The skinny on the "thin twin" stack washer/dryer

When shown our townhouse the landlady assured us that the supplied washer/dryer was "extraordinary and would delight" me. I'm not one to believe everyone right off so I nodded and smiled. I personally didn't care if the appliance would "delight" me as long as it would get our clothes clean and leave me with less work.

Size means a lot to me
The laundry room was located in the corner of my daughter's room. Nestled in a tiny little closet was a relatively friendly looking character called a stack washer/dryer. I marveled at how little space this 72x27x24 inch of woman's best friend took from the already small room. This is the best choice for a small apartment or house without a doubt.

Large Capacity Washer-
Be gentle with my delicates
After using the monster washers in the college laundromat for months I approached this washer with apprehension. Would it attack my delicates like a beast or would it know they needed to be cared for gently like a good washer would know? A read up on the manual relieves my anxiety. It seems that Whirlpool washers have a great feature that uses "step-down agitation speeds to maximize cleaning during the beginning of the wash and gentleness at the end." So, while my delicates will be clean they won't be ripped apart.

Shh don't let the neighbors hear
Being that our washer/dryer is in our daughter's room I was concerned about not being able to do laundry at night or during nap times during the day. The washers I've encountered in the past were loud and created quite a scene when on the spin cycle (ever have one chase you across the floor? This doesn't just happen in movies). However, when this washer is working I simply close the laundry room door and all is quiet.

Show me your best features
The washer comes with five automatic cycles:
• Regular which supplies a deep cleaning with a gentle care
• Super Wash which is best for towels and grimy clothes that need a beating
• Pre Wash for those articles that need a little extra scrubbing/soaking before the real washing to come clean
• Knits Gentle for those delicates you want to treat with kid gloves
• Permanent Press which is the cycle I use for most of our clothing. It supplies a deep cleaning, deep rinse, and gets every bit of the dirt out while leaving the clothes in good condition.

You also have several choices in wash/rinse water temperature..Hot/Warm, Hot/Cold, Warm/Cold, Cold/Cold.

Washer loads can range from extra small to extra large.

This washer also sports a "Spreckle Porcelain Basket" which is a thousand times better than a cheaper plastic basket and will last longer. It also has a "ToughTop II Top and Lid Finish" which will keep your washer top looking like new years from now. Even after definite abuse this washer doesn't have a single chip or dent in it, giving me the impression that it's built to last.

Large Capacity Dryer
Let's turn the heat up a little
Despite what the website says this dryer actually has five temperature settings.
• Extra Low for heating up your clothes on a cold winter day or fluffing the wrinkles out of a shirt.
• Knits Gentle Low in case you don't want to lay your delicates around the house to dry (ever have company show up with your undies hanging in the doorway?)
• Medium Low is the most commonly used in our house. It's perfect for drying every day clothes without over drying them.
• Permanent Press Medium is great for drying towels and other articles that can take the abuse of a hot setting.
• Heavy High is the cycle I've stayed away from. Permanent press seems to almost be hot enough to spontaneously combust clothing. It's for this reason that I fear the Heavy High setting!

Shall we fluff it or perma press it?
The dryer has four cycles (although the website does state differently)
• Automatic Permanent Press works with the Automatic Dry-Miser Control (see below). This cycle dries your clothes with a higher heat than normal and isn't as gentle as Regular cycle is. Towels are best dried on this cycle.
• Automatic Regular also works with the Automatic Dry-Miser Control. The heat is less destructive and can be used to dry t-shirts or other every-day clothing.
• Fluff Air is the lowest heat drying. Comparable to the heat your hair dryer puts out it's best when drying something slightly damp or trying to fluff the wrinkles out of an item. Also great for freshening up a musty item when you add a fabric softener sheet.
• Timed Drying is the most commonly used in our house. I hate to iron and the timed drying allows me to catch the clothing while it's still slightly damp and avoid having to iron the articles most apt to wrinkle. You can dry for up to 110 minutes on this setting.

Automatic Dry-Miser Control is a great feature I just started using. When growing up I always noticed this on the dryer but also noticed my mom never used it (that was a sign of something being taboo) so I never tried it. It is GREAT! You set the dryness you desire (very dry to less dry) and the humidity the clothes produce while drying is read. When it reaches the desired dryness it shuts off with your clothes being perfectly dry, slightly dry, or toasty dry. No more running to the dryer every 60 minutes to see if that huge load of towels are dry yet!

An end-of-cycle signal, which can be turned off and on, emits a highly annoying sound that will awaken the dead and stop your heart if you happen to be close by when it goes off.

The dryer, which is on the top side of the stack, is front loading with a door that swing open to the right. It has a glass window in the front for those who like to pass the time watching their clothes bounce around.

The lint filter is located just inside the door on the bottom side of the door frame. It's a wide filter and is easily cleaned. I'm told that the larger the filter the better the drying. Makes sense. I suggest cleaning this halfway through especially linty loads such as towels.

The dryer has a 1/3 Horsepower motor and is relatively quiet..depending on what you are drying.

The interior is a DuraWhite Interior with metal basin and wings.

Give me the bottom line
Bottom line is that if you're in the market for a stack washer/dryer that is simple to use and does a great job with your clothes this is your best choice. The washer will get your clothing looking like new without abusing them and making their life shorter. A manual isn't needed to operate this simple machine and a few trial and error situations will create the perfect cleaning machine for your household. This particular model is available in two colors, White and Almond.