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Thread Number: 15315
Consumer Reports tests the 2008 washers |
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Post# 258027 1/6/2008 at 00:55 (5,953 days old) by supersuds  (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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This is from the February 2008 issue, ou this week. Remember how CR dissed the top loaders for poor cleaning performance last year? Never mind! "Our latest tests found budget priced washers, including a $400 budget priced top-loader, that cleaned as well as the $1,500 top-loader at the top of our Ratings." The $400 top-loader is an Estate, which, they note, is essentially a Whirlpool. Some of the highlights: * Top five frontloaders: LG Tromm Steamwasher, a normal LG (WM0642H), the Whirlpool Duet Steam, the Miele W4840, and a Kenmore Elite Steam. * Best Buy Frontloader: Frigidaire Gallery GLTF2940F (7th overall)($650). * The Speed Queen frontloader was 18th out of 20. * Top five top-loaders: Maytag Bravos, Whirlpool Cabrio 6600, Fisher & Paykel Aquasmart, Whirlpool Cabrio 6200, GE Profile Harmony. * Best Buy top-loader: GE WJRE5500G, a hydrowave model ($480). * Most reliable frontloader: Whirlpool, closely followed by LG (!) Kenmore, and other brands; only Maytag is really behind, however. * Most reliable top-loader: Roper. Least reliable: Fisher & Paykel, Maytag, Amana. * Quote: "Miele's front-loader has a tub with a honeycomb design that's billed as gentler on clothes. But the $1,900 Miele was only middling for gentleness. Staber's $1,300 washer, the priciest top-loader tested, requires that you load clothes through a top into a chamber that spins like a front-loader. Yet that design significantly reduces capacity." * Top-rated dryer was an LG; best buys both GEs. Staber was 39th out of 39. | ||
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Post# 258029 , Reply# 1 1/6/2008 at 00:56 (5,953 days old) by supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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Oops! | ||
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Post# 258031 , Reply# 2 1/6/2008 at 01:09 (5,953 days old) by peteski50 (New York) |
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Ratings! | ||
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Post# 258032 , Reply# 3 1/6/2008 at 01:28 (5,953 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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Already Outdated! | ||
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Post# 258040 , Reply# 4 1/6/2008 at 03:56 (5,953 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Roper
Washing machines have been on top of CR's reliable ratings for ages now. Finally, am glad to see Miele move out of the dead last category, and into a top place. However as one has always suspected, CR slapped down Miele washers in the past due to their "small" capacity (5kgs/11/pds), so the uber Miele removes that complaint. As for front loaders, Miele or otherwise being less gentle on laundry than either top loaders or machines of the past, well a DUH! Between that damn Energy Star and US govt mandates, front loaders use so little water to wash laundry, in most cases clothes are literally rubbing against themselves/slapping against the tub. Personally think CR is the cause of more problems than they solve these days rating wise. One year an appliance/product is "in", the next "out". Yet one sees all manner and sort of person roaming car lots to appliance stores carrying CR,and quoting from said magazine as if it was the Bible. L. | ||
| Post# 258387 , Reply# 9 1/7/2008 at 11:07 (5,952 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
product knowledge
Unfortuneately,most salespeople aren't even interested in any so called features or the way appliances operate much less knowledgeable.This is an epidemic that's been around since the 70's.The Ge's do have a spray rinse after the deep rinse.None after the wash.The Whirlpools have the same as well as the new Maytags and Kenmores.Cycle times vary depending on the fabric settings on the timer but the average wash time is 7 minutes.Usualy,the main/normal cycle wash can be set from 18 to 4 minutes
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Post# 258399 , Reply# 10 1/7/2008 at 13:05 (5,952 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
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CR ratings
I will give a little history on my experience with new appliances vs. ratings in CR. I remodeled my condo a couple of years ago and outfitted the place with all new Kenmore Elite appliances. Everything was top of the line for Kenmore at the time (2005). I had only two of the appliances NOT have something break. My dishwasher had to have a new motor replaced after one year. My fridge had a castor break in less than a year after rolling it out ONCE to hook it up in the new kitchen. My range with the glass-touch panel was completely out of service for several months due to computer boards going out. Lastly, I discovered that my He4t washer had apparently been damaged when delivered as a side panel (not visible when in my bathroom) had been severely crushed. They installed and went on their way never mentioning it to me. I had to deal with Sears non-stop and got virtually nowhere when it came to dealing with these issues despite the overwhelming amount of warranty coverage I had on all of them. I also submitted complaints with the BBB to help me resolve issues and, again, got nowhere. Since CR always gives Kenmore products such great ratings and repair histories, I felt it necessary to write to them and share my terrible experience with Sears and their high-dollar products. Again, I heard nothing and got nowhere with them. I immediately discontinued my subscription to CR and will no longer give Sears or CR ANY of my money again. I don't trust any of the ratings I read and take them for a grain of salt. My next house will have strictly vintage appliances and I couldn't be happier. Just something for you all to read. :-) Jon | ||
| Post# 258419 , Reply# 11 1/7/2008 at 14:54 (5,952 days old) by seamusuk (Dover Kent UK) | ||
Same thing with which over here ! | ||
| Post# 258449 , Reply# 12 1/7/2008 at 17:35 (5,952 days old) by dascot (Scotland) | ||
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"You have the Whirlpool Cabrio twice." Looks like two different model numbers to me... | ||
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Post# 258479 , Reply# 15 1/7/2008 at 20:37 (5,951 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Remember The Four Factors of Good Laundry
Time Chemicals, Mechanical Action Water Temperature Any increase or decrease in one usually means a corresponding action in the others. Am guessing since cooler water temperatures are being used, the agitation has become more aggressive to "beat" soils out of laundry that would have been easily shifted by hotter water temps. Moi? I'd rather have less aggressive agitation and hotter water. L. | ||
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Post# 258490 , Reply# 16 1/7/2008 at 21:13 (5,951 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 258534 , Reply# 17 1/8/2008 at 00:50 (5,951 days old) by supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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There are a lot of things that are unexplained. I think once again Laundress has nailed it, however. For instance, the Bosch Nexxt 800 gets a "fair" for gentleness, while the Bosch Nexxt 500 is "very good." Why? Could it be just the cycle time on the 500, which is given as 80 minutes, while the 800 takes 105 minutes? It stands to reason that if you rub something a lot longer it will wear more. The short cycle Speed Queen also ranks tops for gentleness. This is just guesswork since they don't say. washabear, I have a nearly new Whirlpool 5800 toploader. I guarantee there is no difference its agitation and the 10 year old model it replaced. The water levels seem just as high too. other than eliminating the warm rinse option, I don't see how it can possibly save any energy over any other DD Whirlpool. Or wash any worse, as they said last year. | ||
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Post# 258684 , Reply# 20 1/8/2008 at 18:42 (5,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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I see nothing has changed since I canceled my subscription to CR a few years ago. They provide very little reporting compared to what they used to and their recommendations defy their test results and frequency of repair data. The fact that they could recommend a GE anything as a "Best Buy" is all I need to know to continue steering clear of CU altogether.
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Post# 258704 , Reply# 21 1/8/2008 at 20:47 (5,950 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY) |
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Post# 258717 , Reply# 22 1/8/2008 at 21:04 (5,950 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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I would love to see them abandon the little ratings "bullets" and give us an actual number. Something can be rated "very good" but we don't know if it's a mere one point away from "good" or, at the other end of the spectrum, one point away from "excellent". If CR thinks their customers are too dumb to deal with numbers, at least make them available online. A perk like that would certainly make the $$ charged for their online service worth it. | ||
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Post# 258725 , Reply# 23 1/8/2008 at 21:28 (5,950 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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CR is a shadow of it's former self, IMHO. No detailed ratings in print, no real information on how some ratings come to be, and in general lack of clear and factual information. CR also seems to focus more on electronics and automobiles than any thing else, well that and perhaps "consumer news" such as health plans/insurance etc. How many times a year does CR need to review computers, HD/Plasma televisions, DVD/DVR, digital cameras and so forth? I mean be fair, one knows the tech market is changes rapidly, but every quarter? L. | ||
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Post# 258810 , Reply# 25 1/9/2008 at 11:31 (5,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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CU on line
Another reason I let my CR subscription lapse. They charge for on line access even after you've paid good money for a magazine subscription. No other magazine charges you twice like this. Combined with the bum steers they are giving to consumers (I was a victim and purchased their top-rated Amana washer 10 years ago--what a mistake) they made it easy for me to quit them completely. A GE washer a "best buy"--what a joke.
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| Post# 258847 , Reply# 27 1/9/2008 at 14:42 (5,950 days old) by louvac (M) | ||
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In case you're wondering...I spelled "cents" as "sense" for a reason, because you must use your own common sense and judgement in such purchases. With Consumers Reports, I find that there is a fine line between experience and expertise! | ||
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Post# 258867 , Reply# 28 1/9/2008 at 16:16 (5,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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I would agree that CR should only constitute a portion of anyone's research. Most of the information I found when considering purchase of my Duet pair came from on line. However, one needs to be careful about what they read on line. When I was looking to replace my mom's vacuum cleaner it was quite obvious that the marketing department at Hoover had infiltrated e-pinions and plastered testimonials about the WindTunnel machine that were nothing short of euphoric. They were easy to spot for me as they all had very similar writing styles, but no doubt Hoover hoped others would actually think they were made by "real" consumers and rush out to buy their own WindTunnel. | ||
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Post# 259020 , Reply# 30 1/10/2008 at 10:54 (5,949 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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Cycle Times
One complaint I have about my Duet is that on the Heavy Duty cycle, the default/shortest cycle time is 40 minutes. If you want more time, you can push the appropriate selector button and it will leap to an hour & 20 minutes. That's DOUBLE the regular wash time! Push the button again and it only adds 5 more minutes to the cycle time. However, I swear that in one instance I saw it display 55 minutes after pushing the button only once, but it quickly "corrected" itself to 1:20. I'm thinking maybe there is an issue with the electronics, as it would make a lot more sense to add 15 minutes when the soil level button is first pressed as opposed to 40!
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| Post# 259458 , Reply# 32 1/12/2008 at 16:02 (5,947 days old) by funguy10 () | ||
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On Line for free my foot. I clicked on a "See full article button and it is asking me to give what libaray I go to. | ||
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Post# 259539 , Reply# 33 1/13/2008 at 01:16 (5,946 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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You Aren't Missing Much
Finally sat down and read CR, and have to say this W&D review is the most poor effort to date. So poor in fact editors don't bother to even mention they are reviewing washers and dryers on the cover.The whole thing takes about two or three pages, IIRC and seems hardly worth the effort, again IMHO. L. | ||
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Post# 259542 , Reply# 34 1/13/2008 at 02:51 (5,946 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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They mention in the opening paragraph that some toploaders have improved their cleaning scores through innovations like a midwash soak, but then don't bother to tell us which machines offer that feature. They also don't bother to mention GE's new Hydrowave technology, which uses a slow, 360-degree agitation arc. Also: Why no test of the Speed Queen toploader?! I still have faith in their tests, but they've lost the desire to really explain anything to us. And I've come to hate those little bullet ratings. Give us the actual numeric score for each parameter. A rating of very good, for instance, could mean the score is as low as 51 or as high as 74. | ||
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