Kenmore Elite HE4t Front Loader - I love my Miracle Washer. Really. I do. Seriously.
Written: Jan 25 '06
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Pros: Big capacity, quiet, cleans well, saves energy, lots of buttons to push, watch it spin!
Cons: Needs special detergent, need to leave door open to discourage mold, expensive
The Bottom Line: I love my washer and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Well, maybe a little, but that won't stop my declarations of allegiance and fidelity.
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| millinocket's Full Review: Kenmore Elite 3.8 cu. ft. HE4t King Size Capacity ... |
I’m in love with my washing machine. There, I admit it. Now, this is not the kind of love in which I would generally indulge, as I do not love laundry. Yet I must do it, of course, and have found renewed vigor for the chore now that I am the proud owner of a Kenmore Elite HE4t. In fact, I have been known to watch the clothes spin in their pretty stainless steel drum, just stand there and watch them, listening to the soft, barely audible hum of my miracle washer…….
The Machine
The Kenmore Elite HE4t is a grand behemoth of a front load washer. It has a shiny stainless steel drum (which adds to the entertainment value of watching the clothes spin) and a fancy computer-like touch pad system for choosing exactly how you would like to wash your clothes.
Though it has a tendency to look huge, its measurements are only a little bigger than a standard top-loader (38” tall, 27” wide, 31 1/2” deep). The problem is that, as with any front-loader, if you just buy the machine, the door is so low to the ground that removing laundry is a challenge even for the most limber laundry expert. So…..you buy a 13” pedestal (with a drawer for extra storage – neat!) so you can actually get at your sparkly clean clothes and you end up with one majorly tall washing machine. Make extra sure before you purchase that you have room for the bulk - we had to take down some cupboards to fit the thing in its allotted space.
You add detergent to the machine via a little compartment in the top left corner. There are spots for powdered detergent, liquid detergent, liquid bleach and liquid softener. Kenmore recommends using HE (High Efficiency) detergent specially formulated for HE washers.
* A note about installation*
There is a lengthy guide to installing this washer in the manual. I looked at it briefly and it intimidated me, so I looked away quickly lest I fall into a stupor. For those of you who, like me, are mechanically impaired, I would suggest the method we chose: Let the Sears guys install the thing.
The Features
So what else do you get on this machine? Loads of features. The touch panel has nine pre-set cycles ranging from Silk/Ultra-Delicate to Bulky/Bedding and Sanitary. The pre-set cycles vary in run time, water temperature, spin speed and number of rinses. In addition to the pre-sets, you can adjust any of the variables manually. We have a tendency to use the Normal/Casual setting for most loads and change the water temperature from warm/cold (which is the pre-set) to hot/cold for our whites. You can also soak, rinse and spin, drain and spin or add an extra rinse if you so choose. There is also an option to choose the level of soil (light, medium and heavy) of your wash. Depending on which variables and pre-sets you choose, the washer will automatically adjust the cycle time, which is displayed in bright red glowing numbers on the panel. The shortest cycle is the drain and spin at 12 minutes (shortest wash cycle is silk/ultra delicate at 30 minutes) and the longest is sanitary at 2 full hours. The normal/casual setting that we use most often runs 45 minutes, regardless of changes in water temperature.
Now, this is one serious control panel. In addition to all those features above, you can also create a custom program, or choose to pre-wash, stain treat, save energy plus, extended spin or turn on/off the end of cycle signal. Of these options, the only one I’ve used is the end of cycle signal, which I promptly turned off once I realized that the thing made my ears bleed.
The Kenmore Elite HE4t also sports a lovely huge capacity. It claims to be able to wash something like 23 bath towels (I can’t remember the exact wording the salesman used), but, surprisingly enough, we simply haven’t had opportunity to do that particular load. I will say that it takes a load at least 1 ½-2 times the size of my old top-loader with ease. This is wonderful, though my old dryer (which has not died so it can be replaced by the matching Elite HE4t Dryer - yet…..) has some trouble drying these enormous loads. We usually go through and take out those things that dry quickly after 40 minutes or so and then the rest of the load can dry. It ends up adding about 10-15 minutes to the overall drying time, but that’s still considerably less than it took before to wash and dry two separate loads.
One thing you do not get to control on this washer is how much water it uses. The machine adjusts the amount of water to the size of the load automatically. According to Kenmore, the Elite HE4t uses 69% less water and 64% less energy than a standard washer. I believe it – I’ve watched the amount of water going into the washer – it’s remarkably less than my old top loader.
The manual that comes with the washer is great. There are a lot of variables you can control here – it isn’t like my old turn-the-knob-and-pull washer that was completely intuitive and self explanatory. The manual goes through the various options in detail so you can pick the settings that are best for the type of laundry you do.
Why Do I Love You, Kenmore Elite HE4t?
I love this washer for so many, many reasons, above and beyond my personal fascination with watching the clothes spin. I’ll give you the highlights.
1.It’s big. We covered that, but it’s a definite plus. I can wash my queen sized comforter in here no problem. Big old sleeping bags, too. No more trekking those things to the Laundromat.
2.It’s quiet. I swear, you barely know the thing is running, it makes only a soft little hum. The only time you’re really aware of it is when it’s on high spin and really winds up.
3.It does not become unbalanced. Because it’s a front loader it is by nature far less likely to become unbalanced and walk across the house making horrible noises. Even with very large loads, balance is not an issue.
4.My clothes are clean. Very clean. I noticed right away that things were fluffier, less likely to have soap residue and smelled clean no matter how yucky they were going in. This is a nice change from my creaking, groaning, barely cleaning old washer and holds true even with the largest loads.
5.It saves energy. The washer uses less water and less energy than my old washer – something that was an important deciding factor in our purchase.
6.It does a great job on our cold loads. We wash most of the adult’s clothes in the house in cold/cold then hang them to dry. Though this washer is designed to handle large loads, we have not had a problem with our smaller cold loads. We use the Handwash/Wool setting and switch the spin from extra low to low, otherwise the clothes are soaking wet when we hang them up. Because of the orientation of the tub, the clothes are also less wrinkled when they come out of the washer, which is especially nice for the loads that won’t go into the dryer.
7.There’s a certain childish glee that comes from stuffing your washer as full as is humanly possible. If you’re like me, you were taught to never overload the washer – yet with this one that’s exactly how it works best.
8.The soap dispenser rinses clean each time – we have not had any problems with lingering detergent or bleach in their respective compartments. Do note, though, that if you use powdered detergent when you have the cup set for liquid, you will end up with significant residue.
But My Love Is Not Unconditional…….
Yeah, there are some things about the Kenmore Elite HE4t that I don’t like so much. Not many, but a few.
1.The special detergent. This really isn’t a big deal, and from my research it looks as though the regular detergent can leave residue in the tub that can cause mold problems. But it is slightly more expensive. The up side is that I only have to use an eighth of a cup – even for those mega-loads.
2.We have to leave the door open when the machine is not in use. Because front loaders have an airtight seal when closed, they need to air out when not in use to prevent mold from forming, especially around the door gasket. I have a tendency to run into it as I pass through the laundry room, especially since the machine is fairly deep to begin with. I suspect I will stop doing this in time, but right now it bugs me.
3.The Kenmore Elite HE4t was incredibly expensive. Do I think it’s worth it? Yes. Do I still have palpitations from the price? Yes. We paid over $1700 total for the machine, the pedestal and an extended warranty (yes, I know those things are for suckers, but this machine has a lot of expensive parts – particularly that control panel. I don’t want to pay an arm and a leg if it needs repair). And that was with a discount of 20% on the machine itself. So yeah, it was reeeeeally expensive.
Overall Impressions
We’ve had our Kenmore Elite HE4t washer for several months. So far, so good. I love the way it performs, it saves me time by doing great big loads, it saves energy and water, it’s quiet and I can entertain myself by watching my clothes spin. Despite having to be careful about mold, the special detergent and the sticker shock, I’m extremely pleased. It isn’t often that an expensive piece of cleaning equipment makes me anything but nauseated, but I’m happy to report that my miracle washer is a big exception. Four and a half solid stars, rounded up to five because the thing makes me happy.
thanks to pogomom for adding my Miracle Washer to the database!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1,700
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millinocket
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