Ahhh, Clean and EcoFriendly

We bought the Whirlpool LHW0050PQ it’s been a joy to use.
Small exterior size 3" all around compared to my old Kenmore top load, Real quiet too "our dryer is louder".

This machine was a replacement to our 12 year old top loader that shook and just didn't spin out enough water causing long dryer run times. Always wanted a nice front loader but not a 1000 dollar one we topped out our budget at 836.00 including a 5 year replacement warr. Home delivery setup and removal from our local Maine based Agren Appliance Whirlpool dealer.

The whole idea here was to lighten the costs of running and get cleaner laundry. My first thought was Maytag but changed my mind after research they have had service issues in the past, further googleing lead me to Kenmore and whirlpool both seemed reasonable but this model won us for price and minimal complaints. (Short of a commercial model nearly all will have complaints.)
We did however have a scary moment as we installed the new washer it seemed like it just would not start a cycle but on further reading found that the washer takes about 2 minutes and makes sure it has pumped any residual water out prior to starting a fill. (Removing the water at startup is a feature. No stinky old wash water in the bucket.) Sound has improved from the old Washer, however during spin-up you get the "wow that spins fast" turbine like whine from the 1200rpm spin cycle, not a big deal but more of a different sound than annoying or loud.

So far high marks here hope more people review this one we really love ours. Our old washer used near 35 gal load 2/3 cup soap and left our laundry soaked. Our new Whirlpool uses about 18 gal a load a shot glass of Method brand "He" soap and the 120 min high heat dry times are now reduced to 40min med heat, going to save some money there soon! I hoped we would not need a stand but need the loading height needs to be at least 6" higher for us I'm building a riser now I may go 12".
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Thanks Phil,
Riser issue solved!

"" By philbaum
I agree in the main with your comments and liked your facts about the volume of water saved! I'm pretty sure you meant 2.9 cubic foot capacity, not 2.9 liter - that would be real small.

Not wanting to spend $200 for the riser, I built my own out of a 2 X 10 for the sides and a 3/4" piece of plywood for the top, wood cost about $30 total. I finished it with some leftover pecan stained varnish from another job and it looks great. Took one day to assemble and a few hours the next to varnish it. I didn't want to waste anytime gluing the pieces together, so just used my battery powered drill to put several deck screws into the box part of it, and then screwed the top plywood piece down on the box. I also used metal reinforcing clips on the inside corners for extra strength - available from any lumberyard. Be sure to leave a little extra width on the sides. With an unbalanced load and high spins, I found that the washer would walk a little bit. You sure as heck don't want this machine walking off any platform so I screwed one strip of 1/2" thick by 1 1/2" wide plywood on each side of the washer next to the feet.(varnish them with pecan too :-) Leave screws accessible to make it easier to move the washer, if that should ever prove necessary. You don't have to add anything on the front or back since it will only walk left or right. This worked great! ""

Still Luvin my Whirlpool!
Make sure you read all the comments I hope someone reviews soap choices here too!!!

UPDATE!!!
Here is a summary of our year with our front loader. First of all it still is saving us money and water as we all seem to agree a fast spin means less dry time most times 30-40 min in our old dryer instead of 50-70 before. The clothes are really clean; whites hot wash very well with no bleach.
I called service for noise and motion problems so bad it walked. I figured my washer was certainly busted and expected the worst. Guess what? Without turning a wrench and cracking the case we fixed it! Me and the washer guy "I thought was pulling my leg!”
I have a few notable tricks to share.

1. Be 100% sure you have a stable floor. "NOTE: The location you choose may degrade after time" The rule is if you don't have a level concrete floor then any instable action during spins will cause noise and motion sooner or later. Try putting a level on the still washer and jump with one foot near the feet of the washer any movement then will exaggerate once the washer gets to spin cycle. My instance was noise we installed two 3/4 inch layers of exterior decking with darn near a 1/2 box of decking screws to solve this and it worked very well. (Proximity to the dryer may result in sheet metal noise if you’re getting motion.)

2. When using HE Wisk, Tide and any detergent or fabric softener reduce your amounts by 2/3rds "I'm not kidding" try it don’t tell anyone you won't notice any issues and use dryer sheets if you want greater perfume scent. This washer self heats water to approximately 190 degrees* (*see your manual) also reducing the bleach need in many cases, we mix ours when needed in the soap drawer.

3. Think that last statement was just silly?
Try this tonight, directly into the front of the empty washer pour 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil on a hot wash cycle add a couple dark t-shirts or whatever. Look in the washer during its mid washing cycle you will see what looks like a lot of dirty fabric softener and soap in there. What you’re seeing is buildup from excess softener and soap. In many cases this buildup left out of control can and will make your pump cavitate (I.E real loud) and actually cause washer noisy imbalance and long term issues. We did this once and the next load ran clearly "Pun intended" better and sounded better too. Run this fix once a month. Don't forget to empty the lint filter and always leave the front door and soap drawer ajar during non use periods to resist any sour moisture and ultimately mold issues.

I hope this helps! Keep in mind any front load will benefit from this.
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UPDATE 2 May 12th 06
The power button broke.
Seems that this is a very common problem. No worries its backordered and my masking tape X is working fine for now.
This repair and trip is fully covered by my extended warrantee. All other aspects remain the same, still see it saving me real cash within its minimum 5 year* expectancy.
(*my extended replacement warr.)

My background is retail electronics and this opinion is based on a year of personal use and advice and stories from 5 or more washer techs and a couple white goods retailers
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Sept, 17 2006 Long term usage final update.

'Just got a email update from Epinions about someones bad review. I wanted to tell anyone reading I have this washer and I'm well into my second year. I still love this machine and it saved us lots of money/water/time its not hard finding a brand in white goods that gets a mix of bad reviews I atribute many or most to typical issues (across all the brands) and poor response from local service. Bottom line they don't and won't ""make things like they used to"" so like I said before ALWAYS consider total cost this means including a dealer with a proven track record and clear economical extended service plan.
I have to stress if there are "soap suds pouring out the back" you just used either way too much soap or a non-HE branded soap product, I can't stress enough how little HE soap it actually takes to get a quality wash. (HE branding means concentrated & no suds) ALWAYS buy HE (Wisk and Method are our 2 favorites)and trust reccomended useage even use less than reccomended. If you want perfume get dryer sheets. Remember folks, soap uses a simple chemical process it breaks waters surface tension allowing dirt to be released. Manufactures could market a effective product that cleaned cloths in a tiny 16oz soda bottle cap size doseage.
I hope you have read the whole review. I work in retail and talked to many other people about their applances. Please consider I am a consumer advocate to a fault, you the consumer hold all the cards ask questions, shop as many places as you can and figure out the real total price of ownership...

UPDATE 3 Dec 29 2007
We still Love it! As with most things so few people don't go out of their way to praise a product that works. This machine gets 3 or more loads a day everyday and just keeps saving us money. Read the good reviews, get a extended warr. and enjoy your front loader.

UPDATE 9 Sept 2008
This washer has been running fine since the last update. About 3 years now! No issues, just clean laundry.