Bigger is not necessarily Better!

The central coast is a beautiful place to live.  Before I get into boring appliance stuff, I want to pass on the philosphy of a friend:

Bill Isaman, well respected local architect, and part time philosopher,  suggests: “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. . . . . Teach a man to fish and ………………………….he’ll sit in a boat and drink beer all day.  You can check out Bill’s work at “isamandesign.com”

Now, about bigger stuff. . .

• I have a small one, my friend Bill Isaman, the Architect, has a big one.
• Some of my friends I can’t speak for (since I’ve never seen theirs).
• I have to admit, some of my buddies probably don’t even know where theirs’ is!

I know what you’re thinking, that you are happy with the size of yours, as long as it does the job.  Well, that’s exactly where the size problem comes in, if it is too large, it may have trouble getting the job done. And, newer ones tend to be larger. A couple of inches could be critical!  How would you like it if you got a new one and it sticks out too far?  Or, because it’s too long it just doesn’t work.

How far could I drag this on?  not much farther if I want you to keep reading, plus the fact that my wife, Jen, said “Ok that’s enough, end the parody already”.

I am talking, of course about the size of new washers, and especially new dryers.  We get a number of repair calls having to do with the size of new laundry appliances, and in most cases, the sets that include a front loading washer.  Prior to writing this blog, I went down to the local appliance dealer and actually measured the depth of a number of new washers and dryers. The main problems have to do with the depth measurement (from front to back).  The problem comes in when you have a new dryer that is up to 4″ deeper than your old dryer, and you have a laundry space that either has doors enclosing it (often byfold doors), or you have an entry door that swings passed the laundry pair to open.  Don’t use your tape measure foolishly!  I suggest that if you are considering new laundry appliances that you  carefully measure the space you are putting them into, noting door locations and swing, write it down, and take it with you to the store (or website).  When measuring the new appliances, don’t just look at the front to back measurement of the finished top.  Make sure you include the depth of any sheet metal that protrudes from the back of the washer or dryer, which you may not see unless you are viewing the unit from the side.  Also, be aware that the door on the front may extend significantly from the top edge of the appliance, and including the “bowed” out design feature that many of them have, this can easily add 1 1/2 to 2″ of depth, which you will miss if you are only measuring the finished top. The problem this causes has to do with dryer venting, and sometimes gas pipe location.  I will address solutions for this in my newsletter next month. If you need help sooner than next month, or you just can’t wait for next month’s newsletter, go to my blog at peopleschoiceservices.com.  Adios!  Rich Johnson