Another unexpected upgrade happened the weekend that hurricane "Ike" hit Texas. (Which was just before the repairs were made to the chimney.) We had five (5) inches of rain the day before Ike from a different storm and several soaked towels from the basements seepage. I put them in the Equator washer/dryer and when I went back to take them out; I discovered that the Equator had broken again... doing the same thing it had done previously which was repaired by salvaging a computer part from another Equator washer/dryer. We already knew that there were no more replacement parts to be found for this machine so we had to upgrade to a new washer and dryer (much sooner than we had expected to).

I went on-line to do my research to find the most energy efficient washer I could within our price range and we decided upon the Frigidaire Affinity 3.5 cu ft I.E.C. King Size Capacity ENERGY STAR® Washer. Rated at 179 kwh per year which is quite good. Then, since there are no ENERGY STAR rated dryers, we opted to get the matching Frigidaire Affinity 5.8 cu ft Super Capacity Electric Dryer and added the matching 15 in. pedestal drawers for both. We purchased these from Sears on-line (they were having a great sale and there was an additional mail-in rebate on both appliances) and picked them up at the retail store closest to us (about 15 miles away)... it only took one trip because they all fit into our van. However, we had to make a second trip into town to get the correct electrical plug and venting for the dryer. Didn't realize the plug wouldn't be included - imagine that.

So, now I have to get used to doing large loads of laundry but still using very little water, electricity and soap. What a problem to have! Both appliances are MUCH more quiet than the Equator was and I am VERY happy with them.