I’ve been using a KitchenAid Bottom-Mount Refrigerator for just over two years. Last week, I encountered a problem where the cold water dispenser located inside the refrigerator stopped dispensing cold water. I pulled out the refrigerator and took a look and nothing seemed out of order. I knew the dispenser itself was “working” because I could hear it attempt to pump water whenever I pressed the button.

So, after much searching around, I finally was able to locate the cold water tank behind the two crisper bins. Seriously, the owner’s manual should tell people to check the water tank within “The water dispenser will not operate properly” section of the troubleshooting guide. Even though the refrigerator says it is 38°, I know for a fact that certain parts of the refrigerator are colder than others. For example, leaving a gallon of milk on the top shelf by the blower will cause the milk to freeze. Anyways, a thin layer of ice had formed in the water dispenser tank. I didn’t even need to heat up the tank. Just tilting it back and forth caused the ice to break up. When I pressed the water dispenser button again, it started pumping out cold water (with a few ice crystals here and there.)

I’ve finally come up with a solution for the walking LG Tromm Steam Washer. While the GVI Anti-Vibration Pads were really helpful in dampening the vibration and cutting down the noise from the washer, the pads could not prevent the washer from walking around the laundry room. Before I discovered this secret, I was really torn. The pads worked very well at silencing the washing machine for the most part; however, if the washing machine shifted every so slightly during the rinse or spin cycle, I had a really difficult time moving the washing machine back into place. Those pads really gripped the tile floor well.

As an experiment, I stuck an empty shoe box between the washer and the dryer. Lo and behold, I’ve ran through several wash cycles and the washer has not budged an inch, even on those loads that typically cause the washer to slide around the room. Problem solved.

Well, two months have passed since I installed the GVI pads underneath the LG Tromm SteamWasher. I am absolutely delighted with my purchase of the GVI pads. Can’t say the same for the LG Tromm. The pads have made owning the LG Tromm tolerable.

If the LG Tromm did not have a vibration problem, it would be a fantastic washing machine. Of course, that’s not the case. Fair or not, I expected the LG Tromm to perform no worse than all top-loading Maytag washing machines I have had the pleasure of using over the years. If an owner should only install the LG Tromm on a concrete floor, LG should require all its dealers to post such a notice on their showroom floors.

Anyways, the LG Tromm suffers vibration problems during two stages of the washing cycle. When the LG Tromm first enters the spin cycle, some items can be exceedingly damp; e.g., towels, mattress pads, etc. Now, I’ve never had a problem washing these types of items with a top-loading washing machine. With the LG Tromm, the washing machine really shakes violently when it encounters heavy, water-logged laundry items. The GVI pads have no measurable effect during this stage. However, after the spin cycle has progressed for a few minutes, the uneven load problem disappears and the GVI pads work extremely well at dampening the LG Tromm’s vibration and noise, even at the fastest spin levels.

So, for two years, I’ve been searching for a solution to the LG front-loading washing machine vibration and noise problem. Last Thursday night, I discovered the Front Load Toad website which promised a solution to the vibration problem caused by front load washers. The clincher was their video which showed a vibration meter measuring the vibration from a LG front load washing machine with GVI pads, with no pads and with Kellet vibration pads. When I saw the video of the LG washing machine with no pads, it looked and sounded much too familiar. With visual proof that the pads worked, I immediately ordered a set of 4 GVI pads. Of course, not before shopping around. Anyways, Good Vibrations (GVI) sells the vibration dampener pads directly, but the prices from Front Load Toad were more competitive. Anyways, they shipped really quickly and I received the pads on Saturday afternoon, just in time for the weekend laundry.

How to Install the GVI Pads

The first problem was trying to figure out how to install the GVI Anti-Vibration Pads. After numerous attempts, I found out a solution. If you are installing the GVI pads, you probably have the washing machine installed indoors in a laundry room. I had minimal clearance on either side of the machine so there was no way I could tilt the washer and place the pad underneath a rear foot. What worked was a broomstick and a flashlight. First, I used the broomstick to push the pad next to the leg. Next, I tilted the washing machine to one side and had an assistant nudge the pad into place under a rear leg. I was able to easily place the pad underneath the front leg by myself. After one side was done, I repeated the process on the other side. Then, I used a flashlight to confirm that the pads underneath the rear legs were properly place.

The first load I ran after I had installed the GVI pads was amazing. I had to open the laundry room door several times just to confirm that the washing machine was actually running. The pads completely eliminated the noise and seriously reduced the vibration. They were amazingly effective.

I’ve been tolerating my LG Front-Loading Washing Machine WM2487HWM for about two years now. Considering the premium price of the washer, I expected my experience to be flawless. Unfortunately, it was not. Out of the box, the LG washer had a defective load balancer which made the washer move all over the laundry room even when it was leveled. The replacement part was back-ordered, so LG left me without the use of a washer for about 3 weeks. I’ve never had a problem with the top-loading Maytag washer I had previously owned.

Even after the load balancer was replaced, the washer still had a vibration problem during the spin cycle. Too bad I can’t find my printout of the washing machine ratings from Consumer Reports at the time of my purchase. I want to see whether I can blame my buyer’s remorse on CR. In their current ratings, CR gives numerous LG washers fair and poor ratings for vibration. Specifically, CR notes:

Vibration was poor, a great concern only if you’ll place the washer on a standard wood-framed floor rather than in a basement.

Well, I certainly wasn’t aware of that when I bought the washing machine. Basically, CR recommends that the LG washing machine be installed in the basement or the garage where it will sit on a poured concrete floor.

Last night, I tested the TV in anticipation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. I could see all the major channels clearly except for one: KNTV – NBC 11. Uh oh. Fortunately, I had an older television in another room. I switched it to NBC and the signal was clean. Same over-the-air antenna. Since none of this was making sense to me, I went ahead and switched the coaxial cable connecting the jack to the television. Bingo! A clear signal on both TVs now. While that solved my problem, I still don’t understand why it worked. Was the original cable loose? Can a loose cable only degrade the signal of one station and not the others?

New York Times DealBook: G.E. Looks to Sell Its Appliances Unit. General Electric is planning to sell its appliances division, one of the longest-running businesses in the conglomerate’s 120-year history, a person briefed on the matter said Wednesday.

The DealBook lists the potential buyers as Haier, Bosch and LG. Any surprise that foreign companies are looking to purchase American assets while the dollar is low?

I always find it hard to keep track of all the owner’s manuals. Sure, you might know where everything is at first. However, over time, all the manuals inevitably gets misplaced. One day, when you want to find a replacement part for an appliance or are troubleshooting, the manual is no where to be found. The solution? Visit the websites for all the manufacturers and download the PDF copy of all the manuals while you have the model numbers handy. Then, store them all in one folder on your computer.

If you wait a few months or years, a manufacturer may discontinue your model and remove the manual from their website. Having an electronic copy of the manual has saved me on more than one occasion.

LG wants me to believe that “Life’s Good.” Me? I’m not a good marketer. I would say “Life’s Good for one year from the date of purchase.” Not as sexy a message and a tad bit long-winded, but it does carry more of a truth in advertising ring to it. So, I’m 419 days out from the date of purchase and I notice a puddle of water under the LG Tromm SteamWasher (WM2487HWM). Is life good? No. Not even close.

So, I schedule a service call. For the second time. The last time a repair person came to visit the LG washing machine, life was good since the warranty covered the labor and parts. After replacing the load balancer, the washing machine stopped jumping around the laundry room. Cool, but I was without the use of a laundry machine for three or so weeks until the part came in. This time, the repair person identified a leak in the steam unit. So, 54 days after the one year warranty expired, I have to pay the repair person $125.00 to fix a leak. Life’s Not So Good. This LG front-loading washing machine better save me a lot of water and energy to offset that $125 repair bill.