Who here has the Whirlpool Duet (washer/dryer?)

[JuliaEeyore]

Hi everyone!

DH and I are in the process of buying our FIRST house and we've been pricing out appliances for a while now. We've both fallen in love with the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer and have found a great price. (They're a lot more expensive than your average washer/dryer, but I'm obsessed with laundry and love to do it.)

Can anyone recommend them? Does anyone have them? Hear anything bad about them? I LOVE the front loading washer. And the literature on them just makes them sound so efficient! Plus, we love the "look." Silly, I know.

(In case it matters, we won't be getting the "drawer/pedestal" that those are on in the above pic. And we'll most likely STACK them, another thing we're excited about! )

Advice? Comments? Thanks SO much!

Julia

 

[MarkRG]

There's a good long discussion on them in this thread: Front Load Washing Machine It's not specific to the one you're looking at, but a lot of the generalities apply.

 

[JuliaEeyore]

Thanks Mark! That was very helpful!

Even though no one in that thread mentioned the "Duet," I feel pretty good about the front loader over all.

And good to know normal detergent (in smaller amounts) can be used.

Julia

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hey Mark, you are getting to be the regular DIS lonely repairman for washers and dryers here. Cool!!!!!

 

[RNMOM]

Julia,

I had my heart set on this set too. I could not talk DH into buying and designing the remodel of our laundry room for them last spring and then our washer died this fall. We went to look at these again and discovered we would not have enough room to open the doors and load the machines. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

I did some research and discovered a wonderful washer that our local appliance store has been selling for a number of years and a couple emloyees have them. They could not say enough positive about it. We bought the Fisher-Paykel upright. It is smaller than a regular washer but has the capacity of the Duet. It does not have gears and pullies. The tub is suspended on cables and it sounds like a jet engine when it spins. I love it. It has all the benefits of the front loaders, including a spin speed of 1000 rpms, and gets the clothes much cleaner using less water and soap. The clothes come out very dry and I have cut my drying time by 1/3. It is very energy efficient and qualifies for energy star. I have had it for about 4-5 months and love it. Oh yes, it rinses 5 times by spraying clean water over the clothes, adgitating and emptying. If you are interested in researching the web site is www.fisherpaykel.com . The machine is made in New Zealand and the company has been making them for 13 years. They have a companion dryer I plan to get. This machine cost us $699 vs. the $999 of the duet.

 

[JuliaEeyore]

Oooh! Good to know! I saw my very first Fisher-Paykel today, actually, on our price-hunting trip. DH is an architect, so he's familiar with all ranges of appliances, but it was new to me. It was in a specialty mom & pop type appliance store, as opposed to Best Buy or Lowe's.

We definitely have the room for the Duet, so that's not a problem, but I'll check out F-P before we do anything, based on your good recommendation.

Thanks!

Julia