oops, I meant to post this in the laundry forum, sorry!

Does anybody know hell well these machines hold up against rusting? My machines are in a basement and I notice that the area around the bleach dispenser looks like it is yellowing. I really don't use the dispenser much; but if this is an early sign;this is not good. I thought these machines had a special 3 coat protection ? Nothing beats a true porcelain coated top, providing it is applied correctly. If they wanted to.make these machines like the laundromat machines, it would be nice to have porcelain enamel tops.

I don't see how you can go wrong. All the new technology added to washing machines is for energy efficiency or marketing nonsense (steam, etc.) I spent a year with an HE frontloader and loathed it. For $1500, I expected an appliance that would make life easier, not harder. A machine that would got clothes cleaner with less effort. A machine that didn't take all day to wash clothes. For those who say Europe has used front loaders for decades, I would say yes, but not the giant-sized, hyper-efficient water-starved machines that are for sale today. They don't use enough water to wash and rinse properly and I'll never be convinced otherwise or purchase another. A year of experience with it was enough proof for me.

Access the pump, hose connections etc by removing the front panel: a few screws along the front bottom and the front panel swings up and off. A "bracket" piece clamps together the lower and upper halves of the pump. Loosen the thumbscrew to separate and one can easily access the outlet hose clamp once the lower section is free. I was able to inspect the pump and snake out the hose to find no obstructions. Next step for me was to either inspect/clear the pump inlet hose or look for problems/blockage in the tub. The hose is still difficult to access plus, due to its age & condition it seemed I might destroy it while doing so, so I opted to first inspect the tub. Remove agitator bolt and lift up agitator. To Remove the top, 2 screws on top front then a few (about 6?) on rear of control panel to access a few more screws inside that attach top panel at rear. To entirely remove the lid you'd have to disconnect the water hoses and some of the control wiring but to access below or work on the tub it's unnecessary; you can kind of swing it up and out of the way (as though the top was hinged along the rear). Attempting to remove the inner tub (spin basket?) I'm hitting another impasse: There are 8 phillips head screws around the bottom I, at first, began to try to remove but then stopped as they seemed to have glue or sealant at the base as though they are not intended to be removed. I did a little more research and, instead, began to work on the four hex head bolts on the center agitator area. They came off easily enough and according to some of what I read, the inner tub should have just lifted right up and out but it did not. Something still seemed to be holding it in. The top of the central shaft seemed to be a sort of "nut" I was able to loosen with a large socket. It's now free but turning it further turns the entire shaft. I'm not sure if its reluctance to lift out is due to years of use and build-up or if something else must be unfastened. I'm reluctant to pull, tug and apply brute force unless/until I know it's appropriate. Any suggestions on how to remove the inner tub?