I have the 9500 and for the first 2 years it was working good. (Alittle twisting but not bad). Then it broke down in June. It took 2 repair companies and about 9 visits with 3 different repairmen to finally get it going again (4 months later). Good thing the salesman talked me into the extended warranty. As of today, the bill would be $1100 for repairs! I have alittle less than 3 years left on the warranty and then up for sale it goes. I did not buy the dryer as my Kenmore one was still working and I'm glad I kept it!

So AFAIK the 9500 is the similar, 4.0 cu ft version of the 9550. Does it also have the ~10 deg tilt drum with the asymmetric blades?

I'm in the middle of my tests right now. One followup observation is on extraction. Notwithstanding the problem somethimes not getting a balance for a good spin; the old Kenmore (which I think had a extraction speed of around 1000 RPM) spins out better than the new whirlpool with a supposed extraction speed of 1300 RPM. Heck I often had to peel stuff off the drum of the Kenmore in spite of it also have the "shake-off" tumbles just like the new Whirlpool. Since this seems impossible I'm going to get my hands on an rpm meter to see if I am really getting 1300 RPM.

Daryl!!

I agree with you on some of the things. Dryer sensing is BAD. I've figured out how long it usually takes based on load size and just set mine for timed dry. I do get twisting of clothes (sometimes) not all the time and it's just something I've learned to deal with and now it doesn't seem as bad as it did at first. I do have a question to ask you about your machine. My Duet is almost 5 years old. If you look on the panel of your machine, over at the extreme right, is there a "rinse" button that says Normal, extra rinse, or max rinse? I'm VERY curious if MAX rinse is selected how much more water it uses. I know you have other fish to fry regarding your machine but I've been looking for someone to answer this question for me.

Thanks

I have the Duet steam washer and Dryer they are a year old. I have had none of the problems you have stated. My sheets and towels are never twisted ( those things seem to be what used to twist in my old machine) when they come out and my dryer dries perfectly. I honestly can't think of a time when any of my clothes have been even slightly damp after the cycle.

The only thing about my washer is sometimes the drawer underneath comes open when it spins but I think that is from the painters sliding out the machine and us not making sure it was level.

Other than that I love my set.

I am now a bit worried about the comment that someones went bad after 2 years. I am hoping that doesn't happen to mine.

I've had mine 5 years and it's had one repair. I've read others have had there's longer with no repairs. Keep your washer plugged into a surge protector "just in case." I think the electronics can be very sensitive to power surges. Not full proof but may help.

Thought I should followup after a few months.

"Every load with something smaller (underwear, socks, napkins) something was getting stuck in the gasket. This last happened years ago with baby socks in the Kenmore. So repair called and they think something is malformed so are installing a new one. Strike one."

Well they replaced the original gasket and it is better. Still find smaller items in there once in a while (as opposed to basically never on previous front loader). Gasket design sub-par but I'd call it half a strike now.

"The dryer thumps rather loudly every revolution, even when warmed up. So either bad drum seam or rollers (probably the former). Repair called and agree but are trying rollers first. Strike two."

Got rollers replaced and really not better. Have not yet called again to try and get drum replaced. Either rollers need to be softer or seam smoother. Still a strike.

"Capacity increase very disappointing. I knew the numbers were a bit deceptive but this is really bad. Since I still have the old one off to the side I compared and I only get a couple pair of pants and medium towel more in the new Whirlpool. Strike three."

After a trying the old one a few more times I'm willing to back off a bit on this. I'll rescind my strike vote.

"Fabric softener siphons out very easily before anything started but then often does not siphon out completely at end of cycle. Strike four."

This is still problematic. I'll keep it as a strike, albeit a minor one.

"At least a third of my loads so far have failed to spin completely dry probably due to machine not getting a balance or being too sensitive to imbalance. I then have to do a spin only cycle which seems to work. This happen only a couple times a year with the old Kenmore. Strike five."

After a lot more loads I find the percentage a lot better than the one third. However it still fails more often than I'd like. I'd down grade this to half a strike.

"Dryer sensing sucks. Half the time a normal dry still leaves a few damp clothes. Strike six."

Again here it seems to have either improved a lot or I had a statistical anomaly. I'll rescind this strike.

"And, WORST of all the washer twists clothes up terribly, particularly pant legs and shirt arms, compared to the Kenmore. There is also noticeably worse tangling. I am going to hook back up the old washer this weekend to confirm but I think it is a design defect due to a combination of the tilted drum and asymmetrical blades. I believe the blades are shaped that way to compensate for the drum tilt. I think the idea is they push the load a bit back towards the front of the drum as the laundry rolls off the blade which is higher towards the back. In any event it is my theory that this also imparts a rolling or twisting motion to the laundry which translates to a severe twist in longer articles of clothing. I'm not sure if all tilt drums have this issue. Strike seven."

This issue is still the most annoying and fundamental. Pants and shirts are almost always twisted and loads with many of them are quite tangled up. I am almost certain the tilt drum and asymmetric blades are to blame and will never again buy (nor advise anyone to buy) a front loader with any sort of tilt.

So final verdict is still pretty negative. I'd probably be neutral if it wasn't for the constant twisting and tangling of pant legs and shirt arms.

D:
I am considering the Whirlpool Duet and all these posts are really making me reconsider. If you were to buy another W/D today, what brand and model would you buy?

Well I don't know if I could steer you to a particular brand or model. Two things I know I would stay away from in the future are:

-First and foremost a tilt drum with asymmetric blades. While I haven't done computer modeling or anything it seems logical that the mechanics of the situation lead to laundry slumping to the back and then the larger blade profile at the back pushes it back forward. This seem to both theoretically and practically impart a twisting action on the clothing. While smaller items randomize and come out in the wash, so to speak; larger, narrow items such as pant legs and shirt arms end up with a net twist and tangle up amongst each other. I also think think the tilt drum makes balance and spin out more finicky and subject to more vibration and failure to complete.

-Second is baffle design. I would look for something without the *massive* cavity that the Whirlpool and similar have. I think I looked at an LG in the last month and it was much better in that respect.

So I'm doing Laundry this AM and was inspired, after yet again having to do another drain/spin cycle when a load didn't spin-out properly, to perform a bit of thread necromancy to vent and warn others.

Stay away from tilt drums in general and Whirlpools in particular!

I just got back from my Condo that has an older and somewhat smaller Kenmore (almost identical model to the one I used to have at home) and was again reminded what a joy it was like to have load after load spun out almost dry every time without massive tangling and excessive vibration.

I can't wait for the warranty to run out and for something to pack it in so I have an excuse to haul these pieces of junk to the dump!

model WFW9550WW00 These are pictures of possible f21 failure codes. This machine is a little over 4 years old with light use. The pump housing pictured was filled with dirt that had either bypassed the impeller seal or O ring. This pump was still running although it might have been stalling occasionally due to the severe wear on the other end of the armature shaft. Weak pump. The pictures of part number: W10003240 show the water level switch port clogged and un clogged. This clogging can also cause F21 so you must remove the part and check. Another poor design. This has caused many customers to waste energy by having to re rinse/wash clothes thus negating the "energy star" rating.