Frigidaire Affinity ATF8000FE Front Load Washer

The new front load washers are very lovely things to look at. They are sleek. The one I purchased was black, so the chrome buttons and door trim looked very smart. I also put it on the pedestal which further improved its looks and if I were only buying it for a dust collector, this machine would be ideal. I, however, purchased this Frigidaire Affinity washing machine to actually wash clothes and it has fallen very short of expectations.

The washer is excellent for large loads and thick comforters. It runs virtually silently and spins out much of the water meaning you use less electricity drying your clothing. The front panel is user friendly with both a dial to set your cycle and varying button options for how dirty your clothes are, how fast you want it to spin out, if you would like a second rinse and longer cycle for sanitizing towels and blankets. There is also an option to lock the panel so that curious little fingers do not affect the wash cycle.

The detergent dispensing system is a pull out drawer at the top corner of the machine with separate compartments for soap, bleach and softener. You do need to use the HE laundry soaps. Front load washers need low suds detergents to prevent possible damage and over sudsing.

I loved the washer, I loved how silent it was, I loved that it was front load and therefore easier to get in and out of without breaking nails or bashing knuckles, I loved that it had plenty of options for washing and frankly it was rather fun to watch washing. I,however, have a love/hate relationship with this washer and that is the extent of the loving. Now onto the hate.

I had the washer not even a month when I realized that there was an issue with it. The first time I used the bleach container it paused and wouldn't continue the cycle. I figured this was an error on my part and fiddled with it. It finally finished out the cycle and I looked up in the rather uninformative user's guide to see where I went wrong. There was no information regarding the error I had or if there was something special I must do to get the bleach container to work right. The next few washes I did not have any further issues and put the problem out of my mind.

The next time I tried to bleach my whites it did the same thing again. By this time I have realized that I am not doing something wrong and that there seems to be a glitch. I took the dispenser drawer out, cleaned it thoroughly, checked for blockages, checked where the drawer goes, cleaned it out and still the issue persisted. Finally I managed to get the cycle to finish and again it seemed fine till a few washes later when this time I was not bleaching anything and it still paused and would not finish out.

This is where things go downhill. I contacted Frigidaire, their customer service is automated. It gives you local repair persons. I live in a very rural area, there was one repair company listed and they do not drive to my area to repair. In order to talk to a real person you must call long distance and you then get someone in India that you can hardly hear. They will then give you the very same number to the very same repair person that does not do repairs in your area. When you explain this to them, they once more give you the same number and then claim they will forward this on to the regional supervisor. The supervisor will contact you in 24 hours.

Fast forward ahead 3 days, still no contact. I called again and had the same runaround. This is all long distance, mind you, and offer them another zip code of another town about 2 hours away. I get 3 more numbers, all of which will not repair on my town, so back to square one. I call Elextrolux/Frigidaire again, still long distance, and go through the whole process once more with the person from India. They once more 'forward my file to the regional manager and I am to wait 24 hours. It has been a week now of almost nonstop daily calls. I have, in the meantime, searched the internet to see if there was a solution to the machine's problem. I have since found that the Affinity in general has many computerized issues that warrant a repair.

When asked for a number to a supervisor or manager, I was given the run around but no number was ever given. My machine is still not fixed and it has been over a month of fighting with them.

My conclusion is that the machine is excellent when it works. It cleans well, it is easy to operate, it is silent but if for any reason you have one that is damaged and in my experience, this happens often, expect a lot of headaches trying to get the machine repaired, or fix it out of pocket.