I picked one of these up a couple of weeks ago and have turned into a laundry geek. I went from a top loader to this and have been amazed at how much: less water and soap it uses, longer it takes to run, less lint comes off the clothes in the dryer (gentle), cleaner the clothes are, active care (formerly known as silver care) works.
Don't expect to see your clothes sloshing around in water on this or any front loader I have seen. The first time I wondered if it was working as you can't see water. The clothes do get wet, and even better, very clean. I have cut back on the detergent I put in as anything near what the detergent maker says to put in leaves to clothes feeling soapy. Makes sense though, less water would need less detergent.
It does take a while to run, around an hour for the normal cycle, a bit over an hour if you say "heavy" on the soil. When I say run, this thing goes through cycles slowly. I don't watch it all the time but sometimes it is sitting, then spins, then sits. Whatever, it works. There are some quicker settings if you really need to rush it, though I haven't tried them.
There is very little lint in the dryer lint trap with this washer which I assume means it is taking it easy on the fabric, not breaking it down. I would say it is probably 15-20% of the lint as before (an 80-85% reduction). I have asked other front load owners if they had the same experience and they all seemed to have to think about it but said, yes, less lint.
As far as the cleanliness of the clothes, this thing does the job. My whites weren't looking so white before but are coming back around. The active care which uses silver ions to disinfect the clothes does a great job. I do Bikram Yoga, 90 minutes in a hot room, and sweat like crazy. Hot water shrinks the towels and my clothes too much to use so active care to the rescue. It really does take the odor out while using warm or cold water (though living in Arizona the "cold" water isn't all that cold).
There is a learning curve with this, one that I haven't completed. You can adjust the water temp for washing and for rinsing, the speed of the spin cycle, extra rinse, extra wash, etc. I didn't have a real fancy top loader so this is all new and great for me. Also, it does take a few seconds as it goes into the spin cycle to balance. During these 2-3 seconds it can seem it is going to be out of balance but it figures it out and smooths out.
I'm very satisfied with the washer. I don't have the matching dryer so can't speak to that. Also, two weeks of ownership I have no idea what the quality is. The delivery guy said that Samsung has seemed to do well with the front loaders, then went on to name some other brands that seemed to be trouble. Time will tell. The electronics worry me some but we'll see.
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All I can say about Whirlpool's "technology marvels" is beware of the repair cost on these electronically controlled machines. I bought the top end front loader less than 3 years ago. It recently went on the blink requiring a service call. The diagnosis? The computer controller was burnt requiring a $300 repair. One month later a front panel board also burnt requiring another $300 repair. So in less than 3 years I have spent $600 to repair a $1000 machine. When you consider a purchase consider adding the "overly expensive" extended warranty, or better yet, just buy a basic "no frills" washer. Whirlpools technology leaves much to be desired and as we know, the shorter the life span, the more units they will sell. Never again Whirlpool! BTW, the repairman mentoned that most of his calls are for the newer type machines.
