Sorry this is so long!
Have you helped your mom with the machine at all? I ask because my mother-in-law tool one look at my Cabrio He and said it was way too complicated and she would never use it! It is not really complicated. If she must have the fabric softener in the second rinse, there is a separate rinse/spin option that takes 12 minutes and can be added after washing a load. It has a 40 minute soak cycle that works great, but if she just wants to leave the cloths soaking in a tub filled with water, I think she will have to go back to a traditional TLer. She could maybe fudge the deep fill soak by setting the machine on the bulky cycle (which has a deep fill) and then stopping the machine and let the cloths soak over night. I have never tried this, my cloths never get dirty enough to require this, but it could be worth a try if these are her only problems with the washer. I would probably do a drain/spin cycle in the morning, then reset to the cycle I would normally use for the load. I do not know which rinse the fabric softener is added to when you add a second rinse, but my cloths always come out very soft. I am washing a load of sheets with a double rinse as I write, so I will check on it and see. Is your mom using HE detergent? And is she using the correct amount? That could cause a problem if the soap is not rinsing correctly. If she really hates it, I would suggest a traditional TLer, she will hate FLers even more. This machine is much easier to use the the FLer I had for a couple weeks, and it uses more water, rinses cleaner, and leaves cloths softer. If she was happy with her old set, she may just want to get another of that brand.
As for the dryer, I can't help. I only bought the washer, my old Kenmore drier still dries, so I will use it until it no longer works before replacing it, probably with another Kenmore dryer. No need for the washer and dryer to match, no one goes in my laundry area to look at them - except when I am showing off my washer!

I hope something here helps, getting a new washer is such a pain these days! I thought it would be easy, but it was very hard for me. And my machine gave me enough warning that I was able to research for 3 months before replacing it, and I still ended up exchanging the FLer I bought for the Cabrio HE. And I was yearning for a FLer for a few years just waiting for my machine to break so I could get one! Oh well!

I recently bought the cabrio set,and we absolutly love it.Sounds that maybe your parents need to get a traditional TL,I know my parents would never use this machine.My dryer is very noisy at startup also,but usually quiets down after a few minutes,I am have a technician come ot tomorrow to look at the dryer,I will keep you posted.

You should be able to see my blurb on the Cabrio. I hate mine as well. I've had it 6 mos. and would return it in a minute. Try complaining to Whirlpool customer service and don't give up. This is a really poor design.

dsw713
I saw your post, actually I responded to it. But you have never said which Cabrio you have!Just that you hate it. Maybe you can clarify which Cabrio model you hate so much?

If you learn how to use the Cabrio you may find that you like the washer.Sometimes it may be hard for some to get used to new technology.Also I would like to know which model you have(washplate or agitator).I have tried two FL machines before I bought the Cabrio, and this one is best in my opinion.

Fisher Paykel EcoSmart washer and SmartLoad dryer.

They have the washplate model. Their old model was a Maytag, but they were told Amana recently bought Maytag.

jcrowley, thanks for your suggestions. I have not helped her because I am 300 miles away. My mom tried using that 'rinse/spin' and it twisted the clothes up badly. She called Whirlpool and they told her that you should only use 'Rinse/Spin' when you're trying to get water out of the tub, not when you have clothes in there, which is somewhat baffling.
They told her that the 2nd rinse dispense the fabric softener in the 1st rinse. So that might be why her clothes/towels aren't as soft. She is using the HE detergent, and very little of it.

I think the dryer is the most troublesome to her because of its constant loud sound while it's running. She has heard good things about Kenmore so she might want to try that, but she's also heard the service is quite bad on them.

If they want a great T/L washer/dryer they should look at the Speed Queens. Best warranty on the market. Good Heavy Duty machines,stainless steel tubs,huge capacity. They will be as close to her old Maytag as she will find.

jakins

You may have seen my post titled Cabrio woes/warnings. In my post I explained the problems I was going through with my non agitator Cabrio. I absolutely hated it. I owned it for 6 months. I gave it a very fair try. I wanted to love it-really I did. It wrinkled clothes, it left clothes dirty after washing, it twisted clothes, it left sand residue in the bottom of the tub etc...
After 6 months, 3 service calls and finally writing to Whirlpool head office I was allowed to exchange it for the one with the agitator. And take a loss of several hundred dollars! I do like this one much better. It uses alot of water, it handles BIG loads and best of all it cleans clothes.
Hopefully your Mom can exchange this set. I bought my set from our local little Appliance Store which is why I had such a hard time exchanging it. I had to deal directly with Whirlpool's warranty.

Good Luck!

I do have the Cabrio gas dryer and I have not experienced any of the noise problems your Mom seems to have.

Kenmore's service has really gone down hill in the past 10 years. That is why I replaced my old Kenmore with a Whirlpool. Talk to your mom about how she is loading the cloths. I have not had problems with wrinkle, even when I used the rinse/spin cycle for cloths. I can't see why you would use it without cloths, that would be what the drain/spin cycle is for!I have found that my cloths and towels come out very soft without doing anything special, in fact, my towels are softer than they have ever been. I cannot think of anything special I do. Did your mom switch brands of detergent when she got the machine? Did she switch fabric softeners? Did she go from dryer sheets to liquid? As for the wrinkling, I have heard some people complain about this, but as I said, I have not had any trouble with this. Here is what I do : when I load the machine, I drop the laundry in piece by piece around the wash plate (like it was an agitator) in little piles. Do not lay long items (like pants, towels, or sheets) around the outside edge of the machine, this can cause tangling and wrinkling. Just drop them in so they land in a little pile. The only exception is whites. Since most of these items are very small, I just dump them in and then push them off to the sides. I never put anything over the wash plate at the beginning of the cycle. For the final spin for pillows, I lay them cross wise over the wash plate so the don't unbalance.

I would suggest talking to the store where she bought it. Did she buy it somewhere with good customer service? Did she get the Store warranty? Maybe they will send someone out to look at it for her?

A noisy dryer is an interesting problem. The Kenmore Oasis dryer actually has two motors. One for turning the drum, and the other to seperately run the blower. This dryer also has a sensor that measures the airflow, and makes the dryer adjust the speed of the blower to maintain a constant airflow. This second motor also makes a noise that doesn't sound like a regular dryer, so some people get concerned when they hear their dryer working. All this is mute though, because the Cabrio dryer isn't like this. It only has a single motor that drives the drum and blower together.

Another cause of loud dryer noise are the rollers that support the dryer drum. In some dryers these rollers can get a flat spot in them, and then when the dryer starts, these flat spots cause a thumping sound. It usually goes away when the dryer warms up though, usually after 30 seconds or so.

The Cabrio, and it's Oasis counterpart have generally been well received, but jrcrowley99 is right though. There are two models, and these two models are quite different. The first model is not a lot different from a traditional deep fill top loader, except that it has much larger capacity, and spins at 1000 rpm. The larger capacity usually doesn't give anyone any problem, especially since the Cabrio has auto water level, since without this feature this Cabrio version would use way too much water.

The 1000 rpm spin speed is more problematic, because this very fast spin is also combined with a very large diameter drum, which results in huge forces squeezing water out of the clothes. This is good for energy consumption and dryer time, but it's not so good for pressing wrinkles into clothes, or maybe I should say that it's very good for pressing wrinkles into clothes into clothes, either way it's not so good. Unfortunately, however, the agitator version of the Cabrio doesn't have selectable spin speeds, so the only way a user can dial the spin speed down is with cycle selection. The Permanent Press, Delicate, and Bulky cycles should all have lower spin speeds.

The other Cabrio version uses an impeller instead of an agitator, and works in an entirely different way. In order for this washer to work properly it's important that the right amount of water be used for each wash load. The Cabrio actually adjusts the water level automatically for the user, so it's not any kind of problem, except that a lot of users aren't used to seeing a top loader wash clothes with so little water, and they get concerned about whether or not their washer is working properly. Adding more water wouldn't help things though, because if the washer has more water in it, the clothes will float up off the impeller, and the impeller vanes won't be able to move the clothes properly. So, people who have firm beliefs about how much water a washer should use, should consider getting the agitator version Cabrio over the impeller version Cabrio.

The impeller version Cabrio also has the same 1000 rpm spin speed, and huge diameter basket, so it too can have problems with pressing wrinkles into clothes. Fortunately however, this Cabrio version has selectable spin speeds, so the user can dial the spin speed up or down as appropriate.

My family and I purchased a Maytag Bravos washer(w/impeller) for my grandmother and she loves it! This is also another version of the Cabrio that your mother has.

She loads the clothes exactly as jcrowley99 explains, in little piles around the hub of the impeller. This seems to work fine for her as well and there is no tangling of clothes after the cycle is complete. Your mother may want to try this and hopefully she will get better results. We did not buy her the matching Bravos dryer so I cannot comment on it.

So if that does not work, and she does in fact get rid of the Cabrio, I second Sparky's reccomendation of the Speed Queen TLers. They are supposed to be built like tanks. Your mom may also consider exchanging the Cabrio w/impeller for a Cabrio w/agitator. I have also heard wonderful things on this forum and elsewhere about the GE Harmony as well, although that is another impeller-type HE TLer. Hope this helps! :o)

.....the Fisher & Paykel TLer's are supposed to be excellent as well!

I really appreciate all the responses!

I will tell my mother how you guys put in the clothes and wash. Yes, she is using the same brands of fabric softener and detergent (Tide-HE). jcrowley, maybe she was using the 'drain/spin' instead of the 'rinse/spin.' I'll ask.

I have been hearing good things about the Speed Queens and I'm glad to know that someone had a good experience with a new Maytag.

Just got the Cabrio. How do I soak things overnight? I used to (old washer) put a bit of detergent on a stain or the underarms, and use "soak" which filled the washer, agitated a bit and then just stopped. You could come back later and turn on the regular cycle. Now, I assume I should not put HE detergent on the fabric and the Cabrio "soak" ends up with the water gone. If I soak without spinning and then want to do regular wash, do I add more detergent? I have tried "deep clean" and it helps but not good enough.