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I think my worst experience with a washing machine would be this Electrolux EFLW317TIW. It didn't clean as well as I thought it would, uses less water, some clothes would get stuck in the drum seal, and it was VERY NOISY during the spin cycles. It's also the front load washer that got ranked last from Consumer Reports as of April of this year. Interesting though, this one got ranked last but some of their other models had higher ratings. Even the top of the line EFLS627UTT is listed as one of CR's recommended models. I was thinking that all of them would be the same performance wise but some with fancier options.

panasonicvac-2021060110054405508_1.jpg
 
I hate to admit but LG seems to be the only manufacturer in the mainstream innovating and everyone seems to love their front load machines.

Whirlpool seems stagnant other than offering that stupid 2 in 1 agitator which is a joke to begin with. Though they did come out with their new dishwasher line with that new filtration system.

Whirlpool also hasn't updated their front load line. Same models they had back when I got my WFW6620HW in 2019.

With the few top loaders with a true DAA they offer I would hope they update then to be more flexible and with a better spray rinse.
 
I have the stacked unit from Frigidaire in my condo. Have had it for 2 years now, but have only used it for a less than a year. It has been sitting alone with the water shut off since haven't been down there for over a year because of the pandemic. Will start going back later this month since we both now have completed out vaccines. Also have a new Maytag dishwasher sitting there and only have maybe run it 6 times before we left. I guess will have to put very hot water in both of them and let them sit for awhile to make sure the gaskets don't leak. The washer and dryer do an adequate job for what they are. Great agitation in the washer and dryer is a little slower to keep up, but I am in no rush while doing laundry.

Jon
 
@agiflow & Sean

They had a good reputation in Europe, having entered through a joint venture with Philips that was at the upper middle end of the market, even top of the market in some cases. It was originally called Philips-Whirlpool. They then bought out Philips, who wanted to abandon the white goods market anyway, and it seems to have gone down hill from there.

They make the odd good appliance, but they've so much junk with their name on it that it's just not a brand I would buy.

At a middle-of-the-line level, I'd be looking at Bosch, Electrolux, Samsung, etc. Whirlpool in my books would rank low/mid market.

I don't think you can really blame their buying up other manufacturers on their quality. They design all their own stuff in Europe and clearly are happy with the low end slot they occupy. Maybe that is their strategy.
 
Low end slot

They sure as hell are happy with that slot.

After acquiring Hotpoint/Indesit they own most of the entry level market I would say.
Main competition is Beko in the price range, Vestel at the lower end of the range.

They weren't happy themselves with what they were building washer wise though.
They took Hotpoints Aquarius line and spun that off, replacing both their own designs with that new design.
Though I guess that Hotpoint delivered same durability targets with cheaper cost.

Dryer wise they took some elements from their dryers (drums, motors) and redid some other stuff (airflow design and apparently their heat pump design) and did a revision of that.
Controls seem more in line with what Hotpoint had before.
Our Whirlpool dryer is decent enough and has been running for a good few years now.
And I would say that after that dryer recall Desaster they didn't take chances and just used their design instead.
 
Whirlpool I guess was about upper middle here ? They made good appliances across the board.Their lion's share of washer sales here was no doubt through Sears. They built some of the most beloved machines the US has produced. They have way too much baggage now it seems. They are quickly becoming or have become the WCI of appliance manufacturers.
 
40 years ago Malleys Whirlpool made excellent products. Our first Australian fridge was of that brand and it remained in the family for more than 30 years before we gave it away. The interior tub was fully enamel lined and the door liner was of the highest quality plastic, which showed absolutely no cracks or wear in all the years. It was auto defrost, came with a butter conditioner and It never missed a beat. The door handles were soft to the touch and had the appearance of leather. It was a beautiful appliance.

My first washer, when I moved to my own place, was a used Malleys Whirlpool machine, one of the best washers I’ve ever owned. It came loaded with features and had suds save function.

When Whirlpool products were based on US designs and made in Oz they were top of the crop. Now Whirlpool imports cheap junk from Europe, which does not compare in any way with original Whirlpool quality and performance of yore.
 
Hotpoint/Ariston machines had very intuitive controls. I would highly rate the design of the controls on machines like the Aqualtis.

You also have to remember though that Europe and the US are different markets. Whirlpool launched in Europe in the early 1990s with a relatively unknown brand. Philips was a far more established name.

My guess is they struggled to compete in the upper middle end of the European market, which has a lot of brands: Bosch, Neff, Siemens, AEG, Electrolux, SMEG, etc etc all have big presence and in the 1990s Hotpoint, Ariston, Indesit and several others were huge too and you’ve a bunch of smaller brands in higher niches, notably Miele too.

So I’m guessing they ended up going for value and volume instead.
 
Italian Whirlpools

A number of years ago (10+)  a relative bought 4 Whirlpool FL washers for some holiday rental units. She already had one in her own home and was very happy with it. AWM 294-600. They were Italian made machines, slow spin (600 rpm) but otherwise good.

I was asked to help install the 4 machines. When they arrived, 2 were the Italian machine they had ordered and 2 were Chinese Whirlpools. Also one of the Italian ones was damaged. We phoned the store to complain, they said the Chinese ones were the new model and we were "lucky" they had given 2 of the new model. I peeked in behind the new ones, they were induction motor machines at least 10 years behind the "old" model in technology. We refused to accept the change, they contacted the warehouse and found stock of the 3 replacement machines we needed. The Italian Whirlpools have given great service, two are still in the family in daily use. Simple basic well made machines that have given great service.
 
"The toploaders on the Australian Whirlpool website certainly don't come from Europe. More like China or Korea or so."

You are right. However, some years back Whirlpool eliminated top loaders from their line-up over here and the two washers that are now offered are a recent addition. Their front loaders are as cheap and nasty as one can get. I've seen Whirlpool front loaders barely two years old showing signs of rust and leakage. It would be rare for any of their current machines to survive past the ten year mark before they end up in landfill.

I have a 20 year old Whirlpool side by side fridge that was assembled in the US. It is a good fridge, still tugging along strong, but the internal plastic components are not of the same quality as our original Aussie-made Malleys Whirlpool fridge.
 
post GE filter-flo

These washers were the worst of the worst even worse than the 2018 Speed Queen Perfect Wash. They shook so violently during agitation that you thought they would take their anger out on you when you did nothing to them. Their dryers were just as bad. You could hear scraping as they ran.
 

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