I have chosen the IQ over the Wave models even though there is a faster spin speed for the Wave model washer. The speed of the IQ washer's spin is fast enough. What I like better about the IQ is that the wash and dry selections are made with a dial on the front of the machine, where as the Wave model requires the user to scroll through its choices. That's not for me. I prefer the ease of turning the dial to the preset choices. One thing I learned when researching Bosch dryers is that most European dryers are electric which means that the European companies have more familiarity with electric models than they do with the gas dryers. Unfortunately, I can not find many reviews of the Electrolux dryers - only the washers.

I would highly recommend spending the extra money on the Wave Touch washer and dryer. The Wave dryer has reverse tumble, which really helps prevent wrinkles. I will NEVER have a gas dryer. Electric dryers are quieter, more reliable, safer and the heat is more consistent and even. I've had 2 gas dryers in the last 20 year...and I hated them both!

I like the wave touch washer, since it has a higher RPM spin cycle options...and the wave touch washer and dryer allows you to turn on the super cool blue LED lighting when both units are running. The IQ models do not have this. I know this sounds lame...but I loved the LED lights inside the drums.

I do not think the Electrolux units are perfect (but nothing is), but they are well designed and offer lots of options. I do think a lot of the materials used seem plasticky and fragile.

Oh yes...buying extended warranty directly from Electrolux is cheaper than Sears...and it is right from the company!!

Good Luck!!

-Lars

Thanks for the advice! Well, it's done! We ordered the wave touch set today. The washer will be delivered in a week and the dryer sometime after that. We had a chance to play with the wave touch and it is so easy to use, my husband will definitely be doing more laundry! He has no excuse now!

And about the gas dryer problems, I happened to see one at a local appliance store that was a floor model, but you could tell it was a return because there was the black burn marks on the vent in the back! So we did go with electric on the dryer.

We can't wait! Lars, I have been reading all about your Miele then Electrolux then back to Miele saga! I'm glad you finally got everything worked out. We are an exclusively BMW family and understand the joys of German engineering and also the quirks. My husband took his 328iT into service the other day and chatted up the service advisor about Miele washers, which he happened to have. He advised against the Miele since he had problems with them. Great pieces of engineering, but with some problems, just like BMWs. But I wouldn't drive anything else! And just like you, we do test drive other cars, but nothing has beaten BMW for what we want in a car. Even though we didn't get Mieles, I'm sure the Electrolux set will give us plenty of things to smile about for a long time, just as BMW has freude am fahren.

Roger

My Magtag Neptune died after 12 years. After reading all the input, I also purchased an Electrolux. Thanks everyone. Wow, what a difference! I love it. My clothes seem cleaner and whiter. I have not received the dryer yet, so I am still using my old one. There is not as much lint in the dryer, so apparently the Electrolux also protects the clothes better.
Hope you are as happy as I am. Plus it is faster.

My Maytag Neptune FL is also 12 years old :-) It doesnt have a window in it  something I have always regretted! But they were not available when I purchased mine. WeÂre just about ready to pull the trigger on the Electrolux Wave Touch as well  I just want to see what the next "Limited Time Offer" will be from Electrolux  really hoping to snag the $500 rebate that is sometimes offered.

Nothing wrong with electrolux washers and dryers. Ive had electric and gas models, and for me gas is much cheaper to use. Not to mention it dries my clothes much faster, no issues with it been too hot and such. Had mine for 9 yrs now, no reliability issues to mention either..its all a personal choice and depending on where you live, which is cheaper cheaper to use.

Ok, they're here! My Wave Touch set is great! There are a few issues, though, which I will get to. First, the positives:

1. The wave touch controls are so easy to use and intuitive, well worth the extra money. There are so many options and cycles you are sure to find one that suits your needs with a turn of the dial.

2. Clothes do come out very clean without much water or detergent. Better than our Neptunes? Probably, but coming from a front loader already, I don't see too much of a difference. Things are a bit fluffier out of the dryer, though.

3. I love the dryer even more! It is HUGE! I think I could climb in there and take a nap! All of our clothes come out much less wrinkled, so we will spend much less time ironing. And since the spin on the washer is so fast, it takes much less time to dry things. We have not experienced the balling of items as Lars mentioned, except for sheets, but our Neptune did that to sheets as well, so we don't know any different. All other items do tend to move around well and do not get tangled, even jeans and dress shirts come out well (our Neptune would get them very tangled!).

4. I love having the window (coming from the Neptunes without them). The light is fantastic, especially being able to turn it on during the cycle at any time with the wave touch. We are ready to set up lawn chairs in front of them so we can watch them.

5. The washer is so quiet (except for the spin cycle, see below)! I can even keep the door to the laundry room open and not hear it going while it's washing.

6. We got both units with steam. Don't know about any difference with the washer, but in the dryer, we tried some dress shirts of mine. Not much difference. Still have to iron them. But with knits, such as Lacoste polos, the steam cycle will take the wrinkles out! So it won't eliminate ironing for all items, but it does seem handy to have.

7. The reversible doors are great. The installer didn't know how to do it, or even that it was possible, so I did it after he left. Our configuration is washer on the right, dryer on the left, so Electrolux was one of the few options we had.

8. The pedestals are great. Love the push to open/close doors, so we can tap our foot on them to open and close them. Very convenient!

9. We like the doors with the push to open/close as well. They seem very sturdy. Takes a bit of getting used to, and if you lean into the units such as to get items from the cabinet above, you can accidentally open them. This is more of a problem on the dryer, which will stop if it is running, but the washer is locked when running so no issue there. I have also cancelled cycles on both the washer and dryer by leaning into the cancel button. Perhaps they should have recessed them a bit?

Now for the negatives:

1. The dryer (we went with electric) does emit a bit of a whine, as rosesark and others have said, but not enough to drive me crazy or anything. You can tune it out, and closing the door makes it almost inaudible. You can definitely hear it outside where the dryer vent is, though!

2. Now for the kicker, the spin cycle is not at all quiet. The Neptune (1000 rpm max) was very quiet, so it is definitely much louder than that. I did quiet it down by fixing the install, screwing in all the pedestal screws tightly and leveling the machine several times, and adjusting the feet on the pedestal little by little during the spin. I have gotten the noise level down, but it still is not so quiet as to have children able to sleep near it, as Lars and others have said. Is there something wrong with my machine? And Lars, I happened to have been drinking a glass of rose wine while testing the spin cycle today and put it on top as you have said you did. The wine definitely did giggle and the glass traveled slowly across the top, maybe about 1 centimeter a second. So it definitely does vibrate. It doesn't travel at all, though. BTW, we have them installed on the first floor with concrete foundation. From all of the reviews, I just expected it to be quieter. The spin also causes the items on the dryer (not touching, perhaps 1/2 inch separation) to vibrate some. Is this normal? My only other experience with front loaders is with the Maytag Neptunes so perhaps I'm expecting too much from 1350 rpm? You can hear it spin with the door closed from upstairs.

Now there are tiny lingering regrets about not getting the Miele set! Uh, oh! Should I call Electrolux to get them to check out the spin cycle? I'm afraid that if I call someone out, they will just tell me that all front loaders are that loud and vibrate that way.

I think I can return the set within 30 days, so I'm keeping my options open. I don't have the rubber boot problem as others have mentioned. Overall, we LOVE the set, but paying $3800 out the door for the set with pedestals (before $575 in rebates), I want to love EVERYTHING! For that kind of money, it needs to be PERFECT!

Congrats Podge!

I remember I cancelled many a loads, by leaning over the dryer to get something in the above cabinet. The Push to close doors need to be less sensitive when running. Like you said though, not an issue with the washer, as it locks during use!

Trust me, the electric dryer is quieter than the gas model. I have never heard a gas dryer quieter than an electric. Yes, depending on where you live...gas can be less expensive to run, but electric is quiet, efficient, safe and very consistent. You could not give me a gas dryer!!

Loud wave touch spin cycle??? That is VERY odd. The spin cycle on my Silver Sands Wave Touch washer was eerily quiet! Since Miele balanced my W4842 and properly installed the pedestals, the washer is almost as quiet at the wave touch. I'm sorry yours is loud. That is not normal. The super quiet spin cycle is one of Electrolux's strong selling points!

I loved the size of the wave touch dryer and the LED lighting is amazing, but the build quality and Miele Service just won me back. Also, I've had Miele for SO, SO many years in 3 houses...that I felt "odd" not having a Miele. I just know them inside out.

Trust me :) If you are not happy, return them. I would give them a week or 2...and just try and wash anything and everything you can find. Blankets, heavy items...

While the Heavy Duty cycle worked pretty well on the wave touch for large blankets and comforters....Electrolux needs to have a specific Bulky item or Comforter setting. The Comforters Setting on the Miele is AWESOME. The items are swimming in deep water!!!

Well, I think some of the glowing reviews on this site for the Electrolux and its noise and vibration (or lack thereof) gave me some high expectations! When there are no clothes in the washer, the spin is pretty quiet (but still louder than my Neptune ever got) and vibrates only very slightly. However, the noise and the vibration gets louder with clothes in it.

I have gotten it to acceptable levels, to where you can have a conversation in the laundry room at normal levels. Reading the numerous threads on how leveling can dramatically change the machine on spin cycle are true! I've tweaked it so many times to something I think we can live with, and it's barely audible upstairs with the door open to the laundry room downstairs. And doing the wine glass test again, the wine shakes in the glass but travels very little on top of the machine now. I've played with the leveling so many times I've run out of things to wash! I will keep it for another week or two as you have suggested, Lars, so when we have some more dirty laundry, we'll see if it remains as quiet as I've gotten it now.

I have also viewed many a video on youtube with washers on high speed spin, and I think our Electrolux is better than most with the noise and vibration levels. I still don't think a house of cards would make it more than a few seconds on top, though! :) Thanks again for everyone's help. I don't know what we would have done without this forum!

Jeri, I wish we could have waited for another $500 rebate to come around, too, but we couldn't wait. The dirty laundry was piling up! We did get in for a $300 one from Electrolux plus $100 cash for appliances here in California and $175 from our utility companies. So it brings the price down to a more reasonable level! You should check in your area what the utilities are offering as well.

All in all, we do LOVE our Electrolux Wave Touch set!

But you don't need to run a full wash cycle every time you want to re-level the washer. You can force it to go straight into high spin with some itmes in it (maybe not dripping wet towels, though) and adjust the feet.

This .pdf is for the non-steam model. Others ones are not uploaded yet. Refer to page two for the spin test.

HTH, Alex

And, for what it's worth, here is the service mode on our (re-branded) Electrolux washer. It's really cool, 'cause you can make it spin with any level of water in it.

Alex

My wave touch electrolux does seem a little louder on some loads, like towels, and i can hear it some in a room close to it, but with the other's i have tried this machine is much more quiet! We have had to tweak the legs also as the delivery guys are lame here and it was shaking some on the heavier loads, but it is much better now. I did have the rubber boot problem, but returned it and demanded another. On some loads i do think that a house of cards would stay up for a while, especially when it hits full spin, then it's great. The dryer does bug me with the whine and it is also loud outside, but to me this set is the best for me after everything else i have tried, and i especially love that the actual washing is so quiet. I feel that you could line 10 of the same washers up side by side and use them, and every one of them will be a little different in some way. One may have a better spin, the next may put out more water, the next will bang your pipes, the next a boot prob and so on. It's disappointing i know but that's what i am finding. It does not bother me at all if they have to order me three in a row for me to get one that is as it states it should be. It is a lot of money you are spending, so you need to feel that you are happy. I had a dryer that did not whine as loud, but came in dented, now this one is good but a louder whine. It can drive you crazy and do not always believe reviews and commercials. Good Luck, and hope you can get it replaced, or luck out with adjusting.

If every sample is going to have a different defect or two, I think that's an argument in favor of getting a new machine fixed, rather than sending it back. This way you might end up with a machine that works the way you want, if a technician is able to fix the defects.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! Alex, the Electrolux Wave Touch has a spin only cycle, so I have been using that to help with the leveling. But it definitely does make more noise with clothes. I finally got it today to the point where the spin without clothes is much quieter and has very little vibration, perhaps even able to keep a house of cards standing! I think I hit the sweet spot! I'll try it with clothes this weekend. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Oh, and speaking of incompetent installers, since I totally did not trust them I decided to check the dryer cord install. They forgot the strain relief clamp so I had to install that, so I opened up the back to check the connection, and they didn't ground it! Sheesh! So many mistakes! I also put a periscope vent in instead of the flexible duct, so I could get it much closer to the wall. Worked on both a few hours today, and I think I'm all done!

Thanks for all the moral support everyone!

Well, after over a week with the machines, and finally getting them quiet and level, they are not going back! You'd have to pry them away from me! And my husband is doing laundry and not asking me about every little thing! And the cherry on top? The lights don't just turn off, they fade out, just like on our BMWs. Gotta love those European touches!

If your washer is making that much noise and vibrating, you may be having the rubber gasket problem and not know it. also, did the delivery guys remove all the shipping bolts in the back? When i bought my washer, they forgot to remove them and my washer was loud and vibrating also. When I called the store and told them, they said i needed to return them for new ones cause the drum may be defective now. Now with the new ones, my washer is very quiet and doesn't vibrate at all. The Electrolux washer has 3 prong shipping bolt right in the center on the back of the machine. not many if any washers have this kind of shipping bolt in this spot so i was told and thats why a lot of the delivery guys don't remove it cause there not used to it.. hope this helped a little.. just make sure you get the extended warranty if your having this problem and if they forgot to remove the bolts, get a new machine! good luck