Staber Washer

I have had some issues with my Staber but have always been able to resolve them. Customer service has been helpful and parts have been readily available. Biggest problem has been bearings failing. I am about to install the third set since. Not a difficult thing to do. Since bearings seem to be a major problem in most of the complaints I read, I would like to offer the following:

When you installed your Staber did you level it front to rear? If the bearings are in failure replace them immediately. If you don't vibrations will cause you other issues, such as, loose connections, possible control board problems and ever motor mounts. If your belt comes up, it's probably due to bearing failure also. It causes the pulley to come out of alignment. When you replace your bearings remove the seals from the sides that face the spacer and pack this area with extra grease. This will allow for better lubrication and longer life.

I have done industrial maintenance work for over 33 years and can tell you that I have found many sealed, pre-lubricated bearings and universal joints that came from the factory without any lubricant in them. The bearing number is 6203-RZ and can be purchased at any bearing supply house, such as BDU, Kaman Industrial, etc. A tube of sealant and a couple of "O" rings and you have what it takes to replace the bearings. Good luck.

We have owned the Staber washing machine model # HXW2404 for 6 years, replacing a 12-year-old Amana. The machine cost $1,699.00 plus freight charges (close to $2K). We decided to pay a bit more to get the additional stainless steel base. And for a machine, that should be trouble free for years. Just this past month, the main bearings failed, causing the drive belt to melt and smoke out the basement. Staber didn't really offer any support other than replacement hub assembly which will cost $205 with shipping. But "they didn't know when they could get them because the manufacturer was on vacation"! We waited 2 weeks. And then in my frustration, I scrapped the machine, because the resale on them is worthless, and not worth the repair costs.

Today (11/12/11) I took the disassembled Staber to the scrap metal merchant expecting to get extra cash for all of the separated stainless steel (inner tube, outer tube, and base). To my surprise, none of it was stainless steel! The stainless utterly failed the magnet test. I got $8 for 80 lbs. of light iron. Staber is selling something they tout as stainless steel which in fact isn't. I challenge all of you Staber owners out there reading this to put a magnet against the inner tube, outer tube, and stainless steel base. If the magnet gets attracted, it is not stainless steel, and you've been had, like me. Staber is therefore violating advertising standards by claiming something which is false.

I have owned a Staber model HXW2304 top loading washing machine since 2004.

I own a 3-family house and the washer serves all three units; the use on the machine has averaged 30 loads a month over the past seven years. This is a very accurate figure because each load done is recorded on a tally sheet. So if you do the math the machine has done 2,520 loads in the past 7 years. The machine cost $850. So again doing the math that works out to 34 cents a load. I have not had a single problem with the machine until just recently when the tub bearings failed. I have ordered the bearings which cost $149.00; Installation is quite simple.

From my experience with this machine I can state quite accurately that this is a very well designed, highly reliable machine that has operated for a considerable time with absolutely no problems. It has been very efficient to operate using much less water and detergent than my previous machines.

I have had my Staber washer (Model: hxw2304) for five years and two and a half months. Two and a half months after the warranty has expired, they think it is reasonable to expect someone to have to pay $205 for a new bearing kit and a belt. I have greased that bearing three times with lithium grease. Each time I thought that it was weird to have to grease my washer. I have never heard of this before, but the instructions said to do it. So, I've got a $1,000 washer that I can only put 2 cubic ft. of clothes in, that I have to run twice to get any real stain out, that has to have regular greasing and belt tension checks.

I've never overloaded it. It is inside of an air-conditioned laundry room and only two people use it. The timer has always stuck and the only savings have been the low amount of soap that I use. So, over the years, I have saved a little money on soap; but, I have had to put up with a washer that doesn't really get my clothes clean (probably because of not enough water being used). And now, I have nothing more than an expensive piece of lawn art. I have been making excuses for this good idea gone south ever since it arrived. I wish that I had done more research before buying this sorry piece of junk. It doesn't make any sense spending another $200 to keep a used (** from the start) washer going.

I think that some people are drawn to the creative design. Creativity doesn't necessarily have any bearing on performance--the Spruce Goose was very creative. Others probably see the price tag and assume anything that pricey can't be a hunk of **. If I charged a million dollars for a Yugo, could I call it a luxury car? Please, to those of you who keep trying to defend this hunk of **.

The bottom line is this machine is not worth the trouble, as you will find out if you look anywhere on the web. It is expensive and unreliable. Even if you are handy with fixing things, why should you pay money for an unreliable product? Is that how you want to spend your Saturdays?

We have had our Staber for 5 years and in the past two years, we have experienced a series of problems that have consumed a lot of time and have left our washer unusable for weeks at a time. The first problem, within one year of ownership, was a broken controller board. We sent that one in and it was replaced free of charge (although we paid for the shipping). The second problem 4 years later was malfunctioning motor, which we troubleshooted with the help of Staber support person. I took the motor out and sent it in for a replacement (it was an expensive part, cost several hundred dollars).

After installing the new motor, the washer sounded much louder than before during high spin cycle. After four months, the belt slipped off during a wash cycle (this had never happened before). I have been unable to get the belt to stay on (it slips off after a few turns). I have called Staber and they were very unhelpful so far. The lady I spoke with did not come across as very knowledgeable and walked me through a useless checklist.

For the few people on this list who love their Stabers, my only comment is the following: you got lucky and wound up with one of the few units that did not experience multiple failures. The level of reliability of components in this machine is insanely low in comparison to all other major competitors. It is ridiculous for a controller board to fail in one year, a motor to fail in four years, etc.

These are very mature component technologies that should last 10 years easily. The fact that the machine is designed to be easier to repair by the end user does not justify the fact that it requires repair so frequently. Given all of the high-quality horizontal axis washers available from Europe and Asia, it is not worth going with the only US company (who hasn't gotten their act together). I should add that my machine did not experience problems with corrosion, rust, etc. as some have reported. I can imagine that this would only compound any existing problems, but in my case the problems were strictly the result of poor manufacturing/design choices leading to frequent component failure.

My wife and I bought a staber model hxw 2304 in 2003. It worked really well for a few months. It needed a sump hose hanger and a x55778 m620 bi timer on 12/23/2003 same year we bought it. We got it from the only dealer who had one in Medford Oregon. So I don't know how much the timer had been messed with before we got it. After we put those in it worked good until 8/5/2010, it stopped going through the spin cycle. If I waited overnight, and put it just on the spin cycle (straight down), it would spin the previous nights load.

It also had a clunk sound every time it moved the tub fore or aft. I turned it by hand and discovered it needed a new wheel (pulley), safety wire,drive shaft assembly, o-ring and grease.$170.35. This time when I called staber, I had women who would tell me to check this and that. it sounded like they were reading out of a book. I replaced the proximity switch, and the pressure switch. of course it took about a week to get each order of parts. The techs are not nice, but made me feel like a pain to her. Well guess what! The machine still does not spin.

So today I ordered a new timer, and program selector switch. If I could charge them for my labor it would be expensive just because of the amount of time, and the misery of trying to reach some of the places I had to check. They need to make trouble shooting a whole lot easier or close their doors. This last order I am waiting on costs $104.34. I do not make much money but even if I did, a person should not have to be put through this just because they bought a staber.

I just give up. These American made washing machines are just not worth the trouble. After 2 plus years and countless repairs we refuse to spend any more time or money on our machine.

My story is not such a bad one compared to what some other folks have claimed or experienced. I have owned my washer for approx 8 or 9 years and have been offering them on my website for the past 7 years. Today, May 24, 2010 is the first time I have ever had a problem. I called Staber to see if they had a field manual (they don't)but I was told that there is an owners manual on-line (it also comes with the washer). I told them that I was hoping for something with a little more information.

When I got off the phone I didn't feel too pleased with the conversation. I went back to the washer and unscrewed the control panel and the front of the machine as recommended. After some checking with a volt meter I found a continuity problem with the drive motor. I called Staber back and this time I had a better experience. I was told that it seemed that the problem seemed to be with the motor which could be sent back for repair ($200 + S/H). But they recommend that I fiddle with the motor brushes and see if that solved the problem before sending it back. I did and that solved the problem. Seems that sometimes the brushes may not make contact and cause the motor not to work. All in all, my experiences was not that bad and was fixable.

On another note to address cut hands, it should be noted that if you open the clothes basket with two hands as described in the manual there would be no way to get cut or hurt. The inside hatch is spring loaded and requires two hands to open

I am sorry to hear that a few others have had bad experiences with Staber and I hope the company works at solving those problems.

I will continue to sell Staber Washers because I believe that it is a good product, lives up to the companies claims, and I have never heard a complaint from anyone I know that who owns one or who has purchased on from me.

I ordered a Staber Washer and Dryer in early June 2009 and I was told it would arrive in 5 weeks which is in time to be installed in my new house. The washer was finally shipped in early September. Starting with the first load, it stalled on Spin'. It has continued to do this since that time. They sent a new 'board' which we replaced. It worked great for about two days and then stopped. It doesn't spin at all on any cycle. The manual said that under loading can cause this but it doesn't. Several members of my family have been cut by the unfinished holes on the spin basket. They refuse to admit it is a lemon and keep telling me to check more stuff. I had my appliance repairman out who had recommended Staber and he told me what to tell them. I am currently waiting on a 3rd board and paying about $200 per week for laundry. The Staber dryer is actually a Whirlpool. I would like either my money which is more than $1600 or a washer that works. I have a family of five and I cannot keep this up. I am not a repairman and cannot continue to troubleshoot every little thing that goes wrong and they will not reimburse for laundry services or repair bills.

I bought this washer after much research and seeing it being used at 2 friends homes. This was a huge investment for us. We are totally off grid and need to be very careful about products. we also don't have money to throw away on junk. So after speaking with a sales rep. we finally decide on a washer. Big surprise. It worked kind of ok for a while, if you are REALLY careful about loading it. Design flawa are many, I sent these to the company, no response.

I too wanted to support an American company. Ha, ha. JUNK! The inside basket needs to be opended with both hands carefully, you will get cut and pinched badly if you don't The holes for ventilation(?) ar not finsihed, just rough cut, so you will get scraped up if you touch them. The tub is so low down inside that if you are short, you can't reach the clothes. The spinn cycle never worked good after a few weeeks.

Many phone calls back and forth. They NEVER returned a call until I tried repeatedly. A secretary usually answered, if you said things were great, she was terrific, any complaints and suddenly, she was a monster. How nice. Ends up our control board was no good(maybe) My husband figured it out, they were NO help at all. This is not abused or old. Just a couple loads a week for the 2 of us. They wanted $250.00 for a new board! WHAT?

We ended up getting a friends super heavy duty one theat he was trashing and taking the board out of that. YES, his was a total lemon too. So many repairs in such a short time, he was enraged. The comapanies bad attitude didn't help matters. They refuse to answer my questions. Our open house this Oct. will be with a big sign to not buy a Staber. Or an HP product either. That's another story. This is how I get my revenge!

DO NOT BUY A STABER WASHING MACHINE. I am on the second one. It tore the clothes up bad. After much complaining they sent a new machine. It worked good for a few month then it would not drain. No help from the company to fix it. They would not send any new parts.You will visit the laundry mat often. Its now setting in the garage collecting dust.Make me an offer.

I purchased a washer and dryer from Staber Industries (manufacturer located in Ohio) and they were delivered in early September of this year. After about 10 loads, it seemed to not be spinning the clothes as dry anymore. I went through the troubleshooting list and checked all connections, checked the electrical outlet and even checked the reset button on the back of the washer which sent a small current of electricity up my arm! Nothing worked. However, since this was a new machine I thought I should test it each laundry day for a few weeks to see if I was loading it correctly or some such thing as this is a hybrid top loader (loads from the top but washes like a front loader.) It never did spin the clothes as dry as the beginning and then randomly stopped spinning at all at the beginning of the final spin cycle no matter what the composition of the load.

So, I called them and spoke with the sales rep who asked me to help diagnose the problem. After opening the machine up and checking several things for her, she determined that, statistically, it was probably the motor control board and would send me another and could I install it. I thought sure why not it's a quick fix to plug a board in.

Well, about a week later, the board came and I plugged it in and the washer seemed to spin the clothes very dry like the first 10 loads. But, again, after about 10 loads, the washer again seemed to stop spinning the clothes as dry. For example, a load of towels, same amount, at first only took about 60 minutes to dry as opposed to after it would take 160 minutes. So, again, I called up and left a message and was called back by the sales rep who seemed puzzled and wondered if she got in a batch of 'bad boards' and would send me another. By this time, I am wondering what is going on with this company. So, while I am waiting for the third board, the washer stopped spinning all the wash water out and it would take me 3 complete cycles to clean a single load of laundry not to mention twice the drying time. So, here comes the third board and I plug it in and nothing changes. So, I call up on a Saturday and leave a message for a technician to call me Monday.

By Wednesday, no one has called and I call again and leave another message. The next day, while I am at the laundromat, the sales and service SECRETARY calls me on my cell and wants me to open the machine up and check things so SHE can diagnose the problem. She is sure that it is just a 'lose wire.' I tell her that the sales rep already had me check for that and that I can no longer play this guessing game with random parts being sent out. I tell her this machine is a lemon and they need to take it back. She tells me that I have to crate it up and that she will send me a freight bill. I tell her I do not have the crating materials after three months. So, she tells me to take boxes from the supermarket and tape pieces together to give the appearance of being 'boxed up.' I then ask her if I am going to get my full refund and she puts me on hold. She comes back and says only if they receive it in 'saleable' condition!

I tell her that the machine is a lemon, that it's broken, how can it be in 'saleable' condition? I tell her she is asking me to tape pieces of cardboard in the most substandard shipping manner and for them to expect that they will receive it in saleable condition?' I told her that morally and legally that they are responsible for this defective equipment and that they should have freight people come out and box it up. It was obvious to me that she did not care about the FULL 1 year warranty which they are supposed to pay for both parts and labor to fix the machine. They never offered anything; a 'real' professional to come out and fix the machine or to ship me another one and the freight people pick up the lemon. Nothing. The tone of her voice said to me that she did not care and that everything was my fault. I took her full name and title and told her that someone would be contacting Staber. Now, I am sorry that I ordered from them. I was trying to purchase American made goods and help my own country.

I have no working washer and now the dryer is starting to make very high-pitched whining noise. The washer only worked correctly for approximately two 12 hour periods and it's only three months old. Now, I have to go to the laundromat. I cannot afford to buy another washer at this time but cannot afford the high cost of the laundromat either. I am actually scared to use the washer and keep it unplugged for safety. I don't trust them to refund my money and I don't believe that the machine would reach them in 'saleable' condition and even if it did I do not trust them to be honest about it. They have already proven themselves to be untrustworthy.

I have owned a Staber washing machine since October, 2002. It works as advertised and is used constantly in our household several times a week year after year since purchased.

Don't get me wrong. I also have experienced some of the problems mentioned on this website and I too would be upset if issues were not resolved.

I think the difference is that I understand mechanics. I have tinkered with mechanical things since I was a kid. Whenever something goes wrong, I try to understand the logic behind the problem and troubleshoot accordingly. The Staber washing machine was designed so that this is possible for a non high tech savy person like me to do.

I suggest that the Staber company create an exhaustive service manual, taking into account all the issues that they receive from consumers.

There also should be service technicians throughout the country who can be available to help consumers with difficult cases. Since the machines are simple in design, any competent appliance service repair technician should be able to comprehend an additional training course provided by the Staber company.

I suggest that the Staber company work towards providing consumers with a solid one year parts and labor warranty along with the consumer having the option of purchasing an extended service warranty. I feel the extra cost added to the product for this is worth it.

I feel Staber is a good company with a good product. However, great companies survive by listening to consumer complaints and making necessary improvements.

I have been recommending Staber Washers for over 15 years, as I have had such good luck with the products. My Staber is 14 years old and I have replaced the bearings, drive wheel, belt, etc. once, about 2 years ago. Only one of the referrals I have made has had any problems and they were an application, not overall quality. Many of the complaints I have read are absolutely 180 degrees from my experience - both with the product, and with the company. Customer Service has always been friendly, helpful, and immediate! I even bought one that was having a drive wheel problem, fixed it, and gave it to a neighbor for cost. That was 5 years ago and they have had no problems since. Thanks for the space. I LOVE these products! By the way, we've been 100% off-grid since 1981...

I have owned a Staber washing machine for 2 years now. I have never experienced anything similar to what is being reported here or that I hear from other customers periodically. I worked for the company for well over a year, before getting a unit and thought long and hard before placing it in my home. I have cut my water bills in half, buy detergent maybe twice a year and have had nothing but a great experience with it. You do have to have a basic understanding of how to use the machine and a little common sense so it will work to the best of its ability. Any machine on todays market will not perform well if overloaded and oversudsed and eventually develop issues because of these conditions. All in all, it is a great product, and the last of its kind being American made. And you will NEVER get the option to press 1 for English when calling the company!

I was so grateful for a simple but yet very functional washer. I have spoken to one representative twice at the home office in Ohio. She listened to my questions and offered advice which when applied was the answer. I hope those in dire straits contacted them but it appears to be the route they took and am so perplexed that they confronted adversity!

I doubt that those who commented their complaints will be returning to this site for further reading, but I wish they would consider that the satisfied customers also exist. I don't doubt their vehement advice to others as to using these products, but I am so relieved that I've not encountered any problems yet.

I bought the insulated package which results in a very minimal application inside the machine envelope. My machine is very quiet compared to my brother's who has had his for ten years. He is also a distributor and hasn't dealt with any of the mentioned atrosities.

Mine does not leak, shake, vibrate or stink. I receive clean clothes--such a remarkable deliverance compared to my previous foe--and do not have difficulty loading 6-8 pairs of tall man's jeans, 5 towels plus hand/wash towels, King-sized sheets, mattress cover, and bed spreads. I send my feather-filled comforter to the dry cleaner. That bulk would be demanding a lot from any washer.

Staber probably won't read this site but I would offer to them to please value the production of these necessary appliances. Address the multitude of problems of which many should not be happening, and empathize with their customers until a problem is resolved as though it were the appliance sitting in their home.

We purchased a Staber washing machine two years ago. Had problems with the spin cycle within a few weeks of purchase. Called Staber and were told we were not loading the unit properly and could we phone them while we were at the machine. My husband and I both work full time jobs and could not be on the phone by our washing machine so they could "explain to us what to do". Their hours don't coincide with ours. So we just dealt with it. Machine seemed to do ok with occassional spin problems. Then discovered I could not do delicate loads...it just would not spin the clothes at all. So I just quit using that cycle.

After one year water began leaking out from the bottom of the washer. Had to replace a hose along with a sump hose hanger and motor leg grommet to the tune of $80.00. Parts were under warranty, but because of the difficulty of getting to the area, we had to pay labor fee to the business we purchased the unit from. The dealer told us at that time that this was a "design flaw" in the machine and that we would probably have to replace the "boot' every year or so. I was appalled. He offered no recourse or support of any kind.

So we tooled along for another year and just two weeks ago it just completely quit working. Husband called and went through all of their suggestions...test this...test that...."well it must be the motor board. That will cost $245.00 plus s&h". I couldn't belive it. I hate this machine. I just couldn't decide if it was worth fixing it or not. It sickens me to think that we paid $1200.00 plus tax for this piece of junk. But, I can't sell it if it doesn't work and a new machine is not cheap, so I made the decision to fix it and use it until I can do something else. I told Jill how unhappy I was. She addressed the issue of my not being able to do delicates by telling me I need to be sure and put an even number of items in the washer for that cycle to work. ARE YOU SERIOUS????

I have had several washers in my lifetime and I have never heard of such a thing. You don't even have to do that in a cheap machine at the laundermat! Basically I feel like we've been screwed and they have quite a money maker in this totally inferior product. They don't share any of the "weird" stuff you have to do to make it spin, etc. I will never recommend a Staber to anyone. We really thought we were getting a top quality product. Lord knows we sure paid for one.

I purchased a Staber washer in 2001. It was plagued with problems. After many calls to customer support and the purchasing of computer circuit boards I noticed the machine had a manufacturing flaw in it that caused the rotating drum to make contact with the washer body. The friction was so much with the container it spins in, it caused the stainless steel to change colors from the heat. After sending pictures of this to the company they offered me two options. 1) Send the machine back for them to rebuild and I would have to pay the freight both ways. 2) I could purchase a new washer at a reduced price. We opted for the new washer.

Once the new washer came I put it in service. It appearred to work okay for awhile. I started to expirience some problems with the spin cycle. Upon investigating them with the help of tech support I found out the machine is not properly grounded and it will shock you while in use. After speaking with the company about this they advised me how I should fix the problem. I said I am not an electrician. They said either pay a service man of my choice to repair it or send it back to them at my expense (both ways) and they will fix it at $40.00 an hour labor rate. This is outrageuos since the machine is only several months old.

At this point I have an $1800 washing machine that is a fire hazzard and unsafe to use. The copany is not offering any safe acceptable way to fix this that removes liability from me.

I own a Staber for over 7 years and both my wife and I have been happy with it because of its water savings (in the beginning we hauled our water) and its small electric consumption. About 4 years ago, I started selling these washers so I am always curious as to how products that I sell are doing. During the time that I have been selling the Staber I have never had a complaint so I was interested when I came across the article you posted from the gentleman in Washington.

Did anyone follow up on his allegations and if so what did they find? I would like to know because as a product dealer I have an obligation to my customers and if what he has stated is true what sort of reply has Staber provided you with? I would like someone from your organization to please contact me.

I just wanted to share a story about the amazing washing machine i purchased from Staber Industries. This month makes 2 years since we bought this wonderful machine, and my husband and I couldn't be happier with it! The machine runs quietly, and hardly uses any detergent or water, and we have estimated that with the amount of laundry that we do, we are saving around $300-$400 per year in our laundry costs. The one time that we had a (very) minor issue with the washer, the Staber service department was very friendly, and helped us to quickly determine that the problem was operator error - big surprise! Anyway, I just thought I'd take a moment to recognize an American company for outstanding service and an outstanding product!

We did a lot of research and decided to purchase the Staber Washer. BUT within the first 3 months we had to replace the belt and the wheel 3 times, and were told by staber that we had to tighten all the nuts every few weeks. We had water on the floors, stench from water in the bottom of the machine which eventually ended up on the fresh wash. Often the machine shook violently and we were told that we were using the machine wrong. There is often water on the floor. We have had to replace the drive shaft twice.

Now the machine is not working again we believe the drive shaft is broken again. Staber refuses to take responsibility for the defective machine. I would not recommend this machine to ANYBODY. The amount of time and money we have spent on replacement parts and going to use the town laundry while we wait for parts; we could have purchased a whole new machine - NOT A STABER EITHER. At this point we are so sick of STABER INDUSTRIES and having to deal with their uncooperative reps that we are just going to ditch the machine and bye a well known brand. This machine was not worth the amount of money we spent. PLEASE, ANYBODY THINKING OF BUYING THIS MACHINE - DO YOURSELF A FAVOR - DON'T. It is more trouble than the machine is worth

We paid almost $1300 for our Staber washer. After the first year we have had trouble with it every month and finally every wash. The company advertises that it is easy to repair, it should be since there are so many repairs needed. The wheel falls off, the belt falls off, the thing shakes the entire laundry room, it leaks, it takes two hours to do a wash, the clothes look dingy when cycle is finished, and the most importantly the repair person treats us like it is our fault. We order parts after parts, we spend hours, we dread doing a wash since it will break down before the cycle is complete. We thought we would save electricity and help the planet and somehow it does not balance out with the abuse of our time.

today my husband wheeled out to the back porch after our final conversation with Staber's support person. They wanted another $110 for parts. If you spend that much each year, how could there be a savings in electricity?

Floor in laundry room ruined from leaks and shakes, monthly then weekly then daily repairs needed. Expensive parts when their is a fundamental flaw in design.

I purchased a washing machine from Staber about two years ago. It was supposed to be the simplest state of the art machine on the market. It was supposed to be environmentally friendly and clean clothing beyound anything else on the market. It was supposed to 'fixable' by the owner with only just a few tools...easy and economical repairs they said.

After struggling for two years with the simple goal of just getting clean clothes I am at the end of my rope.

Here is my experience:
It doesn't get the clothes clean.
They smell
The machine can't handle nearlly as much volume as they promise. Twenty bath towels they say....that's just not true.

It rips and snags the hell out of the clothes.

I talked to their rep about the machines performance. He told me to use the pre-wash setting. I did that to no avail. The clothes almost come out as dirty as they went in.

Staber's marketing material is untrue. The performance promised is so far fetched that is could be considered to be be fraudulent.

We have had to replace hundreds of dollars in clothing because of rips and snags. I am not talking about little thread snags...I am referring to 'rips' the size of a dinner plate. It's unbelievable.

The cost of the machine is not cheap. I paid $1100. I consider it a total loss.

I think the machine could be used as a 'parts tumbler' instead of a washing machine. At least it couldn't rip a steel bolt in half...hmmm, I'm not sure that's true. It might be useful as a hamster or rat exercise cage. I can see all types of uses except for what is was designed for...it sure as hell isn't a washing maching.

We bought a Staber Washer for same reasons as most, low energy consumption, low soap useage, better for environment. Expensive units at around $1000 which was about double the cost of a conventional washer at the time. We got a few loads done before control board blew out, Staber replaced this frre of charge. Next was the large pulley which worked itself off the shaft, again Staber replaced this citing some sort of defect. A few more loads, more rubber belt bits all over the floor, new pulley off again, and again. And again Cant keep it on. We have now done maybe 30 total loads in this washer and its useless. Do not buy a Staber, better buy the most energy efficient conventional type Energy Star rated one you can.

We purchased our Staber clothes washer in January of 2006 and paid $1200.00 for it. We live with solar power and wanted an efficient machine as well as an enviornmentally friendly machine.

This machine worked fine for the first year when we started having problems with it in the fast spin cycle at the end. It was not reliable. We thought it was because we were in a lower stage of our solar power.

As time went on, this problem got worse, when finally it would not go into the fast spin cycle at all. My husband contacted Staber and was directed to look at the circuit board. He discovered that we blew a fuse but that it was not designed to be replaced. Rather, we needed a new circuit board! As of January 2008, they cost approximately $180 each.

In October of 2007, Staber sent us a replacement circuit board and we returned our bad one to have them figure out what went wrong.

Staber sent us the wrong circuit board.

Staber sent us a 2nd board. After installation (using more than a screwdriver, by the way), we attempted washing again. No luck. This time a resistor on the board burned as well as the fuse blowing.

We called Staber. They sent us a 3rd board and accused us of having a bad solar inverter. (We run many appliances on our solar power and had never had a problem: water pump, computer and printer, vacuum cleaner, toaster, television, radio and even a microwave!) This board didn't work either and we blew another fuse.

Staber sent us a 4th board which we ONLY used when our system was on generator power, which was their suggestion. I managed one load of wash successfully. The second load blew a fuse.

My husband knows his way around electrical mechanics to the extent that he wired our entire house and solar system. In his dealings with Staber, he has been given misinformation and unsuccessfully tried everything they suggested.

Staber has not charged us for any of the boards they sent us. As of this writing, we have four bad boards lined up on our counter and we are reluctant to return them to Staber. They have not let us know what was bad with the first board that we returned in November. It is essentially lost. They assure us that they cannot figure out what our 'problem' is unless they have all the boards back. I don't trust them.

We are angry for having spent more money on a machine that we believed to be superior and looked forward to decades of good use. Instead we spent almost $2000 on a machine and got 2 years use out of it.

Staber is not friendly with us, telling us that our machine is out of warranty.

My husband has tried to discuss a major flaw in design with a circuit board that does not 'protect' itself: a fuse goes, the whole board goes!!!

I certainly wonder how anyone in this company would feel to receive the kind of service they are providing!

We are very unsatisfied customers and are stuck dealing with a service technician that is not knowledgeable enough.

We purchased a Staber washer model HXW2304 in May, 2004. It appealed to us because it is energy efficientand claimed to do a good job cleaning, even larger items like bedding. It's true it uses very little water, very little detergent and not much electricity and, miracle of all miracles, it is made in the good old USA. That's where the good news ends!

Staber advertises it can hold a queen-sized comforter. Really? I can't even get a queen-sized mattress pad in the machine. I am very careful not to overload or underload the washer. The machine frequently will not spin, it just grinds away trying to reposition the clothing so it will spin out the water.

In June, 2004 I did contact Staber industries via email explaining this problem and received a lengthy reply explaining how small loads and a mixture of a large item with smaller items can cause problems. Why didn't I know this before I bought the machine? When it does spin,the floors shake from the vibration. We have never taken the machine apart (we had a repair made by the dealer we purchased from) so I have no idea what causes the putrid smell in the machine that oozes into our clothing. I do not leave wet clothes in the machine and leave the lid open when it is not in use. I can only think there is water remaining in the drum.

I detest this machine and cannot wait until we can replace it. I am tired of using chemicals to try to remove the smell, tired of repositioning clothes to get it to spin and taking larger items, like mattress pads, to either the laundromat or my daughter's house to get them washed.

I cannot just start a load of wash and know it will be finished and waiting to go into the dryer. I have to be home and wait to see if it will spin (we have checked and the machine is level). Our laundry is on the second floor of our home and I make frequent trips up the stairs to try to get the spin cycle to complete.

We paid over $1,100.00 purchasing this machine and are trying to use it until we feel financially justified replacing it.

Had we known we would have to deal with the odors, the difficulty with the spin cycle and the inconvenience and cost of going to an alternate location to wash larger items, we never would have bought this machine.

Besides the fact that I have had to do my laundry in a laundromat for 2 weeks, I cannot afford to buy a new washer at this time. Until I get some resolution to this, I will have to pay to wash my laundry at a laundromat.

We bought a Staber top load horizontal shaft washer about 4 years ago and I have never spent more time on my hands and knees repairing a washing machine. The main pulley continues to work itself loose and wobbles until the drive belt falls off. The afterthought solution to keeping the pulley from loosening is a thin wire through the bolt head and pulley spoke to prevente it from turning. Unfortunately it is too thin and breaks in 4 - 6 weeks.

The soft aluminum pulley has also worn where it fits over the drive shaft. The wiring for teh component that aligns the drum at the end of a cycle so the door is at the top broke when the wire broke. There is also a knocking noise that I can't locate or eliminate. I found customer service to be arrogant and rude. We will never buy another Saber product.

Bought a washer from them and it vibrates so much that everyting in my adjoining office shakes. Chad believes that it is my perception that it vibrates too much and refuses to pay the re-stocking fee for my dealer.

What they don't tell you on their website is that they recommend that the washer be installed on a concrete floor. He was very arrogant.

We are out $200 for the restocking and transportation fees.

My wife and I purchased a washing machine from Staber Industries, after my researce indicated that it was rated a consumer best buy. The first washer they sent us was not able to complete one wash cycle due to manufacturing defects. They hired a local repairman to try and fix it, but no repairman in our area had ever seen a Staber washer and admitted that he had no clue as to what he was doing.

The company then sent us out a second washer to replace their first defective unit. We immediately began having cascades of water on our floor during each wash cycle. Additionally, during the spin cycle, almost our whole home would shake as the machine shook violently. Further, we could not wash light loads of delicates because even more water would run from the unit on to our floors. When we contacted the company, we were repeatedly told that the machine was not designed to wash delicates and that we must be using it inappropriately or else it would not leak water so badly.

We have owned this machine for just over a year now and it is out of warranty. During this time, we have had daily flooding, violent shaking, the rubber apron outside of the outer tank has come loose from the unit, the motor grinds, the belt drive leaves small balls of burned rubber on my floor, there is standing putrid water in the bottom of the tank, there is over a half a cup of a jellied mold and mildew type substance under each 3 inch plastic housing hub within the main inner tub, the rear shaft assembly was diagnosed as broken and our clothes smell horribly after each wash. By the way, the broken rear assembly was the cause of the violent shaking. This was diagnosed by the company's technician after the product was out of warranty.

The company advertises on their website that their product is designed to be end user repairable They state that is the consumer can use a screwdriver they can walk them through fixing any problem over the phone. This statement misrepresents the fixability of their machine's problems. After filing several complaints with the company, they did send me out free replacement parts. Following their instructions, I spent nearly six hours trying to fix their defective product. The scope of the repairs called for tools much more involved than a simple screwdriver as their website identifies in their FAQ folder.

In the end, I ended up stripping the bolt on the rear shaft assembly (the part that was the main culprit from day one) and now my whole machine is completely useless. I contacted the company to complain and demand a refund. Not only did they refuse to even consider my request, they have refused to respond to my complaints in writing. They refuse to acknowledge that they have knowingly misrepresented their product to the consumer and I believe that they are trying to protect themselves from legal action by not communicating to the customer in writing. This entire ordeal has been a nightmare. All I wanted to do was purchase a machine that would be environmentally friendly and serve my family well. It appears that I will have that opportunity as I now have to spend more money out of my pocket to purchase a new washing machine. I do not yet know which washer I will buy, but I do know that it will not be a Staber.