Our favorite appliance

Our Maytag top loader was doing a fine job of cleaning our clothes, but PG&E was increasing our rates monthly and we needed to rid the house of energy hogs. We looked at the variety of energy efficient washers, and the HE3t came out as the clear winner. We liked the HE3t over the others (Calypso, Maytag, and Fisher & Pakyl) for the following reasons:

Capacity

This washer has a huge capacity. At 3.7 cu.ft., it's the largest rated consumer washer. We've tested the capacity on several occasions and the items always come out clean. We have pets and use throw rugs to capture a lot of their dirt. The HE3t handles a load of rugs with no problems, even our 3'x6' heavy carpet rug.

Efficiency

The HE3t uses the least water of the models we compared for a normal load. Additionally, the internal water heater allows us to keep our hot water heater set lower and still have sufficiently hot water for white loads.

Flexibilty

We've done used every cycle on the washer during the past year and have been happy with the results every time. Washing items ranging from filthy work rags on "Sanitize" to hose on "Hand Wash", the washer has always gotten the items clean with little wear and tear to the garmets.

The Downside

Our only complaint is that all wash cycles take longer than our old Maytag. Fortunately the capacity offsets the longer cycle times so laundry still gets done. Washing a load of whites with a presoak cycle takes 1 hour 45 minutes. If you happen to use too much laundry detergent, the automatic suds cycle may add another 15-30 minutes. A standard load takes about 45 minutes.

The use of high efficiency detergent is recommended by Sears, but we've found that using 1/4 the amount of normal detergent produces satisfactory results and costs dramatically less. It does take some finesse to learn the appropriate amounts of detergent.