Apparently, Toshiba Home Appliances got bought over by Midea, the China-based consumer electronics giant.

I found that out the hard way, when my new ‘Toshiba’ washing machine failed within the first year.

In my family, the washing machines tend to last for 8-10 years. They were usually the Japanese brands, like Hitachi or Sharp. The 1 LG washing machine we had lasted 7 years.

Toshiba – Failing Within 1 Year

So, imagine my surprise when the new Midea Toshiba AW-DUK1150HS 10.5kg Top Loading Washing Machine flooded the entire kitchen in less than a year.

Turns out, the water sensor/counter broke, so it wouldn’t stop adding water.

Might have been a known or common problem because they didn’t even need a diagnostics. The repair man came and replaced the whole electronics module.

And… The Next

Then, the same problem happened again the next year.

Again, the whole kitchen got flooded.

Again, the same fix.

Oh dear

And… 3rd Time’s the Charm?

The 3rd year, another problem occurred.

This time, the kitchen didn’t get flooded, thank goodness. But, a lot of water was wasted.

For some reason, for certain loads, the washing machine kept filling up with water, only to flush it away again. Non. Stop. For. HOURS.

Idiocy, Design and Cheapness

Turns out, the cause of it was a large towel that held a lot of water when wet.

A large towel with a lot of water is heavy, and, when it rest on the sides when the water is flushed, it would cause the washing machine’s drum to wobble when it tried to dry the load by spinning.

And, when the washing machine detects that it can’t spin safely because the drum would wobble too much, it would fill the whole tub with water… and flush it again… presumably to try and get the load to even out so that it doesn’t wobble when the spin starts.

How. F******. Stupid. Is. That.

Can you imagine the amount of water wasted?

Prior to this, we had a 8 year old Sharp washing machine. It was just a cheap budget washing machine with no bells and whistles. Even that washing machine could wash a load with this towel.

Apparently, this Midea Toshiba washing machine is so cheaply designed that it doesn’t have good drum stabilizers.

TL:DR – Treat Toshiba as Midea

Long story short? Don’t expect Japanese levels of quality or quality control, and definitely don’t treat Toshiba as the Toshiba of old. Whatever opinions you have of Midea should be the same as Toshiba.

Except for Dynabook Laptops and Toshiba Airconditioners. They’re not owned by Midea.

I’m sure Midea makes fantastic stuff. They’re a ridiculously huge company in China and manufactures for others too. I hear their water heaters are cheap and good. But I’d gladly spend a little more for peace of mind, as this experience has shown me.

I’d gladly choose a budget Sharp or LG product over Midea/Toshiba, any day.