So what brands does your favorite repair shop service? That would be where I would start. It is imperative that you have convenient local service. You have more than gotten your money's worth from that Asko. In my experience 10 years plus or minus is the average useful life of current washers. My front load Whirlpool lasted 9.5 years before the repair was about two thirds of the price of a new one. Not a difficult choice. I had appliance life confirmed by a Sears employee where I purchased my last machine. This was after a very bad experience with a big box store and a return because I was not satisfied at Sears.

The Speed Queen is the favorite top loader now available. You may know Speed Queen is famous for commercial laundry equipment. Not too long ago, SQ introdced a new residential front loader that was favorable reviewed on this forum. Note, they are not cheap by any means. SQ was too small for the amount of laundry I do. The TL was like my old Maytag from "back in the day" very reliable and steady with no bells and whistles.

In terms of efficiency, you get what you pay for. In my opinion, none of the top load He machines, regardless of price, get clothes clean. The lower priced front loaders and top loaders have lots of plastic and are prone to break. There is also initial manufacturing quality. Please be sure you preview the actual model you are considering to be sure you like things like where the filters are located, the finish on the metal edges, and whether the machine comes unbalanced easily under a heavy load of work clothes or towels. I found the no fault return policy both at my local Big Box and Sears helpful in making sure the machine would really handle my regular loads of towels and pillows and sleeping bags without dancing across the floor.

Unless it is important to you, your dryer doesn't have to match your washer. I paid a little more for the washer and then balanced it with a no frills dryer that does a great job. My pair are both white Kenmores that were much cheaper than the matched set. My washer is a Kenmore built by LG. The Kenmore dryer is built by Whirlpool. I avoided Samsung due to too much plastic and poor service, Whirlpool due to filter design. GE for poor construction and performance and regretfully, Electrolux, no service in my area. The Askos and Mieles were out of my price range and the Blombergs are just too small.

Good Luck shopping.

I have and like the new electrolux compact washer. It has a matching condensor dryer which may or may not work for you depending on your current venting situation. I opted for a vented dryer and purchased the compact GE electric dryer (if you are interested in looks, the GE dryer has the same size window as the Electrolux washer but the trim around the two windows is different). GE also makes a well reviewed matching compact washer. If you want a gas dryer it has to be vented; there are no compact gas dryers available on the market anymore. You will need to carefully measure your laundry area to make sure the new (big!) machines will fit. I would look at the Electrolux line...

You can get an LG FL washer without all the options and dryer for under $800 each that will do a great job and last at least 5 years of typical use or longer. You can get the Speed Queen FL washer for under $1800 and dryer for around $1100 and will last you over 20 years but also lacks the sanitize and water heating capability. Since I don't give a hoot about heating water, sanitize or allergen cycles the low cost LG or Speed Queen are perfect for the way I wash. If you keep your stuff for a long time then in the long run the Speed Queen is the better deal. If you are short on money than the LG is the better deal. The Speed Queen capacity is 3.42 cubic feet and the LG is over 4 cubic feet. Both sizes are large enough for me. A load of laundry is 1.24 cubic feet or a bushel basket. In five years a lot can change. Either way you can't go wrong.

I would like to thank people for their responses. I have been to a few showrooms and am considering the following potential candidates, due to price, brand reputation, and likelihood of being able to get the machines readily serviced.

* Miele W1623 Washer + T7634 Dryer, which is on sale for around $2500 CDN. Not sure the Missus will go for this one as it is much like our current Askos, which she never cared much for.

* Bosch AXXIS WAP24201UC Washer + WTB86201 Dryer, which can be found for $2000 CDN. Not sure I like the condenser dryer, plus probably too much like the Askos for the Missus.

* LG WM4270HVA Washer + DLEX4270V Dryer, going for $2100 CDN.

* Huebsch (aka Speed Queen) ZWN432SP Washer + ZDE3SRGS Dryer, going for $1900 CDN. Perhaps closest to what the Missus thinks of as a perfect laundry set.

I also will possibly consider a Whirlpool Duet pair due to the fact that a few people I know have and like their Whirlpool Duets. I noticed that all of the Whirlpool (and Maytag) washers and dryers I have looked at have "assembled in America" stickers on them. Is the outsourcing of manufacturing being reversed?

Also, the rep indicated Samsung and LG washers should be more reliable than Whirlpool and Maytag since the latter two have only started making direct-drive washers for a couple of years, whereas Samsung and LG have been making direct-drive washers for quite a bit longer. Most front loaders in stores these days seem to have direct drives. Is that point valid?

Anyways the research continues.

The current line up of Speed Queen washers has not been around for over 20 years. Maybe 10 years at best, so no one knows at this time if they will really last for "over 20 years" as is often quoted here. We will just have to wait another 10 years to find out if this current belief pans out or not.

tideman_59 - Technically you are correct but since the internals of the Speed Queen for home use are the same as that used in Laundromats, on-premises laundries and Multi-housing laundries one could state that they are accelerated life tested as a result of their commercial use.