After ten+ years of flawless performance, my old Kenmore washer started to produce large lakes of water on the floor after each wash load. My husband was content to toss a towel on the floor to sop it up but I got tired of this routine quickly. With three grubby little bib-refusing kids at the home and a husband working construction, having a reliable, well-functioning washing machine is almost more important to me than my computer (almost, I said!). Time to buy a new washing machine…

My sister and my mother-in-law both rave about their Maytag Neptune front loading washer so I was naturally intrigued by this machine. I was a bit put off by the price tag, though ($999). I went to my home library of Consumer Reports magazines to read about washing machines and found that the Maytag was rated high – but the Kenmore Front Load Washer was rated even higher. Coincidentally, Sears was having a sale on this washer at the time that I was doing my "get serious" search, so I jumped at the chance to buy the Kenmore Front Load Washer With Rear Controls for $650 (with a rebate for free delivery).


Choice of Kenmore Front Loader Models

If you decide to purchase a front loader from Kenmore, you need to also decide where you want the controls to be. We elected to get the model with rear controls (i.e. on the top of the machine near the back) because we have too many curious little dial-turners in our house to have the controls down low. However, if you want to save floor space by stacking your washer and dryer, then the front controls would be the preferred choice. By the way, this washer is apparently made by Frigidaire and is identical to the Frigidaire front load washer except for the control panel, parts of which are patented by Kenmore.


Out With the Old…In With the New

The Sears delivery person (i.e. college student using an old pick-up truck) arrived with our new machine. He graciously agreed to unhook our old washer and haul it out to the carport (where it still sits 6 weeks later) and then hook up our new machine. After much grunting and fiddling, he pronounced the washer "installed" and left.

Great! Naturally, I wanted to take if for a test drive. Fortunately, I took the time to read the multitude of bright yellow stickers on the front of the machine that explained what needed to be done to remove shipping braces, etc. Turned out that our trusty delivery guy removed only one of the four massive shipping bolts in the back and none elsewhere throughout the machine.

To make a long story short, my handyman husband spent over an hour sweating and grunting and swearing until he got the washer really ready to use As usual, his question to me (and the departed delivery guy) was "What would your average elderly woman do if she had to do this herself?" This is not a criticism of this product, but a warning to others who have their washing machine delivered and "installed"; – make sure they REALLY make it ready to use! The instructional video that accompanies the washer explains how to remove the shipping braces but also says that this should be done by the trained technician that delivers the machine. Even with clear guidelines on what to do, the actual work itself was on the strenuous side, to say the least.


Features of the Kenmore Front Load Washer

So what comes with this fancy new washer? These are some of the important features:

~ Extra large capacity stainless steel wash tub (2.7 cubic feet)

~ Tumble action: Rather than use an agitator to wash to clothes, the front loader uses a two-way tumble action. This gently lifts and drops clothes through the water, effectively cleaning the clothes without beating them to death. Clothes are supposed to last longer with this type of wash method. I haven't had it long enough to confirm that clothes actually last longer, but they certainly come out clean and soft. Tissues left folded in my pants pocket remain folded (and clean) at the end of the wash, rather than ripped apart and speckled on all the rest of the clothes.

~ Multitude of options and cycles: This washer has the option of having a delayed start from 1 to 8 hours. The regular cycle has the choice of heavy, medium, or short wash. Other cycles include permanent press, delicates/hand washables, and a prewash. There are three standard rinse cycles with the option of an extra rinse. The spin cycle can be normal or fast. The fast spin cycle is a blazing 1000 RPMs which maximizes the water extraction (great for towels and jeans).

~ Four wash/rinse temperature combinations: Hot/cold, warm/warm, warm/cold, and cold/cold.

~ Slide-out detergent dispenser: This slide-out tray is on the front of the washer on the top left corner. It has a safety catch on it that needs to be slid over to open it, making it less accessible to curious children. The tray has three dispensers: detergent (liquid/powder), bleach, and fabric softener. The machine will not start unless the detergent dispenser is pushed all the way in to the locked position.

~ Automatic water level adjustment: If you're used to a top-loading washer, you are also used to setting the water level for each specific load. This step is eliminated with the front loader since it automatically senses how much water is needed based on the size of the load.

~ Safety door lock: Once the wash cycle begins, the door is locked until the cycle is over (or turned off). This keeps people from inadvertently opening the door when the washer is full of water.

~ Tempered glass door: The glass door is a big attraction with my kids. My 16 month old frequently goes over to it and presses his face against it as the washer is going. I admit that I've spent my share of time watching the clothes go around and around, too. We've even sat in front of the washer and sung the "Wheels on the Bus" song, replacing it with "The clothes in the washer go round and round…" Cheap entertainment.

~ End-of-cycle signal: My favorite thing about this feature is that it can be turned off. The last thing I need is a loud buzzing sound in the already buzzing confusion of my life.


Why I Love My New Washer

I know, I know - it's hard to imagine loving an appliance. However, my tremendous appreciation for this washer borders on love. I've been known to walk by and affectionately stroke the smooth white top as it efficiently washes the crude out of our endless supply of laundry.

The are some specific features of this washer that make it especially attractive to me:

~ Quiet: This machine is dead quiet. I've often accused my poor husband of forgetting to start the laundry after baths because I don't hear the loud churning and clunking sounds that I've always associated with our older washing machine. The only time this machine makes any noise is during the spin cycle. It doesn't rattle like our old washer but it does make a whirring sound, especially during the fast cycle.

~ Takes much less water: I try to be conscious of my impact on the environment and do what I can (within reason) to minimize that impact. The fact that the front loader washer uses 40% less water than a conventional top loader was a strong selling point to me. Less water also means lower water bills and lower energy bills (for heating the water).

~ Takes much less detergent: This machine also requires much less detergent than the conventional top loader. You can buy detergent especially designed for front loaders but I don't think it's worth the added expense. I've used both types of liquid detergent (regular and front-loader) and I don't notice any difference. With regular detergent, I use about a third of what I would use for my top loader.

~ Clothes come out almost dry: Especially when the fast spin is used, clothes come out of this washer much drier than they did out of my other washer. I washed a cloth shower curtain in this washer and left it over night. It was completely dry in the morning when I took it out to hang dry.

~ Can wash bulky items: One of my frustrations with my previous washer is that it couldn't handle comforters very well. This one has no trouble with bulky items like that because it doesn't have the agitator in the middle.

~ Clothes feel great: Now maybe it's my imagination, but I could swear that my clothes feel cleaner and softer after using this washer.

~ No more freeze-outs in the shower: In the past, I've had to leave stern instructions with my husband to not start the laundry when I'm in the shower. If he did, I would get a prolonged blast of cold water as the wash basin filled with warm water. With the front loader, so little water is used that I don't notice any "chill" in the shower. Now my husband doesn't get any more "chill" from me either, at least not regarding the laundry.

~ No mildew problem: Anyone with a Maytag Neptune knows that a big drawback to this machine is the constant mildew smell in the tub due to the fact that it doesn't drain completely. This problem does NOT occur with the Kenmore.


Anything I DON’T Like About This Washer?

Well, since you asked, there are a few minor things that I either don't like or think could be improved:

~ Hard on my back: Stooping down to empty the washer usually isn't a problem for me except when my back is already hurting for some reason. This is the nature of the front loader. You can minimize this somewhat by building a raised platform for your washer. We didn't do this but it really isn't a problem for us - yet.

~ No light: Hey, it's dark in there! I know that my sister's Neptune washer has a light inside which helps when searching for that last sock or pair of panties. I think the addition of a light would be a logical choice in any redesign of this washer.

~ Sock eater: Actually, this washer doesn't really eat socks, but it does squirrel them away for awhile. There is a large convoluted rubber gasket all around the door opening and stray socks often get wedged in one of the folds and overlooked. Now that I'm wise to this problem, I check there right away when a sock is missing. I've also found coins, and miscellaneous small items that were left in my husband's pants pockets.

~ Cycle takes longer: I've noticed that the heavy-duty wash on this machine takes noticeably longer than the same cycle on my previous washer. However, I have enough of a life that I haven't bothered to time the exact length of the cycle.

~ No more adding "just one more thing": Our previous approach to clothes washing was to start the machine right after baths with the kids' clothes and then gradually add other items during the wash cycle as needed. Now we have to be more prepared when we start the load since you can't just fling open the door and add one more pair of socks once the wash has begun. Not much you can do to change this. We're the ones who have to change and we've actually adapted fairly quickly.


My Recommendation?

Overall, I think this is a terrific washer and I'm thrilled that we bought it. My enthusiasm though, has recently tempered since we are having some malfunction with the final spin cycle. In the past week or so, the clothes are often sopping wet at the end of the cycle. When I run it through another spin, they come out just fine. This doesn't happen all the time, but it happens often enough that it is definitely a problem.

I was hoping to be able to explain why this malfunction was occurring since the Sears repair person was due to come by today. However, he never called or showed. Typical. I promise to update you as soon as he takes a look at it. However, I didn't want to wait to post this because we all might grow old in the process.

October 26 Update: Well, the Sears repairman showed up today and apparently the culprit is too much soap. Even though we use half of the amount of soap recommended for high efficiency machines (like this one), we are still using 2 to 4 times more soap than we need. He ran a load of clothes through three cycles without any soap and there were still soap suds in the water. The spin cycle got faster with each successive no-soap wash.

He said that this is an extremely common problem (you think they would warn you in the manual, huh?). The excess soap actually forms a film over the rinse water and blocks it from draining completely.

Consider yourself warned: Don't over do it on the soap. Less is best!

October 31 Update: We were still having problems with our washer, despite the decreased soap, so we called the repairman back. Turns out that a stray nickel got lodged in the pump next to the impeller. He tore the whole thing apart and fixed it. I guess this kind of problem is not covered by warranty but he felt bad about getting water all over our floor so he said he would "take care of it" for us. It seemed odd to us that they wouldn't have some way of filtering out these kinds of objects. We must not be the only ones who wash their money from time to time. Because of this problem, I'm knocking it down to four stars instead of five.

April 13 Update: We had another visit from the repairman today after the machine went on the blink again. He jokingly said "So how much money is in there today?" What he didn't know is that my husband had already taken out the offending nickel (yes, another nickel) that plugged up the pump. It still didn't work, though. This time he found a small piece of glass that was jammed in the impeller. Now I know that my husband is not the best about emptying his pockets but then who is? The lack of a filter to keep out stray coins and glass is definitely a weakness of this model.

Thanks for reading my "book". :) Hope it helps you make a decision regarding your washing machine purchase. Feel free to email me if you have any questions that I haven't addressed.


Recommended: Yes