As some of you may know, I live in a stationary RV in Half Moon Bay, CA with my 21 year old son. 

A month ago my son and I took a week-long vacation and flew to Tampa, FL to visit relatives.  We left his then-girlfriend in charge of the RV - she stayed here full-time while we were gone to take care of the critters (two Chihuahuas and one parrot) and to watch everything while we were away.

A week later when I came back, everything seemed to be great upon my return, until said girlfriend nervously told me that she had some bad news, something she didn't want to mention while I was gone because she didn't want to ruin my trip - she was drinking one night and pulled the handle off my Splendide washer/dryer. 

All I could think was: What the hell?  I then realized that I had forgotten to tell her about that totally inane "feature" of the Splendide, where you have to go thru several steps to get the bloody door open during a cycle.  She explained that that night, she had had a few snorts and wanted to see if her drying was done - so she pulled on the handle...and it wouldn't open.  She pulled harder...still wouldn't open.  So she put her foot against the Splendide and REALLY PULLED, and the handle came off in her hand. 

She stared at it horrified, and couldn't think of a good way to tell me.  After I got over my initial irritation (why on earth didn't she call me to ask me how to get it open?? ), I assured her that it was ok and sent her on her way.  The next day I called the Splendide dealer in Oregon.  Really nice guy.  When I told him what happened, he laughed and said, "Oh yeah, that happens a lot. We send a lot of replacement handles out."

He said he could send me a new handle for $48 or I could just buy a new door for $128, which would be a lot easier to replace.  Not being in the mood to take more time than I needed to repair the thing, I ordered the entire door.  It was delivered two days later.  He was right, it was very easy to replace. 

The Splendide guy also said that it's possible to override that feature on the washer, if you know something about cutting wires and splicing.  Since anything electric makes me nervous, I decided not to take tackle that particular task.

BTW the new Splendide washer/dryer model doesn't make you go thru all that hassle if you want to open the door during a cycle - all you do is open it.  Hallelujah! I guess some department at corporate finally came to their senses.

Roberta