Swedish-made ASKO washers and dryers are purported to be extremely eco-friendly, using less water, detergent and electricity than American models. However, they are considerably smaller. We designed a utility room to accommodate the ASKO's (which fit under the counter) but after six years of misery decided to go with an American brand.
Unfortunately, it would mean remodeling the utility room, cutting out the counter, re-wiring the recepticals and the breaker box. We decided to give ASKO another chance. The new machines are 1/2 inch taller which meant we still had to modify the counter, plus the washer plugs into the dryer which now has an American pigtail on it so we had to have it rewired both at the wall and the breaker box anyway. Then the dryer broke down five times in four months. The machine has a light fixture inside that does not meet UL approval so there is no light, just the housing.
The flange on the dryer is not beveled so if anything heavy, like a beach towel or a bath mat hooks over the flange it wedges between the light housing and stops the drum burning up the belt. ASKO refused to address this problem. The dealer also refused to address the problem so we eventually filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General, and with Good Housekeeping, who had touted ASKO.
The dealer eventually took the machines back and refunded our money but ASKO insisted that it was improper use of the machine and refused to address it. The dealer told us that they had 20 ASKO machines warehoused that had been returned. We switched to an American machine and are amazed at how little time it takes to do twice the load, getting it far cleaner and fluffier than the ASKO.in the long run I think that this American model is far more eco-friendly than the ASKO.
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