Flawed engineering - Corrosion, mold, and destroyed clothes
Written: Aug 04 '07 (Updated Aug 13 '07)
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Pros: The best thing I can say about it was that it was free.
Cons: Do not use powdered soap! Difficult to disassemble. Internal components need constant replacement.
The Bottom Line: This level of failure happens sometimes when you re-invent the wheel. The whole design concept may hold promise in a future revision of this product.
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| thirteenthree's Full Review: Whirlpool Calypso GVW9959K Top Load Washer |
Update 8/13/2007: With this being my first review .. I received some feedback asking (effectively) "Well, okay, so its high-maintenence but.. when it does work, tell us about its features and functionality."
Happy to oblige, sorry for the oversight. Now when it works, it's great. Here's what I'll say about it:
Good: The cycles are intuitive enough for me where I just push buttons and let it do its thing for me. Just like every other washing machine before it ... except that now my colors aren't fading and my whites are white. I know nothing about proper temperatures or when to add the bleach or fabric softener or whatever. This is a lifesaver.
Good: The "whitest whites" cycle really works. I've thrown my dingiest and most forelorn tanktops and socks at it and I'm amazed at how clean they came out of it. Some of them look new, soft, and sparkly white again.
Good: I didn't trust the HE at first -- But for as little water as it uses, I'm surprised that it gets all of the "bar smoke" out of my shirts. It must be doing something right.
Good: I don't use HE soap. Instead, I use about 1/16 (if that!) of a cap of Arm & Hammer laundry soap. Still plenty of suds going through the recirculate. In fact if I put any more than that in ... it oversuds and stops the cycle :P
I save a LOT of soap without sacrificing cleanliness.
Bad: I can't say this enough -- Never use powdered soap in it even though the filler tray says "liquid or powdered soap".
Bad: Retains slimy mold and calcium inside the outer tub over time. Unless you have a water softener, inline water filter, and rarely get soil/grime on your laundry ...I strongly suggest having annual cleaning/inspection performed annually. Try a local appliance shop over a national chain if you have that option -- even if you didn't buy it there. The additional bonus to that is once they have it dismantled, they can survey the inner workings to see if any are deteriorated or loose as described below.
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Heres my original post:
Mine's out of warranty, the previous owner spent $300 repairing it and it broke again. He gave it to me for free. Now for the price I can't complain. I got a better deal than some Calypso owners! I'm sharing what I've learned about it and what I've repaired on it:
Rather than filling the entire drum with water, the Calypso washer fills partially -- Then a pump recirculates the same water over the clothes from the bottom to the top while they are agitated. I'd say it saves somewhere between 5-10 gallons per wash cycle.
Many reviews state that this washer does not have an agitator. That is actually not correct to say: The entire plastic disc and "nub" at the bottom of the washer are the agitator. The disk wobbles and rocks back and forth on a "universal joint" (Think of it as a clock mounted horizontally that rocks down like a gyroscope at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) for agitation.
Whirlpool refers to this as "Nu-tate".
One of the problems with this agitator is that when it flips down, the seal can be broken and things like socks, childrens garments, or possibly pantyhose can get stuck or ripped there .. or worse yet, end up in the tub and recirculation system. This will burn out your pump.
Other items lost down here and sucked into the sump basin or pump system will cause the "LD" ("Long Drain") error. Normally in a washing machine if you leave coins in your pocket you'll find them at the bottom of the washer .. but not with the calypso, which has large round holes in the bottom of the stainless steel drum (which you don't see under the plastic agitator at the bottom). I've found so many coins in the wash over the years so I have to remind myself to check my pockets carefully: Anything I forget could destroy the washing machine.
It looks shiny and sparkly inside, but the water's actually retained in a larger plastic tub around the drum that you don't see. That in and of itself is normal -- but this plastic tub is prone to collecting mildew and mold on the walls! When I went to service mine, I was quite appalled at what was inside of there. There was lingering dirt and grime inside of the tub and the sump basin as well. There was some kind of grey, greasy residue in there. Not sure what its from but I wasnt surprised to read peoples reports that their whites are dingy and/or their clothes have grey streaks on them. Because this stuff that stays in the tub is what you're washing your laundry in.
A couple people have complained it doesnt remove ALL the water after a wash cycle. So I will say that mine seems to get all the water out -- but whats left behind is disgusting.
Whatever you do, do NOT use powdered soap in the Calypso. It will cake and stick to your U-Joint down below in the tub where you can't see this happening. Then it will build up in there and never fully rinse out. Once it starts accumulating around the center components the residual soap will make everything inside corrode faster.
(And let me be very clear here: There was so much of it built up over time I had to chisel the powdered soap off with a hammer and screwdriver and get the rest off with a wire brush when I replaced the U-joint)
Since the sump basin is in the rear of the washer, I jacked the front end of the washer 3/4" higher than the rear so it tilts back there towards the sump basin. I wanted to be sure it would all get recirculated and drained. I'm not sure if it will help, but I am sure that this is the best that can be done.
It's gone through a pump and a u-joint. Other problems: The ring that holds the u-joint in pops off sometimes, which wreaks havoc with the agitator. I have to remove the agitator and tighten this stupid thing every once in awhile. Also the retaining ring that holds the stainless steel drum down to the center spindle BROKE while the drum was spinning (at something like 1,000 RPMs?) and I have to say -- the crashing noise it made that day scared the living crap out of me! I'm tempted to tack-weld both rings in place next time I have it disassembled. And I assure you there will be many, many, many such occasions.
This time when I took it apart I noticed that the assembly in the middle (that the Drum and U-joint are theoretically SUPPOSED to be secured to when these darned rings aren't popping off or cracking) is completely rotted out. Where's the metal from it? I don't know. Presumbaly its been in contact with my clothing and sucked out through the pump. Surprisingly, it's not leaking. And I'm not sure if it'll matter to me when it does. There's a drain in the floor next to it.
I'm sure glad I'm a jeans-and-tshirt kind of guy because fortunately, not even this washer could destroy most of what I wear. But tell that to someone who paid $1,100 for their washer and put a $200 shirt in it. :-D
I would not recommend this product to anyone. In terms of how its designed its a neat concept. But I think it should be re-designed with a mold-resistent tub liner, and all the internal metal components should be stainless steel so they don't corrode and rot away like the inside of mine did ... I think this washer should also have a function added to the last cycle where perhaps.. for example, inlets at the bottom of the tub would rinse off the spindle (below the drum) and flush out the sump area while the pump sucks away whatever's left inside.
I think the recalls, warranty work, and field experience will get this company back to the drawing board for the HE toploaders. Hopefully they'll improve it in future revisions.... because if they do, I'll actually consider buying one of these things in a later model!
Until then I'll probably continue using it until the motor's junk or until this corrosion on the center spindle renders it unusable or too leaky for even MY tastes.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
thirteenthree
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Reviews written: 1
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