Dryer’s Are My Nemesis But This One Is a Keeper

The day I found out I was getting The Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer was a good day indeed. Dryers have always been my nemesis, don’t ask me why I don’t know what I ever did to them. What I mean is that I’ve never had a really good properly working dryer, or at least not for long. We rent, therefore we usually end up with older appliances. In the last house we lived in we had a working dryer it just took quite a while for our clothes to become completely dry. When we moved into our current house over two years ago we were told the dryer was pretty new. It actually worked pretty good for a while. Then shortly thereafter it started taking two 70 minute cycles to dry a load of clothing.

The landlord went ahead and purchased a brand new dryer. Of course it worked like a charm for about 4 months and then it just stopped working all together. I’m beginning to get a serious “dryer” complex. They just don’t like me. So now you can see why I was so excited to be getting to brand new awesome appliances from Whirlpool. Our Duet Washer and Dryers arrived on July 29th. I even worked from home that day so I could be there early to have them installed. The gentlemen that installed them was super nice and gave me a really good tip that I wanted to pass on should you own or ever own a front loading washer.

Tip: “Do not close the washer completely after use. If you leave it open just a crack the air will dry out any left over water in your washer and you will never get that musty smell that some front loading washers are famous for”

I absolutely love our new washer and dryer. I felt like a little school girl when they arrived. I really didn’t know much about them before hand and was surprised that they each had electronic panels to operate them.

I have a few favorite features regarding my Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer. I love the FanFresh setting. Many times I will throw a load in the washer before I head off to work. This way when I come home I only have to wait for them to dry. The FanFresh setting was made for this type of use. After your load is finished it will blow air into the load and tumble occasionally so the clothes do not sit their in a wet heap, and instead stay fresh until you can get them into the dryer.

I also love, love, love the pedestals that came with our Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer. I previously had all my supplies on a wire rack that I was sure one day would topple all it’s load to the floor (nothing in this house seems to mount well on the walls). The pedestals took care of that problem for me. I also like how I can hide my detergent, bleach, and fabric softener making the laundry room look just a little neater. Another great thing about the pedestals is it puts the washer and dryer higher then your average washer and dryer. This is great when loading and folding your laundry. There is little beading over needed when loading up your clothes, transferring them to the dryer, and then finally folding them. The washer and dryer is just at the right level for each of these tasks.

I also enjoy the built in laundry detergent feature. I simply fill the laundry detergent holder to the max line and the washer lets me know when it is getting low. In addition to the detergent there is also a place for liquid fabric softener and chlorine bleach. You may ask why this small feature is so great? I can tell you one great reason KIDS! My children were so excited about the washer and dryer they even offered to do laundry over the summer while I was at work. I loved that I didn’t have to worry about them putting too much or not enough detergent into the washer. Because of the laundry detergent holding bin they did not have to mess with any liquids (which is great when it comes to children).

There is only one problem right now with our Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer, and this brings us back to the beginning of my post. The dryer is currently not working correctly. It worked great the first week but then shortly after that it began to make this very strange and loud noise. I tried using the troubleshooting that is built in to the electronic panel on the dryer. Despite it not being able to find the problem I found the use of it very cool. It is a Q&A session that helps you troubleshoot most problems with your dryer. Instead I had to call the Whirlpool customer service. They were really nice and scheduled a repairman to come to the house. He came out on 8/19 (my scheduled day off). He felt the issue was that the blower was just put on a little too tight and he loosened it for me and said to call them if there were any more problems.

I tried it out the next day and unfortunately the problem still existed. So a new repairman came out this past Saturday 8/26 and found that the part in question was actually broken. Unfortunately he did not have the part in his car and had to order it. Do to my work schedule I am not able to take the time off right now and have to wait until next Saturday for him to install the new part. Despite this minor mishap I’m still very pleased with my new Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer. Things like this do happen and as long as it is fixed and at no cost to me then I will be one happy camper.

Disclaimer: 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. You may read more of my disclosure.