[28 of 28 customers found this review helpful]

Fisher & Paykel IWL16 Review

I really like this washer

"I've owned 4 washers over the last 7 years (we have moved three times) and this is by far the best. The worst was a Maytag Neptune that had all sorts of cleaning faults and became inoperative after a year. It needed a new control board even though it was never wet or abused. I tend to read instructions and follow them.The IWL16 was purchased new from Lowes and I am very impressed with the way it treats clothes, how clean it gets them and it's simple operation. The clothes come out rejuvinated compared to their sorry state after being washed by a newer (but traditional style) Maytag Performa. The Fisher-Paykel does have a number of features that I will never use but they don't get in the way. Seriously, how often does one have an entire load with "chocolate" stains or some other specific stain? I would prefer to treat the stain manually rather than wash one garment on a special cycle.Although this washer is very easy to use it does work differently than traditional washers and it takes a few minutes reading the manual to get the most out of it. In the manual I learned it was possible to set preferences that will modify the base settings semi-permanently (until they are reset manually). For example, if the water temperature seems too hot or cold it can be adjusted up or down in 1 degree increments. The Auto water level can be adjusted as well as the default rinse options.I've found that the automatic load sensing feature works extremely well. I add soap, about two-thirds the amount I am accustomed to (the amount depending upon the size of the load), leave the cycle on "auto-sensing" (unless I select "wool" for woolens or "hand-wash" for extremely delicate items). I don't use the "creasables" cycle because I don't have any permanent press clothes. Then I adjust the "soiled" setting up or down to one of six settings based upon how dirty the clothes are. This adjusts the length of the wash cycle. For whites I select "hot", new clothes with bright colors get "cold+" which is simply cold water that has been tempered with a little hot water. Everything else gets "warm" which is simply a warm start to the wash cycle followed by a cool wash and cold rinse. Then I push start. This might sound complicated but 90 percent of my loads require nothing more than add clothes, add detergent and hit "start". Auto-sensing takes care of the rest. All my clothes come out looking great and they are so dry after the spin cycle I save a lot of time and money on drying energy. Best of all is there is no soap smell which my nose is very sensitive to. I don't like that I need to remove the cap on the agitator to add the detergent but it is a minor annoyance. People with large homes and remote laundry rooms may find the end of cycle alert is not loud enough but at least it makes a pleasant tone. The washer is about as loud as most modern traditional washers, the sounds are pleasant but different than what you are probably accustomed to.Because of the way the machine mixes the detergent and applies it, I've found it is not necessary to use hotter settings as I found necessary on traditional machines. The people who designed this machine really understand how to clean fabrics!"