Great washer at a price lower than Neptune
Written: Jun 01 '01
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Pros: cleaner clothes, less water, less detergent
Cons: a little noisy during draining
The Bottom Line: It does a great job at a decent price. Absolutely recommended.
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| skhong's Full Review: Frigidaire FWT449 Washer |
We were not in need of a new washer when we purchased this washer. But we did have SOME reasons to buy it anyway. We figured when we moved out of the house, we would take it with us and leave the existing washer at that house (which is exactly what we did). We were expecting at the time, so we chose to do the cloth diaper thing and wash them ourselves. And I'll say, after 2 years of that, almost every single diaper is still white.
Let me start by saying that we've used this washer for about 4 years now and have had no problems with it at all. It works every time.
PROS
Large capacity- Even though the door opening is smaller than the Neptune, this washer swallows up tons of stuff. As the car mirror says: "Objects are larger than they appear" holds true for this washer's drum.
Less Water- Everybody says it uses less water. Well, I actually measured it compared to our existing washer. I used an average sized load of white clothes and put the washer on a normal cycle with no extra rinse. I did about the same amount of clothes in the old Montgomery Wards standard top-loading washer. The Wards machine used 65 gallons of water to complete the load. The Fridgidaire took 35. That's not quite 50% water savings, but still significant!
Less Detergent- We have not used the "HE" (high efficiency) detergent that is designed for front loaders. We use normal detergent, usually Arm and Hammer liquid. For a normal load, we use about 1/3 the amount that you would normally use, and things are turning out just fine.
Cleaner Clothes- A friend had an article of kids clothes that her 4-year old daughter stained with dirt, grass, etc. She washed and dried it several times with bleach and detergent, but was unable to get the stain out enough to let her kid be seen in public with it. I borrowed those pants, and threw it in with my wash and dry cycles 3 times. After the third time, I brought it back to her. She was impressed and said that it was usable in public now. So, this washer can remove set-in stains, even after they've been dried several times.
Cons
During the normal wash cycle when the clothes are tumbling around, it is very quiet, just a little swish-swish, with a buzzing sound from the timer.
However, during the water-fill cycle, it sounds like Minnehaha Falls (I live near Minnehaha Falls here in Minneapolis).
Also, during the water-drain cycle, the pump is very noisy.
I'm not sure why they designed it to be quiet during the wash cycle, but not in the water-handling department.
The high-speed spin cycle sounds as if the machine is taking off, but not too loudly.
Overall
We really like this washer. It gets our clothes cleaner, uses less water, less detergent, and can handle an amazing amount of stuff. I wouldn't put this near living space only due to the noise issue. (Ours is in the basement)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 650
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Epinions.com ID:
skhong
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Location: Minnesota, US
Reviews written: 47
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
My short bio: woodworking, photography, trucks...
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