I got the Whirlpool Duet® electric dryer and Whirlpool Duet® HE front load washer from Sears, and I went down and dirty to test them out. Read my review.
I received the new washer and dryer set from Sears to review about a month ago, and I feel sort of bad that I haven’t written a review sooner, even though I had a crush on the Whirlpool Duet® washer and dryer ever since they entered my apartment’s laundry closet. I wanted to put the set in a real test before writing my review; I wanted you to feel confident when you are reading my review so you will know that the fact I received this set for free didn’t impact the review. Appliances are a big investment and I wouldn’t want to recommend anything without spending a lot of time and energy testing them out.
Whirlpool Duet® Washer & Dryer
I received
Whirlpool Lunar silver 7.4 cu. ft. Capacity Electric Dryer ($1424.99) and
Whirlpool Lunar silver Duet® Premium 5.0 cu. ft. I.E.C. Equivalent Capacity Front Load Washer ENERGY STAR® ($1424.99) and the
Laundry Pedestals ($279.99) and the
drying rack ($59.95) and the top rack on the top of the washer dryer. I haven’t really used the pedestals, I don’t stock on so many washing detergents, and I don’t use softener, but I like the height they give for the set.
Reasons to purchase a good quality washer & dryer
We have moved several times and lived in apartments and bought houses with appliances already in – so I have seen the good, bag and the ugly of appliances! To me a good quality washer & dryer are an investment worth making, I have ruined enough clothing in bad washers, shrank too many clothes in bad dryers, and spent too much money buying new clothes replacing them or spend too much money taking clothes to the dry cleaners. Especially with three kids who grow like crazy and I am constantly buying new clothes anyways I need a washer & dryer that will not shrink the clothes!
New energy saving washers & dryers, like the Whirlpool Lunar Duet set use less energy and less water making it economical and ecological choice and will end up paying itself. In fact Whirlpool says that this washer saves you a $2,247.34 in the lifetime of its use compared to older top load washers. I am also a big believer of front load HE washers for ecological reasons, they keep my clothes in better shape, and I don’t have to use as much soap to get my clothes clean. I use Wisk HE washing detergent and together with the Whirlpool Lunar front loader it works like a charm.
Not an easy comparison..
If I had had old inexpensive washer & dryer set it would have been easy win for Whirlpool Duet set – but they didn’t get away that easily.
We bought a LG front load washer and a Maytag Neptune Dryer Center a few years back and we have been moving them cross the country ever since. I have learned to live with my LG HE front load washer (well, thankfully my husband is handy and knows how to google the repair manual and order the right parts to fix it every now and then, otherwise the LG might not have been worth the investment). The LG washer, like many other front load washers are super sensitive for the movement, and if they are not balanced right, they simply just stop working, in the middle of the load. There is an easy fix to it – you “just” need to balance the washer, and sometimes it can be a little tricky. Also, in the past 5 years, we have had the washer fixed several times, and finally my husband just downloaded the manual and started repairing it himself. So, it’s like iPhone with AT&T, you love it when it actually works, other times it makes you wonder why you spent all that money. The Whirlpool Duet Premium washer is pretty sensitive too – but in a good way. It senses the load amount and balances automatically. No more balancing act!! Sometimes the balancing time can take a while though – so don’t overload your washer.
When it comes to my dryer, I’m officially in love and wasn’t sure if Whirlpool Duet® was able to wow me. Do you remember the TV commercials from several years back of this huge drying closet called Maytag Neptune? It has the drum on the bottom and shelves on the top and you can remove the shelves and add your laundry in clothes hangers and it gently shakes them and dries them on hangars preventing them from wrinkling. It is the best dryer ever in my book – or it probably has some faults that I don’t know of because they stopped manufacturing it. I have been moving ours around the country and refuse to get rid of it, even though I haven’t been able to fit it inside any of the apartment laundry closets here in New York. One day I will be able to use it again (I hope). The Whirlpool Duet dryer doesn’t come with shelves nor it shakes the clothes on hangers, and Maytag Neptune wins with the shelves. When it comes to the drying drum and all of the features and the multiple settings and ways you can dry – Whirlpool Duet wins. It has so many settings and I ever dried my cashmere sweaters. I’m already now planning that when we one day actually get a house and more space – I want to use both of the dryers. But the LG washer will probably find its way to Craig’s List (does anyone need a great front load washer in Dutchess county, NY?).
Putting the Whirlpool Duet® Premium washer & dryer to a REAL test
My opinions of the the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer duet wasn’t formed by simply washing a few loads of socks. I put these appliances to a real test.
A few weeks ago all of my three children had a stomach flu, and let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. I literally had the washer and the dryer running non-stop for three days, including washing everyone’s bedding a few times, and the bathroom rugs. And last week I washed everyone’s tennis shoes for the trip to DisneyWorld. And – we dyed coffee filters and made
coffee filter pom-poms and dried them out in the dryer without being afraid that the coffee filters will overheat, burst into flames and start a fire.
Shall I continue… or do you already see the seriousness level of the product testing the past few weeks? This of course on the top of washing the every day laundry for family of five.
The bedding – nice and clean! The 5.0 cu. ft. washer was able to fit the entire set of bedding in one load (blanket, all sheets and pillow). Alternatively it can fit the bedding for all of our four beds (duvet covers, sheets, pillow cases, without blankets and pillows). Tennis shoes – they didn’t shrink, not even in the dryer. This was a huge win – because kids were able to use tennis shoes from last summer on our trip to DisneyWorld. If they had shrank, I would have had to buy new ones, and you know that new shoes always need to be broken in, and walking around DisneyWorld probably isn’t the best way to do it (unless you love blisters).
The bathroom rug didn’t have as good luck in the washer – I think it soaked up too much water and the washer wouldn’t finish the spin with the rug and it was soaking wet when the cycle was over. But the dryer puffs the rugs look like brand new – love it!
It took me a few tries with the dryer to get the temperate setting right. The hot is super hot like in any other dryer and will shrink cotton, and especially all more delicate fabrics. However, once I learned to set the temperatures and the drying cycles right, it works like a charm, and no more shrinking clothes (or tennis shoes yay!).
Whirlpool Duet® Dryer & Washer Products Specs
Some must know facts about the
Whirlpool Lunar silver 7.4 cu. ft. Capacity Electric Dryer:
The Advanced Moisture Sensing is probably my favorite feature – three built-in sensors read incoming air temperature and outgoing air temperature while monitoring moisture levels inside the dryer, so the drying cycle can end when everything is perfectly dry, saving time and energy. You can also use the EcoBoost™ option, it saves energy by using half of the dryers dual heating element and extending cycle time. The dryer comes with 14 specialty cycles to help dry any type of load, and they are easy to use with the LCD display.
Some of the
Whirlpool Lunar silver Duet® Premium 5.0 cu. ft. I.E.C. Equivalent* Capacity Front Load Washer specs:
The 6th Sense™ Technology intuitively keeps your clothes looking good for longer by sensing and adapting to your laundry; the Precision Dispense Plus monitors wash conditions and delivers more doses of detergent as needed, for the right clean. That’s right – you fill up the detergent dispenser and it automatically only uses the amount that is needed and tells you when to fill it up again. If you are like me and sometimes wash clothes and forget them in washer… only to notice that they stink and you need to wash them again… now worry, Whirlpool Duet has a solution for that. It’s called FanFresh™, built with Dynamic Venting Technology. The built-in fan activates after the wash cycle is over, tumbling clothes for 16 hours so you can wash and dry a small load right in the washer – or your larger load can wait a while before putting it into dryer.
