Working Mom Blues and The Moronic Maytag Maffia

Here's the picture I remember as a kid. All those crazy commercials about the bored Maytag Man - Remember? For some reason those commercials, THIS FACE, and the idea that Maytag was the standard stuck in my mind..... I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into!!

Follow me on my path of HORROR!!

- Feb 2011 I am THRILLED to get my first ever brand new set of washer and dryer after 20 years of marriage and 5 kids. OF COURSE I insist on Maytags. We drive 3 1/2 hours to the nearest Home Depot to pick them out.

- March 2011 Our order comes in and we pick them up 3 1/2 hours from home. The dryer has no heating element. It is driven 3 1/2 hours back and exchanged for another which takes a week or two of waiting.

- April 2011 I notice a few things coming out of the washing machine with rips. I figure its no big deal, maybe the stuff was getting old.

- May 2011 The washer pours water out of the front all over the laundry room floor and locks up. Maytag visit 1 and 2. I have to wait weeks as the seals are in "high demand and back ordered".

- June 2011 I notice an increase in things wearing out. I wonder whats going on.

- July 2011 My favorite new dress develops a strangely similar rip pattern. I search my house for pack rats but come up clueless.

- August 2011 I discover that multiple items of clothes have identical rip and hole patterns. I try to talk to the Maytag people but they do not believe my complaints. They tell me to look for something sharp in my washer.

- ?Nov or Dec. I hear something strange. I discover my laundry room is FLOODED. The ceiling in the basement has water seeping through the sheet rock onto my husbands projects. The seal is ripped out AGAIN #3 visit from Maytag Man. BTW Around November or December 2011 about 1/10 of all our clothing has identical rip patterns in it. He doesn't know why its doing that. This problem increases significantly after seal no 2.

- January 2012 The Washing Machine has ripped up so much of our clothing my teen is withholding her clothing. My husbands brand new work shirts are all ripped even after one use. Several of my nursing uniforms need replaced. It is common sight to see my boys wearing clothing with holes in their sleeves or lower part of shirts. I am sickened at what has become of our families wardrobes. Every day I feel overwhelmed. I can't afford to replace all the clothing and am fearful of buying anything not coming from a second hand store. By now I have spoken with multiple associates and 2 managers. They tell me repeatedly that they do not replace machines, only service them. I try to explain that they are putting out more money than the machine is worth and so am I. One manager agrees to another year of free servicing - are you kidding?

- February 2012 The Washing Machine is not spinning out. I put in the second work order in a weeks time. The first was for clothing ripping which btw no one acknowledges as a washing machine problem. Supposedly nobody has this problem. They tell my Maytag Man it is a "user error". Maytag man makes visit #4. He does this only with me calling the supervisor headquarters to get him more money for visiting. The man drives an hour and a half up here. He gets into my 4wd vehicle gritting his teeth as I drive him up the wall of ice. He is a brave soul. He replaces the pump and shows me how to clean it out should it happen again.

February 2011 1 week later the washer locks up again and will not spin out. We follow Maytag Mans instructions. A baby sock is in the pump which we remove.

- February 2012 My new snowboard jacket snow skirt is destroyed with same rip pattern. One week later I discover the reason!! My daughters running pants are lodged in between the inner and outer baskets (right behind the seal). It has identical rip patterns. I photograph the lodged sweat pants and call Maytag again. They put in yet another work order.

- My mom finds forums of other Maytag Front Loader Owners with the same rip problem. We spend an hour laughing about crazy scenarios to get my story heard. In these absurd scenarios, I become a national heroine and am interviewed on talk shows as well as being hosted on a reality tv show.....

- I begin collecting and photographing rip pattern clothing in an attempt to keep my sanity.

- March 2012 I call the Maytag Man again to find out why he hasn't come up. He says they didn't pay him for the last time. I call Maytag again. I have spent multiple HOURS on the phone over the past year. I know the routine. I have to go through a series of recorded prompts. Then I have to explain to an associate the whole story before they will let me talk to a manager. Then I tell the manager the same story.... again. This time she tells me that she will present my case to a higher up for deliberation of a new machine. The last two managers told me that there was no one higher up than them and that Maytag NEVER replaces machines. I am shocked and befuddled.

- btw my washer again has stopped spinning out. My husband and oldest son are gone so I have my 14 year old try to fix the pump problem. The Frontier salesman on the telephone tells me laughing "good luck with that". My 14 year old successfully cleans out the pump and the washer again is resurrected to continue its path of destruction.

- Today, Maytag calls me to tell me they are replacing my machine with a brand new one! After all of this, it is actually happening. I feel like the belle of the ball. All those untold hours of fighting with Maytag have finally paid off. I am allowed to select a machine of equal retail price from Maytag or Whirlpool. NONE OF THEM have great reviews. My daughter picks a top loader with the best of the bad reviews........... I still feel like this great victory was a true MIRACLE!