Kenmore Elite 7.5 cu. ft. Electric Dryer with EvenHeat™ Automatic Temperature Control (this is the matching dryer to the this washer http://www.epinions.com/content_86590197380).

Come in 3 color choices—white-on-white, bisque-on-bisque, and graphite and available in electric or natural gas.

It boasts about being “America’s Largest Capacity Dryer among leading brands”. Its capacity is 7.5 cu ft., .3 larger than the others. Not an impressive size difference to me, but it does allow items to be spread out—it’s a significant size difference from our old machine. Clothes are less wrinkled and dry faster with the new dryer and I’ll admit it—my clothes aren’t shrinking anymore. I used to buy one size larger to allow for shrink—something I no longer have to do. In fact, my husband rarely ruins anything with this dryer, not so with the old one. It got hot and stayed that way throughout the drying process.

FEATURES It has sensor-touch controls--most new ones do. Use one of the preset cycles and all it takes is two “touches” to start the machine. It has 9 factory preset cycles which include: Jeans, Bulky Items, Ultra Delicate, and Damp Dry. It also has an “Estimated Time Remaining” display to let you know when your drying is expected to be completed—very useful! Status lights let you know what options you’ve chosen and you can change them at anytime without restarting the cycle.

You’re also able to customize cycles and you can save these settings to use again, but I’ve never spent the time to learn how. There are so many options I never use—I stick to the basics. We use the towels/jeans option the most often as it fits what we dry.

SO WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL? It uses a system they call EvenHeat™ which is a system of sensors which determine how damp the clothing is and automatically adjusted the temperature so they won’t over dry. The cycle begins at the highest level selected for the cycle and as the clothes tumble they pass over moisture sensing strips which monitor the remaining dampness. Another sensor reads the exhaust air temperature and adds that to the formula. A microchip processes the information and decreases the temperature as the load gets dry and until ultimately the clothes are dry and the cycle ends.

You can also manually dry clothes by choosing the temperature and the amount of time for them to dry (timed-cycle) or use the damp dry cycle which dries until the load is 80% dry and then alerts you with the audible signal that it’s done—this is useful for items that might over dry and be damaged. It can also tumble with no heat for up to 80 minutes if you want to freshen curtains or bedding without adding heat. The “touch up” cycle adds a little heat, some tumbling, and a cool down to refresh items that can stand a bit of heat.

The “bulky cycle” is for rugs and comforters. The drying time has been approximately 70 minutes for our queen-sized polyester comforter. Beats going to the Laundromat!

IT IS QUIET Gone are the days when we could hear the buttons on my husband’s jeans clinking around as they tumbled against the metal. In fact, it’s so quiet I can hardly ever hear it running and rely on the display to tell me if it’s done. That’s because I chose not to use the End of Cycle alert--—it’s loud, annoying and I rarely need to know the minute my laundry is done. If I do, it’s one push of a button to turn the signal back on.

WRINKLE GUARD III Choose this option and your load with periodically tumble, without heat, for a few seconds each time, for up to 2-1/2 hours. This is to prevent clothes from being wrinkled. I still iron, but this does help somewhat on thick jeans.

EASY LOADER It’s a front wide-mouthed loader with a Drum Light that comes in handy when you’re searching the interior for that last missing sock.

TUMBLE FREE HEATED DRYER RACK - This rack is placed in the center of the dryer and accommodates one sweater or a pair of tennis shoes. The rack allows the air to circulate. They claim this one dries three times faster than any other dryer rack but this is the only one I’ve ever owned so I can’t say if their claim is true. We’ve never used ours, and I’m not even sure where it is, however, if you have hand wash only items this would be helpful.

HOW IT LOOKS I suppose it shouldn’t be important, but since this is in our basement bathroom, one that is occasionally used by guests, it is nice that it’s great looking. Rounded corners, sleeked-back control panel, and great paint job make it pleasing to the eye.

THE FINAL SAY Ok, so I like the dryer much more than the matching washer (http://www.epinions.com/content_86590197380). Just the amount saved in replacing clothes that were made a size smaller in the old dryer has been worth it. While not everything dries by sensor well (we always have to add time for towel & jeans), the majority of the drying is done well.

SPECS
1/3 hp Motor
6 Temperatures
4-way Venting
Heat input - 5,400 Watts (electric)
100% porcelain

WARRANTY
1 year parts and labor


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 789.00