Why the Whirlpool Duet Was a Great Buy For My Wife and I

When my wife and I came home from a long vacation, we were daunted by the task of doing all our laundry in our old washer and dryer. We decided to buy the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer. Without a doubt, purchasing the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer was a great decision. While they are a bit pricey, these machines are well worth the money. Whirlpool claims the washer saves about $90 per year on electricity for the average user (an added bonus with today's energy costs), and it uses 69% less water than standard washers. That savings alone makes up the difference in price. Plus, factor in the capacity of the Duet, and you will spend less time doing your laundry.

The Duet's capacity doesn't look any bigger than other large-capacity washers on paper. The difference lies in the lack of an agitator. The wash spins in a drum rather than being forced around. This means less space is taken up in the washer and more clothes will fit. Additionally, the washer is much more gentle on your clothes, making them last longer (think about that great shirt being torn around the agitator once every few weeks for a year). Whirlpool boasts that one can wash 16 pairs of jeans in one load. You can also wash a king size comforter, saving on dry-cleaning bills. The Duet's front-loading, high efficiency washer also has a pull-out dispenser for detergent, fabric softener, and bleach. Each material is distributed at just the right time, and it is mixed with the water before entering the drum, rather than just dumped in. With different cycles for whites, heavy duty things, normal clothes, hand washables, etc., the Duet has the ability to wash just about anything you have.

Once your clothes are done washing (which is easy to determine by the digital "time remaining" display), you will notice that they are more dry than you are used to coming out of the washer. Then you toss them in the dryer, hit the button, and your clothes are done in about a half an hour! The dryer can be set on "automatic" and the internal humidistat determines how wet your clothes are, and how long they need to dry. This dryer drys clothes quicker than we can wash them! Plus, it has a removable shelf inside on which you can place a sweater, tennis shoes, or other bulky item that you want to dry without it banging around inside. The best feature, in my opinion, on the Duet dryer, is the "wrinkle shield." Push the button to activate this, and the dryer will toss the laundry for a few seconds every couple minutes until you open it (up to 2 hours), preventing wrinkles from setting into you clothes.

The features and quality of the washer and dryer were enough to sell us, but then the salesman suggested we could build a shelf over the washer and dryer (since we weren't stacking them, another option), and create extra storage space, a folding table, gift-wrapping table, or anything else we wanted to use it for.

Not only does the Whirlpool Duet high-efficiency washer and dryer clean your clothes quicker and better than traditional machines, but it makes laundry about as fun as imaginable. With digital displays, buttons, and red indicator lights your laundry room may seem more like a space ship than a place to wash your clothes (after all, how many appliances come with their own DVD?), but you are sure to be as impressed as I am with this new system.