Great washer, can't find a fault!
Written: Jun 22 '09
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Pros: Does its job and does it quietly!
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: A washer that comes from a company with a good repair rating. Works well. Very quiet. Highly recommended.
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| psimon's Full Review: LG 4.0 cu.ft. XL Capacity Washer - WM2101HW |
Five plus years ago we bought a Maytag Neptune washer and dryer. At the time, we were told Maytags were built like tanks and last forever. Heck, that's what their ads suggest.... And everyone is honest in their advertising, right?
Anyway, one morning my wife went to retrieve the laundry from the washer when the cycle was done. When she opened the door, smoke came out of the tub and she smelled burnt rubber. Time for a service call. When the "Maytag Repairman" came out, he said the bearings were shot and the cost of repair far exceeded the cost of a new washer! So much for built like a tank! (Of course, this was 6 months after the 5 year warranty ran out!)
We checked Consumer Reports and saw that LG washers had a lower than average repair rate, so LG was the brand for us. Being that Memorial Day weekend was approaching Sears was having a sale (like they aren't all the time anyway). It was an attractive deal so I took a look.
The model I originally wanted had a 1 week wait (would not be a hit in my house... no clean laundry for a week) but the salesman showed me a newer model (hmm, just came in) for $20 more. It was slightly larger in capacity so the few extra $ was worth it. This was the model WM2101HW
It is also a front load unit. Here are some of the specs for the unit:
CONTROLS:
Very intuitive. They are all electronic controls. Doing laundry can be as simple or as complicated as you want. On this unit, it can be as simple as throwing in your laundry, pressing the power button, turning the large knob (called the "Dial-a-cycle") to choose the wash cycle, and if you want the default choices, pressing Start!
But, you do have choices:
WASH CYCLES:
You have these choices as to wash cycle (which includes default settings for water temperature: Sanitary, Cotton/Towels, Normal, Perm Press, Bulky/Large, Delicates, Hand Wash, Speed Wash
WATER TEMPERATURE
Each WASH cycle has an associated water temperature settings, but you can always override them. Your water temperature choices are: Extra Hot/Cold, Hot/Cold, Warm/Warm, Warm/Cold, Cold/Cold
SPIN CYCLES
You have the option of the following: Extra High (1100 RPM max), High (1020 RPM/980 RPM), Medium (980 RPM/600 RPM), Low (950 RPM/600 RPM/400 RPM) and No Spin.
Not only do you have these settings, but there are these additional options: Prewash, Quick Cycle, Extra Rinse, Rinse + Spin, Stain Cycle, Tub Clean, Water Plus, SpinSense and Delay Wash (up to 19 hours)
Other Features of this washer
CAPACITY
This machine is close to the top when it comes to capacity. It has 4.0 cubic ft of washer space. It is large enough to wash a king-size comforter. We can easily wash a queen sized bedspread with no space problems, and they come out nice and clean. With the extra fast Spin cycle, they also come out relatively dry! Well, not dry, but holding a lot less water than they used to! Less water in the laundry means your dryer will run less!
TUB
This washer has a "NeverRust" Stainless Steel tub. It resists the tendency of zippers and buttons to scratch the interior of the tub. Makes it stay looking new that much longer.
SANITARY CYCLE
This cycle allows you to get tough stains and bacteria out of dirty clothes with this special cycle that boosts water to 158°F.
LoDECIBEL QUIET OPERATION
Because this unit has Direct Drive and auto balancing, noise is dramatically reduced compared to conventional motors. It's tough to know its running once you leave the laundry room.
SENSECLEAN SYSTEM
The water level and wash time are set automatically based on the weight and size of each load for optimal washing care.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
This washer is considered Energy Star rated. It is so "efficient" that it earned an Energy Efficiency rebate in NJ.... That says a lot.... NJ gives up nothing these days!
FLEXIBILITY
This unit can be used as it sits (with a companion dryer), it can be put on pedestals to raise it about 15" off the floor. This allows for easier loading and unloading. It can even be stacked with a matching dryer! Can't get more flexible than that!
To use the washer, you press the large silver button that has the "power" symbol on it that you find on many TVs, DVD players, VCRs, etc. Once you make your choices of washing features, you press the "play" button, again like on other electronic devices in your house. IT is also the "pause" button if you want to add more items after your washer is running.
When the washer is started, it first locks the door and spins the contents a few times. The purpose of this is to ascertain the size of the load, so the washer can use the proper amount of water and appropriate washing time. We have found that a typical full washer, on a "normal" wash cycle, using cold/cold water and "high" speed spin takes about 55 minutes. Yes, this is longer than our "non-efficient" old Maytag, but I will give up those few minutes to save on water and electricity.
One thing to note..... Because this is an Energy Efficient washer, it REQUIRES HE versions of any brand laundry detergent. The HE versions of the popular brands reduce the sudsing of the detergent. If you don't use the HE versions, there will be too much sudsing and the washer will not only run inefficiently, but it will also result in a poor result. Yes, HE detergents cost more, but in the long run you will save because your cost for doing your laundry will be lower and you will get excellent results!
When the washer has completed its job and is all finished, instead of just chiming at us to let us know it is done, it plays a little tune. It's long enough to get our attention, yet short enough not to be annoying.
This washer is the standard 27" width so it should easily replace any standard washer in anyone's home.
A slight sidebar..... We made the purchase at Sears and they were great... with Sears delivery and installation, we had it up and running in our house the day after I was in the store to buy it. Even better was that 2 weeks later Best Buy had it on sale for about $75 less than Sears. I took the Best Buy ad into Sears, and with no questions asked, they refunded the difference plus 10%. So my good washer ended up even cheaper than I expected!
We are very happy with our new LG WM2101WH. It gives us clean clothes efficiently! What more can I ask.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 680
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Epinions.com ID:
psimon
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: NJ
Reviews written: 155
Trusted by: 23 members
About Me:
Engineer that loves Disney, computers, photography and anything that merges those hobbies!
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