Two years ago we bought the then new Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer. Sears sells the same machines under the Kenmore brand with slightly different controls.
These machines are amazing! You can stuff a king size comforter in the washer without worry. Or as little as a few socks and underwear if you want. The water level is automatically set by the machine so you don't have to worry about wasting water. The washer is extremely quiet during wash cylces and quieter than most top-loaders in the spin cycle. And with it's high-speed spin, the clothes come out of the washer almost dry!
As stated, you don't need as much detergent, however, if you do happen to put in too much, the machine will sense this and run an extra rinse cycle automatically.
Wash cylces do take longer than a typical top-loader, however, it's roughly 2 times longer, not 5 times.
To combat having to bend down to put in and take out clothes, we purchased the optional pedestals with ours. The pedestals raise the machines about a foot off the floor and also give you more storage space with pull-out drawers.
In "Normal" mode, it's so simple to use, my daughter has been doing her own laundry since we bought them. (She's 14 now)
For extra-whitening or sanitizing, the built-in water heater will heat the wash water to 160 degrees.
Unlike the Neptune line, the doors to both the washer and dryer are see through so you can watch the machines in action! Trust me, when you first get it, you'll stand there in front of the machine mesmerized by it's efficiency! LOL
Because the machines were so new when we bought them, we got an extended warranty, however, in just over two years of almost daily use, they have not given us any problems at all.
These machines are awesome...well worth the extra cost in my opinion. Lowes now sells them for significantly less then we paid...check them out!
