Whirlpool 'Cabrio' washer...wife does NOT like it...

[Richard]

Yikes...

We bought this washer & had it delivered tonight. First thing wife did was put in a 'twin' sized quilt. This thing just sat there and the water level NEVER exceeded the height of this quilt. When the agigating happened, it just went back/forth, rolling the quilt into a ball which threw the dynamics of the machine WAY off when it went into spin cycle. Wife tried to undo the ball but it continued to make the machine wobble.

Finally, I get home & try it again.... this is a very different machine than our 'normal' Kenmore.

I've been on the phone with Whirlpool, to try to make sure that we're doing everything properly. I finally told the guy "it really seems as though this washer, instead of filling the water to a certain level and agitating the clothes, it rather seems to spray the items, spin them (to squeeze the water out) spray them down again, more spin...spray/spin....

They finally said my drain hose was stuck too far down the drain (wasn't)


So.... for anyone that has one of these... DO you like it? is it that different than a regular washer? Is there ANYTHING you can do, to FORCE it to prove it can HOLD water??

As it is right now...the wife absolutely hates this thing and is ready to call them haul it back. We paid about $900 for it specifically because of its capacity to do a quilt like she did today.

As it is... unless we're doing something wrong, its days here are numbered. I really don't want to deal with trying to return a now used washing machine (even if it was a single item)...just something wrong about that...then again... having the wife ticked off every time she uses this for the next 15 years isn't a good idea either...

Anyone have any helpful/constructive advice for me?

 

[MossRoad]

Call the store and ask them to come out and show you how to use it.

 

[RayH]

Yikes...

We bought this washer & had it delivered tonight. First thing wife did was put in a 'twin' sized quilt. This thing just sat there and the water level NEVER exceeded the height of this quilt. When the agigating happened, it just went back/forth, rolling the quilt into a ball which threw the dynamics of the machine WAY off when it went into spin cycle. Wife tried to undo the ball but it continued to make the machine wobble.

Finally, I get home & try it again.... this is a very different machine than our 'normal' Kenmore.

I've been on the phone with Whirlpool, to try to make sure that we're doing everything properly. I finally told the guy "it really seems as though this washer, instead of filling the water to a certain level and agitating the clothes, it rather seems to spray the items, spin them (to squeeze the water out) spray them down again, more spin...spray/spin....

They finally said my drain hose was stuck too far down the drain (wasn't)


So.... for anyone that has one of these... DO you like it? is it that different than a regular washer? Is there ANYTHING you can do, to FORCE it to prove it can HOLD water??

As it is right now...the wife absolutely hates this thing and is ready to call them haul it back. We paid about $900 for it specifically because of its capacity to do a quilt like she did today.

As it is... unless we're doing something wrong, its days here are numbered. I really don't want to deal with trying to return a now used washing machine (even if it was a single item)...just something wrong about that...then again... having the wife ticked off every time she uses this for the next 15 years isn't a good idea either...

Anyone have any helpful/constructive advice for me?

constructive advice: Honestly, for the amount of money the Cabrio cost, see if you can take it back and get a front loader (or as I sometimes mistakenly call them "frontend loader"). They handle bulky items so much better.

 

[Richard]

Can't swap out for a frontloader... this one barely fits as is (depth issues) and a front loader is about 3 inches deeper than this one.

I'm mainly trying to ascertain if in fact, it's working as designed since it seems to work so differently than a traditional top loader.

 

[firedog]

We bought one last year and really like it. However, it sounds like yours isn't filling with enough water. Perhaps the auto sensing device is not working correctly?? Try using the manual level mode.

 

[rtimgray]

We have had one for about 7 months (my mom has had one for about 10 months). It sounds like yours is operating in similar fashion to ours - it never really fills up with water, it just sprays and wrings and it seems like it is getting clothes cleaner than our old washing machine. We have not had any problems with any loads becoming unbalanced even when washing queen comforters. I know that we (my wife and I) are really happy with them.

Best of luck.

 

[Richard]

Try using the manual level mode.

Could you perhaps explain how or which button to push? I've looked through the manual and in fact, asked the Whirlpool "Is there any way to FORCE this washer to fill up with water" and his answer was "no...there is an automatic load sensor in there that will sense how much you have (or if the basket is empty) and fill accordingly"

I then asked if it would sense if I threw a single SOCK in there and finally fill up I'm not sure he got my (poor?) attempt at humor.

We did a normal load last night and the wife was fretting about it...showing how nothing in the load had moved. I then calmly pointed out that things WERE moving in there but it wasn't moving at a rate of like 4 rotations of the clothes in 1 minute...that it might be 1 rotation in 4 minutes (I think she wanted to see the clothes rolling over faster)

I will say this (as a perceived negative, since I'm trying to keep open mind about this newfangled thing)..... it DOES seem to take 10/15 minutes just for this thing to spray/spin, spray/spin....spray...fill....spin.... and FINALLY fill up enough to start agitating. Very very different than our old one that simply fills in 5 minutes and starts to work.

When we did the normal load last night and AFTER the endless beginning process of spray/spin to fill the darn thing...it finally seemed to be working normal (to my eyes). The wife however, made the point that the reason we bought this was for large loads and the ability to do a comforter.

When she put the comforter in (actually, if it matters...it was a quilt) anyways, when she put it in, it never "moved" the quilt around (rotated it in the water) and in fact, it just seemed to take the quilt and shape it into what I'd best describe as a mushroom head and the entire top of the mushroom head was OUT of the water, just flipping back/forth as the agitator tried to do its thing. Had the tub FILLED with water, it might have been different...so if it's possible to force fill this thing (absent using my garden hose ) I'd love to know/hear how!!

 

[anthonyk]

I think it's working as it's intended.
I have a set of the LG Trom series washers and they never seem to fill up more than about 6 inches of water as viewed from the front.
At first I thought that wasn't enough, but as the loads slosh back and forth it seems to work fine. I don't think you need a "full" tank with these front loaders, and in fact, that's supposed to be one of the benefits- using less water.

I actually sat there like a dummy just watching this thing for about 20 minutes once before I was truly convinced that ALL the clothes were, in fact, being washed

good luck,

anthony

 

[eTEXMan]

Richard,
My wife and I have had one for over a year now. The one we have doesn't have a see through top so I can't help you on the water level issue. I do know it uses a lot less water than a standard top loader. And you have to use HE soap.

We have been fairly happy with the thing, it seems to clean better than our old washer, but not as good as the LG frontloader that we really wanted and had for three weeks before getting this one.

In our manual it states something to the effect of " when washing sheets or blankets do NOT cover the center agitator. Layer the sheets in around the outside of the tub." when we do this and select the "Sheet" setting, we get clean sheets without the mushroom. If we just dump them in, we get the mushroom. Might check your manual to see if it addresses this issue.

Adam

 

[JRobyn]

Our regular front load Whirlpool works similar to what you're describing. These amachines are specifically designed to wash using much, much less water than a standard "tub" style. The idea (apparently) is to WET the load (not submerge it), then agitate it with the detergent exactly like you are seeing by rolling it back and forth. This forces each item in the load to rub against the others, sorta like rubbing against an old fashioned washboard as opposed to just sloshing back and forth underwater in a tub. The rinse cycle is similar in that the load is sprayed down well to the point of saturation, but not submerged, then spun out, then repeat. Our sometimes gets a little wobbly when it first starts the spin and the load is very wet and heavy, but it quickly stabilizes in almost all cases. Granted, a big quilt or comforter is probably the most difficult thing for any washer to handle. Make sure yours is ABSOLUTELY level, both side-to-side and front-to-back.

Apparently it cleans just as good or better than the standard tub style, and is better for fabric life, etc. My wife loves hers.

- Jay