With two boys who love to get dirty - I love this washer!

My two boys are mud magnets. I used to have a GE top loader. I thought it was fine - until I got this Whirlpool. This washing machine is absolutely amazing!!! What makes it so fantastic? First of all, there is a wide range of settings - everything from a hand wash cycle for delicate items that I used to have to hand wash to a heavy duty cycle for muddy jeans. Of course, there is also a normal cycle which I find I use the most often. Within each pre set cycle, you can choose whether the items are "more" dirty or "less" dirty and the washer adjusts the cleaning accordingly. You can also choose some variations on water temperature, but this is limited within each cycle to what the washing machine deems appropriate. For example, I can't use "HOT" water on the "delicate" cycle. Yes, this is a high efficiency washer so it uses less water and that means using special detergent, but most major brands sell a variety of HE detergent and the regular grocery store has plenty to choose from. I've used both Tide HE and All HE, both with great results. I do find that the powder works better than liquid AND that you do NOT need to fill the dispenser to the "MAX" level. When I use liquid, I put in about 1/2 inch of detergent and about 3/4 inch with powder.