A+ Stability but Disappointing Wash
Pros:
VERY stable operation even with pedestal on Upper Floor
Cons:
Minimal Features, Lousy Stain Fighting, Mediocre Clean
The Bottom Line:
Recommended for upper floor laundry room installs. Not recommended for cleaning stained clothes (such as children's clothes).
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
We bought the Duet Sport Washer and Dryer in April because it seemed to be the only front-load model on the market that was recommended for Second Floor install. True to the marketing, it is extremely stable in our 1840 Colonial installed on the Second Floor. My husband and I put both machines on pedestals, leveled them front, back and across and they have caused minimal vibrations even at 1200 rpm. The washer gets an A+ for its design in this regard.
However, it has minimal features. It does NOT automatically detect the size of the wash and there are no manual controls for it, so you will always have the same cycle time - whether you are washing one item or 40. I thought the front-load machines were smarter than this, but this model is not.
Also, the clothes do not seem to get as clean as with my old top-loader. I've tried 2 different kinds of brand name HE detergent (Tide and All), and even washing at the hottest temperature, it does a lousy job of getting stains out. For a cycle that is twice as long as my old machine (71 minutes), I'm very disappointed about this.
Finally, the washer is not as efficient as I expected it to be. The amount of HE detergent required is the same as with my old top-loader. I also expected drying time to be much shorter given the high RPM spin cycle, but it is only about 30% less (40 minutes vs. 55 minutes).
