$1200.00 for a Washer? Does it do tricks as well as laundry?

I've said it before, but this time I mean it - if it were legal to marry an appliance, you'd all be calling me Mrs. HE3t - that's how much I LOVE my new washing machine.

Yes, to belatedly celebrate my 3rd year anniversary at the site, I have crossed the line from K&F to tell you all about my new favorite toy - it's not a Barbie (ok, so it would have never been a Barbie), not a Lego, not even an American Girl doll. So what is it? It's my Kenmore Elite High Efficiency Front Loading Washer - herein referred to simply as HE3t.

Never say NEVER

So just how did I come to own the HE3t? Who knows, because my hand was shaking when I signed that bill of sale - and even in the car on the way home my stomach ached and I had the biggest case of buyer's remorse - I just kept thinking this is the dumbest purchase I ever made, no washer can be worth all that money. After all I believe it was me who said several months ago, "I'd never spend over a grand on a washing machine."

Two Fridays ago, which was of all days the 13th, I had been busy doing my usual umpteen loads of laundry (with four kids you don't count loads or you get real depressed real fast). As I put in the last load I looked at old unreliable and jinxed myself and the machine - I thought it's 4 years to the day that my dryer broke. I left the laundry room and when I came back I found that my washer had died and I swear to my husband no outside forces were used to kill it - although I had threatened it many times.

I was in panic, luckily that was the last load so I had time to spare (ha ha until the next 30 piled up in a few days time). I had just seen the commercial for Sears that said on the 14th there was an extra 10% appliances until 10 am, so I brewed a pot of coffee and headed onto Epinions. I wanted to get there at 8 when they opened to avoid the holiday crowds. I also wanted to know what I wanted so I could just get in and out.

So many appliances, so little time

There are a lot of washers out there. I never had a front load, so I was nervous about making that transition - one thing that seemed a big obstacle was the fact that I am find and toss in kind of gal - if I find it after the cycle starts, why not add it in? I thought with a front loader once you closed the door you were sunk, or at least unable to add more. How wrong I was.

I also thought, well had heard, that front load washers were noisier than top load ones - I had to take that into consideration because I telecommute and I love to multi-task (aka doing work and laundry at the same time). I needed a machine that would be quiet, so it didn't sound like I was making work calls from the local Laundromat.

Sears.com helped me narrow down my search - I found the biggest machines and then went to Epinions to read all about them. Thanks to all who wrote before and thanks to all who answered my desperate pleas on chat boards for making this research go smoothly and almost painlessly.

Size does matter

I needed a big machine - 4 kids means you do a lot of laundry and the more you can cram in, the fewer loads you do (that means I am happier). Since I didn't have space for an industrial size machine I had to find one with a jumbo capacity. I will pause to say I did consider a coin-op machine and giving each of the kids a roll of quarters -that way they would have to consider how dirty is dirty and was it worth spending money to make it clean.

The HE3t has 3.7 cu feet of space in it's mighty steel drum. Without an agitator you can really fit stuff in it - and with minimal/no shoving.

My king size comforter fit effortlessly and I still had room for the pillowcases and a few small odds and ends - that would have never happened in my old top load machine -plus the fact that it never really got anything that big clean - it couldn't agitate it around so all it really did was get it wet with soapy water and rinse it relatively clean.

The footprint on this washer is about the same as my old one (width wise), but you need to measure the depth as well. With the "European design" of the door, it does stick out further than my old one (the door "bulges" out on the front (it's not flat like a traditional machine) and as my 5 yo says, "that machine looks very cool". Also keep in mind that the door is not reversible, so you need to make sure that it won't bump into anything and can swing open all the way once the machine is installed.

The Time Machine has Arrived

Thanks to my local Sears, the machine arrived on the day and time it was scheduled to - (Best Buy could learn a lesson from them). The servicemen were courteous and humorous. Upon arriving at my front door the driver announced, "Your time machine has arrived!" (I thought to myself that's a scary thought - that drum is big enough that my boys might try to cram the 5 yo into the machine and start playing some time travel game).

Installation was breeze - of course they did it for me, but they took the time to explain every step should I ever need to move the machine. The one important thing they did mention was not to loose the large bolts they took out that stabilize the steel drum - those will need to be reinserted should I ever want to move the washer - and of course should I ever need to move the washer will come with me - I may leave behind one child and a wash pan so the new owner's can do laundry, but my 5th child will be coming with me.

The entire time they were installing the machine I kept looking out the garage door. Finally after a few minutes one of the workers questioned me, "Are you looking for something?" "Yes," I replied, "For that price I thought Mr. Belvedere or Hazel came with the washer - you know to collect and sort the loads." Luckily he was old enough to know who Hazel was.

After installing the machine the driver opened up the door, pulled out a packet and handed it to me - he said, "They suggest watch the video before reading the instructions." I said, "What no DVD, how old school is that?" Like any moron (me included) who spends that much on a washer wouldn't own a DVD player.

So Many Buttons, So little time

At first this machine seemed impossible to operate – there were tons of buttons to push and my head began to spin. I honestly thought it might not be until April that I figured out how to operate the machine and get clean clothes. How wrong I was – it took about 15 minutes of watching the videotape, one cup of coffee and lots of encouragement from the kids and I was doing laundry. This machine just looks hard to use – please, if I can operate it, anyone can.

After opening the door and putting in your load (and verifying that the water has been turned back on after installation – oops) you just shut the door and start pushing buttons.
The soap and additives go into a drawer that pulls out and is located in the upper left hand corner of the machine. The only rule to remember as far as detergents go is that “powders go with powders” and “liquids go with liquids.” My 7 yo son has been chanting that for 3 weeks.

You can buy special HE3t detergent – sold only at Sears and made by Tide or you can just use about a 1/3 of the amount you would normally use of regular detergent (that will save me bucks in the long run). Never fear, if you happen to use too much detergent you won’t end up with an episode of the Brady Bunch with bubbles all over the place – the machine will just beep at you and hold your clothes hostage for an extra few minutes while it rinses them clean.

Located in the middle of the machine are the load/cycle setting buttons – of which you have 9 choices ranging from silk and wool to sanitary, normal and whitest whites. After selecting the load type. You pick the add ons – extra spin, water temperature, pre-treat, etc. Once you have made all your selections you hold down the start button, listen for the latch to engage and you’re off and washing. One great advantage to this washer is that you have 8 minutes to add clothes to the cycle – which is something I never thought you could do with a front load machine. Once paused the drum tilts backwards, the door unlatches and you can add your found items.

The one trick to the machine is picking the correct cycle – a cheat sheet is included for those who hate to read manuals (like myself). One thing you need to learn is that with some cycles you can’t add things in or delete them. Sanitary and Whitest Whites take the temp up to 150 degrees - at a varying rate so all types of stains can be treated and obliterated –I got out some old dried in (by the dryer) pizza oil stains on my daughter’s t-shirts – it was amazing – this would fabulous if you use cloth diapers, or even if you wanted to clean burp clothes. My 9 yo son has asthma and I now do his sheets on sanitary and find him wheezing less.

Is that what clean smells like?

While doing my first load I kept thinking, no way will my stuff get clean. This machine uses 2/3rds less water than a top load and at times rarely looks like it spins the stuff. I’m sure my water bill will be a lot less. I kept watching and wondering how I could have been so stupid as to buy this machine – than the timer went off and I found out what clean smells like.

Back in the 70s my mom somehow brainwashed me into believing that towels should be hard and itchy – upon washing my 22 towels in the first load I found out how wrong she was. For the first time ever old towels I had were soft and fluffy, there was no smell to them – of detergent or Snuggle – they just felt and smelled clean. It took 40 minutes on low in the dryer to dry all 22 towels and they were so clean and fluffy. I find that after washing them in the He3t they stay cleaner longer when you use them and don’t get gamey/smelly after a day or two.

Honey, I’m home!

So are there any drawbacks to the HE3t? If I have to complain about anything, it’s that when it spins, and boy does it spin, it does sound like my garage door is opening with the opener. Several times my kids have gone running and said, “Daddy’s home!” They say to install it on a sturdy surface because of the vibration – which is neither loud nor annoying – more like a calming hum – in fact the machine is so quiet I can operate it while I telecommute and no one asks me what that noise in the background is.

Granted I’ve only had the machine a short amount of time, but I have tried every cycle and every load type and have only been happy with the outcome. Clothes I hang up dry overnight because they are spun so much they are almost dry when they come out of the machine. Clothes I thought were dead and gone have been brought back to life – I had an old lime throw that looked dingy after being washed in my old machine – after one time in the HE3t, it looks box new – in fact several friends asked me if the throw was new.

Two other nice aspects of the machine are that you can stack the dryer on the washer – if you have limited space and you can buy a pedestal base for the washer which would give you storage underneath it – at this point I have not use for that, but in the future who knows.

I highly suggest this machine – I’ve always been a top load gal, and now know that front load and the HE3t are so much better – I only wish I had bought this sooner.

UPDATE It's been almost 4 months and I still LOVE this machine!! Just wanted to share that I got my first water bill since using this machine full-time and it has dropped over 30 dollars - that's a huge savings and just goes to show that not only does this machine get the clothes clean, it also is very energy/water efficient.