Washing machines

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

Comment:

We will be replacing it. We give up. After 7 months of foolishness, we conclude that the reviewers who complain about needing WATER to clean and rinse are absolutely correct. This green industry experiment is going to be judged a complete failure, and no wonder. One needs WATER to CLEAN. One needs WATER to rinse - no matter what soap formulation one uses. Many loads complete without portions of the load ever having been wet. I'm not talking about spinning dry - they don't completely wet in the first place. Save your time and money. Buy a traditional super-capacity washer which lets YOU control water level (and everything else). This has been infuriating, and I wish I could have every penny back.

How long have you owned it:

More than six months

Bottom Line

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

(10 of 12 customers found this review helpful)

Comment:

Government imposes stupid regulations and companies hide the truth in order to sell. These top loaders without agitator are not washing anything. They just stand there looking pretty and making all kind of cute noises. The cloths on top, sits on top dry, unwashed. Eventually it gets wet when it goes into spin and rinse. Rinse is another joke. You can try to convince an innocent consumer that it's good to wash in a very small amount of water with a special detergent. But, how can you ever explain rinsing in the same amount of water? I bought one of these HE top loaders, and returned after trying every conservable cycle built into the machine. Nothing worked. I am back to old fashioned top loader with agitator. It's noisy, grumpy, but does the job. Save your money, don't waste it on this politically correct junk.

How long have you owned it:

Bottom Line

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

(11 of 11 customers found this review helpful)

Comment:

I've had this washer for a little more than a month now, and the verdict is still out on it. I replaced a 24-year-old Maytag washer that I really liked. Change is always hard, so that may account for some of my hesitation in raving about this new HE washer.<br /><br />My biggest complaint is that ALL new HE washers have pre-determined cycles. I'm sure everyone does their laundry differently, so for the manufactures to decide how I will now do my laundry maddens me. However, I realize that in order to make the machines HE, they must have programed cycles. I am getting used to choosing the correct cycles. <br /><br />I was really surprised how long the cycles are. I'm sure that because the washer starts and stops so frequently to sense what's happening, this is why they are so long. You are able to make changes to several parts of the cycle, such as the water temperature, the degree of soil, and what spin speed to use. Changing these options will increase/decrease the cycle time.<br /><br />There have been other comments about the spin cycles. Except for towels, so far I've set the spin on low. On towels I set it on high spin cycle, and did it ever spin. The machine was jumping around like crazy. My laundry room is in the lower level of my home, on a concrete floor, so there is a very stable base. I've made sure there is some space between the washer and dryer so it doesn't knock against it. I've been told that the new washers spin so much more than the old washers, which makes the drying time shorter. I really can't say I've noticed much difference, especially on the towels, which spin on high. Maybe it's time to replace my 28 years old dryer! But also, the clothes really do get twisted and balled up, and come out very wrinkled because of the high spin speed. So far, I've found that once the clothes come out of the dryer, they're ok.<br /><br />Ive read other reviews that mention the weird noises the machine makes, so I was prepared for that. But I don't really think they're all that weird. You can hear when the water shoots in, in small bursts, and you can hear when the tub spins and agitates. Not a big deal.<br /><br />With my old washer I would soak white clothing in a tub full of bleach water for an hour or so, prior to washing. I would then advance the cycle to the rinse/spin cycle, then start over with a full wash cycle. The problem with this washer is that it won't FILL with water, that is, enough to cover the clothes completely so they can soak. I recently soaked a bunch of my son's white socks in a bucket of bleach water. I transferred them to the washer and tried the Drain/Spin cycle. I couldn't believe it – the cycle is 15 minutes long! All I want to do is spin the water out of the socks. So after about 3 minutes of spinning, I hit the Pause button, took the socks out, and hit the Power button to cancel the whole cycle. Needless to say, I'm not thrilled about how this works. So what are you to do when you wash a sweater by hand, for example, and want to spin it out? Run it on a 15-minute cycle? That's crazy. All I want to be able to do is spin the water out of an article of clothing <br /><br />A few of my minor dislikes: 1) the locking mechanism on the lid (too much safety oversight, I believe) which, when you want to add another piece of clothing to the load, you have to hit the Pause button and then wait several minutes for the washer to actually pause; 2) the slightly domed lid, which does not allow you to set much on the machine without the risk of it sliding off. I have always used my washer & dryer as my folding table, and while I can still do that, the shape of the lid makes it more difficult; 3) the fact that I'm now warned that if I don't leave the lid up when finished, the washer will smell. I never had that problem with my old washer. In 24 years I never left the lid up. Things like these really make me wonder who the designers of these appliances are. Someone who has never done laundry? Do the manufacturers talk to consumers to see what they like?<br /><br />So would I recommend this washer to a friend? Not yet as this point. I'm guessing that all the newer HE washers have similar cycles and quirks. I think anyone who has been using a washer for 10-12 years will be just as disappointed by the new washers as I am. So my recommendation of this washer may or may not come based on how well it holds up. Hopefully I won't have a service call any time soon. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually, and figure out how to get around all the quirks I perceive this washer has. I think it's just hit or miss with the new washers.<br /><br />As far as the ratings by Consumer Reports are concerned, I don't really feel that I gained any insight into which washer to purchase. All it did for me was give me a list of potential products. When you read the actual reviews by consumers, you'll get stories from both sides of the coin – pro and con. Good luck!

How long have you owned it:

One-to-three months

Bottom Line

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.