My love affair with my new Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer continues to gain strength as I learn about its features and all of the ways it was designed to make my laundry life easier.
As a mom, I am always short on time (and money), so time-saving products rock my world. And if they can save me money too… Well, sign me up 🙂 The Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer have tons of high-tech, time-saving, eco-friendly tools that continue to impress me with just how well they work. I am constantly amazed at how they put my old Duets to shame, and they were top notch when I bought them six years ago. Oh technology!
Here’s a great time-saving example: While we successfully navigated potty training quickly, somehow our girl went from holding her pee all night for months before even beginning potty training to having several bed-wetting accidents per week. And while she still wears Pull-ups at night, every couple weeks we have a leak through. The other night about midnight, we heard the call. Instead of tossing the pile of soiled linens in the corner to deal with the next day, I put the “FanFresh” feature to work. (The FanFresh feature tumbles the load of laundry with a blast of air intermittently for up to 16 hours after the wash is over.) I tossed in the laundry, started the load and turned on FanFresh. (I also managed to remember to turn off the buzzer so it didn’t wake us up when the load finished, score one for the pregnant mom’s memory!) In the morning, I awoke to fresh, clean linens with no stale smell from sitting in the washer all night. Into the dryer the linens went, and they were ready to go before I headed out the door. LOVE it.
Another feature that frankly I never even knew I needed is the precision dispense feature. If you don’t have this feature, it may sound totally unnecessary – that’s what I thought at first – but this is easily the biggest time-saving and money-saving feature about the washer. No more adding detergent to each load, all I have to do is toss in the clothes, choose my laundry setting, press start and go. The detergent is automatically added for me, in the percise amount that is appropriate for the detergent I am using (no waste). I learned (the hard way) with my last front-loading washer that too much detergent is actually bad for my washer (in addition to my wallet), so a machine that puts in the exact right amount – totally smart. You just tell it the concentration of detergent you are using, fill the precision dispenser and it does the rest. Oh, and no need to check to make sure you have detergent before you start a load. The machine is so smart, it tells you when it is running low and when it runs out! Hello, I don’t even have to think – another saver.
And let’s talk about that dryer. I previously posted my amazement at how much water is spun out of the load of laundry by the powerful washer, but I continue to marvel at pulling out load after load of totally dry clothes. No more timed dyer cycles for me, I use one of the fancy settings and the dryer senser drys the load until dry. Much more energy efficient (and thus money saving) than running the dryer longer than necessary.
Both the washer and dryer also have an EcoBoost feature too, which I use on every load that it will let me. According to what I have read about the EcoBoost feature, “EcoBoost option takes the guesswork out of efficiency by reducing the water temperature and increasing agitation duration so the decrease in one (temperature) is offset by the increase in the other (tumbling) to deliver the same results while using less energy.” However, I still don’t really understand what this means. And frankly, if it is an EcoBoost and still delivers “the same results while using less energy,” why doesn’t the cycle use the Eco-Boost without me having to tell it to… I am a bit stumped on this point. But since it appears to need me to to push a button, I am happy to do it to save.
Yep. I continue to be a very happy Whirlpool owner. The latest and greatest technology included with my Duets helps me save time, money and energy. What is there not to love about that?
Disclosure – I wrote this review while participating in a test-drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Whirlpool and received a complimentary Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer to facilitate my review.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! You got a free Washer and Dryer?!?!
LOL. Libby, you make me laugh. As I tell everyone, it isn’t “free.” I work hard on my blog (hours and hours and hours everyday), and as part of the campaign I have posting and testing requirements. But yes, the washer and dryer were provided to me as part of the campaign to test and review, and it is one of the coolest things I have gotten to do :). (And they really do rock my laundry world! Which reminds me, I need to put in a load of darks so K has her game-day outfit for tomorrow!)
So jealous of your new washer and dryer…And I do have to say that your review does make me consider getting another whirlpool next time around. I currently HATE my washer and dryer. The washer has it’s issues with making things musty and the dryer well once it goes off you have to add 20 minutes to it pretty much EVERY time in order for your clothes to be dry. The timer is also SO far off it is ridiculous. Anyways even though we are in the market for a new washer and dryer since even though I hate ours they do work, you definitely made me reconsider the whirlpool brand for one.
I found this post by searching for an explanation of what the EcoBoost button does.
The description I find here is more or less consistent with other sources I’ve consulted. It just seems to give you something for nothing. So I definitely agree with you that it’s suspicious that such a setting should be opt-in.
Maybe big energy corporations coerced Whirlpool into leaving it off by default the way advertising companies have stipulated for the “do not track” feature in web browsers. Or maybe there’s some horrible, secret downside to it that Whirlpool just couldn’t in good conscience unleash upon the world.
Anyway, thanks for writing this up.
You are welcome. Sorry I wasn’t much more help. I still do push it every time I can though. Hopefully it is doing something awesome, even if it is small 🙂
I also found this post by searching for what “eco-boost” means. Thank you for the explanation. My machine is a different Whirlpool model and the eco-boost function is automatically selected for many of the load options. I like that it auto-selects for me but I am glad I have the chance to turn it off when needed. More agitation means more wear on clothes.