A very long time ago, in an apartment a few miles away, I had a Swedish appliance. Her name was The Asko. And she was a b*tch from hell. I have written about her before, but on a blog that got eaten by the cruel vicissitudes of the tech bubble economy. Much like The Asko ate some of my clothes. But I'm getting ahead of my story. Which definitely bears repeating, as a warning to Americans who cherish our way of life and wish to protect it.
I have lived in Europe for nine years now, and I endorse every word of this marvelous essay. It’s all so familiar--the scolding about Americans’ supposedly greedy desire to wash our clothes (at least now I know why the trams in Prague get stinky in the summer); the dryer cycle that takes, I kid you not, three hours and I STILL have to lay cotton items over the radiator; the washer so tiny I have to run eight loads a week for just me and my husband (and I am not a germaphobe and wear clothes a couple of times before washing them); and, when I am visiting the US and do laundry on American machines, the immense vista of time that opens up before me when I’m done with laundry already at 10:30am.
And also, yes, Europeans iron everything because of their inadequate dryers. Do they not get that irons use MORE energy than dryers, not less?! Smdh!
Many years ago, I asked my great-grandmother, who was born in 1886 and had five children on a hobby farm (she was way ahead of her time), what the most amazing invention in her lifetime was. Polio vaccine? No. Automobile? No. Jet liners? Space travel? Better bras? Dental care with novacaine? No. Her answer: the washing machine. Don't mess around with progress, my friend.
My family and friends in Sweden have Asko. And they make ice in little plastic trays because their fridges don’t have ice makers. The fridges don’t have ice makers because the fridge compartments in the kitchens don’t have water plumbed in, because there is no need for water plumbed in because the fridges don’t have ice makers. And they don’t need ice makers anyway because drinks full of ice are an American aberration.
We just retired our washer and dryer after 30 years of use with zero repairs. Meile. German. Fabulous. Analog. I hate digital washers and dryers. Now I have LG and they are way to complex. Too many choices. I really miss my Meile appliances.. May they RIP.
Holly, I almost bought Asko but they did not fit my laundry closet in my old apartment. I ended up with Miele and while they worked better than this piece of junk you had, the washer failed when it just passed warranty. The repairman came five times and kept fighting with Miele headquarters in Germany for giving me free parts, some were over $500 a piece. Eventually the guy practically rebuilt the whole machine aside from the shell. I absolutely agree that the dryer was not made to dry clothes and the wash took over an hour if not an hour and a half. Meanwhile, my parents’ 30 year old whirlpool units are still working like a charm.
My husband and I spent 3 weeks in Scotland last summer and planned to launder our clothing half-way through at a place we were told had "laundry facilities." Well, when we read your essay, we laughed hysterically, because the exact same set of circumstances happened to us. We, of course, thought we were doing something wrong, but another person staying at the place had the exact same experience we did, trying multiple times to dry clothing after trying multiple, dubious wash cycles. We finally had to hang a lot of pieces of clothing in a very small room! Later that day, we happened to run in to another couple staying at another place who exactly the same experience! I am a fan of many European inventions and innovations; however, the washer/dryer combo is not one of them!
My family were missionaries in Eastern Europe for three years and had a great washing machine that performed well. However, it only held about 2-3 pieces of clothing, took 3 hours to run, and no drier was included. My kids were 2yo and 6yo, and the 2yo was not potty trained yet. Snow was on the ground 9 months of the year. So the washing machine ran throughout the day and our apartment radiators were ALWAYS draped in drying clothes and linens! After a couple of months I excitedly discovered that we could string a clothes line in the unheated attic. New discovery: it takes about 1 week to dry a sheet in 10 degree F temps. It freezes first.
When my husband and I were stationed in Germany 30 years ago I was disappointed to have to live on post as I wanted to be more immersed in the local culture. That lasted until I started hearing from the other wives about their German washer/dryers!
Oh my gosh, we stayed at an AirBNB last year that had one of these, and I thought I was losing my mind because the clothes came out soaking wet, and we could not run a "dry only" cycle-- The only way to turn it on was to select a combined wash and dry cycle. I thought, "This cannot possibly be how this appliance is meant to work" but apparently it was working exactly as designed.
I have an Asko dishwasher. I will never buy Asko again. I couldn't even find someone to work on it when it broke. I called every repair center in the area. Most laughed and said "ya we don't work on them." I had to watch YouTube videos and fixed myself.
Good luck with buying a new appliance or dealing with Maytag now Whirlpool customer Service …they really don’t want you to call and when you do they don’t want to talk to you. My 10 year warranty oven failed recently…just before guests for dinner. After much trouble even finding model number, etc. I went shopping for a new oven. The decent ones the price of a used car but was told seven years is about all I could expect nowadays. Will never buy a Maytag or Whirlpool product again.
Loved in UK 15 years. This is 100% true. The English expect disappointment and substandard performance even secretly long for it. Getting a high standard is very suspicious. The rental agent couldn’t believe we would complain about blobs and bits coming out of our taps. (Americans and their clean water!). The washer/dryer was a complete joke. We just went to visit last 3 weeks and our Airbnb had one. My wife said ‘is it supposed to leave a clump of detergent in there?’ The stove we once had wouldn’t come up to temperature. The repair guy said ‘it’s in a range of temperatures’ I said ‘you are telling me it doesn’t get up to temperature’. The fridge didn’t work and the temperature was high and the landlord said ‘maybe because it’s a cabinet fridge’. I said ‘no it’s because it’s a broken fridge’. The landlords over there will just make anything up and were very confused by our refusal to accept it.
I had an Asko for 25 years, initially doing the laundry for six of us. I washed so many loads per day that I said screw this and bought a Maytag W&D. They snuggled in the basement with the Asko, which I used from that point on for dog towels. It never dried anything. It sounds like I was lucky with that last.
I have lived in Europe for nine years now, and I endorse every word of this marvelous essay. It’s all so familiar--the scolding about Americans’ supposedly greedy desire to wash our clothes (at least now I know why the trams in Prague get stinky in the summer); the dryer cycle that takes, I kid you not, three hours and I STILL have to lay cotton items over the radiator; the washer so tiny I have to run eight loads a week for just me and my husband (and I am not a germaphobe and wear clothes a couple of times before washing them); and, when I am visiting the US and do laundry on American machines, the immense vista of time that opens up before me when I’m done with laundry already at 10:30am.
And also, yes, Europeans iron everything because of their inadequate dryers. Do they not get that irons use MORE energy than dryers, not less?! Smdh!
Many years ago, I asked my great-grandmother, who was born in 1886 and had five children on a hobby farm (she was way ahead of her time), what the most amazing invention in her lifetime was. Polio vaccine? No. Automobile? No. Jet liners? Space travel? Better bras? Dental care with novacaine? No. Her answer: the washing machine. Don't mess around with progress, my friend.
My family and friends in Sweden have Asko. And they make ice in little plastic trays because their fridges don’t have ice makers. The fridges don’t have ice makers because the fridge compartments in the kitchens don’t have water plumbed in, because there is no need for water plumbed in because the fridges don’t have ice makers. And they don’t need ice makers anyway because drinks full of ice are an American aberration.
We just retired our washer and dryer after 30 years of use with zero repairs. Meile. German. Fabulous. Analog. I hate digital washers and dryers. Now I have LG and they are way to complex. Too many choices. I really miss my Meile appliances.. May they RIP.
Holly, I almost bought Asko but they did not fit my laundry closet in my old apartment. I ended up with Miele and while they worked better than this piece of junk you had, the washer failed when it just passed warranty. The repairman came five times and kept fighting with Miele headquarters in Germany for giving me free parts, some were over $500 a piece. Eventually the guy practically rebuilt the whole machine aside from the shell. I absolutely agree that the dryer was not made to dry clothes and the wash took over an hour if not an hour and a half. Meanwhile, my parents’ 30 year old whirlpool units are still working like a charm.
My husband and I spent 3 weeks in Scotland last summer and planned to launder our clothing half-way through at a place we were told had "laundry facilities." Well, when we read your essay, we laughed hysterically, because the exact same set of circumstances happened to us. We, of course, thought we were doing something wrong, but another person staying at the place had the exact same experience we did, trying multiple times to dry clothing after trying multiple, dubious wash cycles. We finally had to hang a lot of pieces of clothing in a very small room! Later that day, we happened to run in to another couple staying at another place who exactly the same experience! I am a fan of many European inventions and innovations; however, the washer/dryer combo is not one of them!
My family were missionaries in Eastern Europe for three years and had a great washing machine that performed well. However, it only held about 2-3 pieces of clothing, took 3 hours to run, and no drier was included. My kids were 2yo and 6yo, and the 2yo was not potty trained yet. Snow was on the ground 9 months of the year. So the washing machine ran throughout the day and our apartment radiators were ALWAYS draped in drying clothes and linens! After a couple of months I excitedly discovered that we could string a clothes line in the unheated attic. New discovery: it takes about 1 week to dry a sheet in 10 degree F temps. It freezes first.
When my husband and I were stationed in Germany 30 years ago I was disappointed to have to live on post as I wanted to be more immersed in the local culture. That lasted until I started hearing from the other wives about their German washer/dryers!
Oh my gosh, we stayed at an AirBNB last year that had one of these, and I thought I was losing my mind because the clothes came out soaking wet, and we could not run a "dry only" cycle-- The only way to turn it on was to select a combined wash and dry cycle. I thought, "This cannot possibly be how this appliance is meant to work" but apparently it was working exactly as designed.
As someone who also suffered through European appliances, this is 100% accurate. Thank you for speaking the truth and the catharsis.
I have an Asko dishwasher. I will never buy Asko again. I couldn't even find someone to work on it when it broke. I called every repair center in the area. Most laughed and said "ya we don't work on them." I had to watch YouTube videos and fixed myself.
I thought the moral was: live in an apartment building with a laundry room
Good luck with buying a new appliance or dealing with Maytag now Whirlpool customer Service …they really don’t want you to call and when you do they don’t want to talk to you. My 10 year warranty oven failed recently…just before guests for dinner. After much trouble even finding model number, etc. I went shopping for a new oven. The decent ones the price of a used car but was told seven years is about all I could expect nowadays. Will never buy a Maytag or Whirlpool product again.
Loved in UK 15 years. This is 100% true. The English expect disappointment and substandard performance even secretly long for it. Getting a high standard is very suspicious. The rental agent couldn’t believe we would complain about blobs and bits coming out of our taps. (Americans and their clean water!). The washer/dryer was a complete joke. We just went to visit last 3 weeks and our Airbnb had one. My wife said ‘is it supposed to leave a clump of detergent in there?’ The stove we once had wouldn’t come up to temperature. The repair guy said ‘it’s in a range of temperatures’ I said ‘you are telling me it doesn’t get up to temperature’. The fridge didn’t work and the temperature was high and the landlord said ‘maybe because it’s a cabinet fridge’. I said ‘no it’s because it’s a broken fridge’. The landlords over there will just make anything up and were very confused by our refusal to accept it.
I had an Asko for 25 years, initially doing the laundry for six of us. I washed so many loads per day that I said screw this and bought a Maytag W&D. They snuggled in the basement with the Asko, which I used from that point on for dog towels. It never dried anything. It sounds like I was lucky with that last.