neighbors borrowing it and putting it through every test they could think of (their oldest was 8 when number 5 was born) and they were amazed at it's abilities- it even pulled glitter out of shag carpet.

As for appliances, we always go with rent-a-center. If you pay it off in 90 days, there is no interest, and they always have a large selection. Even if the store by you doesn't have what you want, they will pull from other stores in the area, they have great deals, especially if you order several things. I got my DH a flat screenTV for fathers day, and the tv (42") the entertainment center, and the DVD player/stereo system all together was $1700.
And if you get something and decide it isn't working for you, they will let you switch and use the money you have already put towards it to the one you switch to.

We have the LG front load washer and dryer and have loved them.

As for vacuums, we have done Orek and Dyson, and while we have been pleased with both, we much prefer the Dyson. We too are dealing with severe allergies in a couple of our kids and are hoping to go hardwood within another month or so, but for now it has worked super well! Like someone else said, the handle is odd and it's a bit awkward to try and move up/down stairs, but otherwise it's been a dream! The Orek was super light-weight and easy to move, so that may be something to look into that would help you.

I love my Oreck vacuum. It's really light so I can carry it up & down stairs no problem, plus it doesn't make my hands hurt when vacuuming like so many of them do.
Good Luck!

We bought the front-loading Whirlpool(not the steam version) in October and love them both. I've been completely pleased.

I've still got old-style washer & dryers & we live in military housing so I can't help on any of those. But I can tell you that I LOVE my Dyson! It's lightweight-my kids can drag it up & down the stairs-& I can go over a floor that somebody else has just vacuumed & pick up left-behind dirt. I've got the yellow one. And bonus, it also does great sweeping our "hardwood" floor (the rubber/wood mix stuff)

If it is a new house can you put central vac in? I know all my friends love theirs and can vacuum when on the phone. That said, I love my dyson and researched it a lot. I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond and used a 20% coupoon and they have a 5 yr. guarantee there so if there is a problem, I can take it back there instead of dealingwith the warranty. It really sucks better than anything I have seen and seals in the fluff for allergies. Good luck.

I like my frontloading washer because it uses less water and washes a ton of clothing.

As for vaccums, if you have carpel tunnel, I would suggest you look into getting a Roomba or two. They are floor vaccuming/sweeping robots. They are wonderful. If you get one of the fancy models, you can program it to go off every day at a handy time (like when you are all out), and it will clean every day. All you have to do is empty it from time to time. The only downside is they don't do stairs. Otherwise, they work great.

Hi,
I have the front loading washer and dryer and like them a lot. I didn't believe it when people told me, but the clothes do get a lot cleaner with this type of washer. You do have to dry in between the creases or you do get that mildew smell, but other than that, they function very well.
I also have a Dyson vacuum that I love! Works great with my 2 dogs.
Good luck and congrats on your new home!
M.

I have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and vacumning is difficult for me. I purchased an Orek vacumn because they are efficient and lightweight. They have a website where you can shop for one. They are a bit expensive but worth it when one has a physical affliction to work around and need to keep allergins down. Google Orek and you can get to their website.