Whirlpool washer and dryer work great

Posted by UrFriendlyPirate on 2006-10-27:

Glad to hear some positive reviews regarding white goods here. Care to mention the model name?

Posted by UrFriendlyPirate on 2006-10-27:

Oh, right the Ultima Care II, now I see it, good choice!

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2006-10-27:

It may cost a little more than others, but most likely in the long run the others will cost the consumers more in repairs....thanks.

Posted by Slimjim on 2006-10-27:

Not if your comparing it to other Whirlpools DB. An Ultimate Care Model is built just like any top loader Whirlpool quality wise. You are paying soley for features and in fact, the more a machine has on it, the more prone to a repair it is (although hardly major difference).

Posted by SloMo on 2006-10-27:

We bought Whirlpool washer and dryer because of a recommendation from an appliance repairman. We have had them 5 years with no problems.

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2006-10-27:

Slim, your debating of my comment is well recieved...you know more about appliances than I do...my reply was in general.

Posted by Slimjim on 2006-10-27:

Actually that's the kind of topic we could have done a good discussion with as long as some jerky chewer sticks to reviewing soda and floss and stops butting in and ruining threads. I've seen people buy top line models because they thought it was the best one or Consumer Reports ranked it number one. Not realizing CR only tests top models from each brand in comparisons. I remember the top GE d/w sold like hot cakes when CR would rank it first. People ended up spending $100 more then the next GE because this one had a full electronic control panel. Care to guess which GE model failed the most and more specifically, which part?

Posted by UrFriendlyPirate on 2006-10-28:

I wouldn't base my purchasing preference on models, soley because a magazine told me so. Wise consumers do a bit of independent research on their own. We had customers come in all the time wondering about this feature or gizmo. I'd always recommend that they decide upon which features mattered most to them first, reliability second and consider cost third. Usually, this formula led them to buying something middle of the road. The electronic keypads which were so prone to failure early on, have been improved dramatically these past couple of years. No one brand is better or worse in reliabilty in that particular area. (tr) Of course slim, your google may state otherwise.

Posted by Slimjim on 2006-10-29:

Still trolling pirate? No matter what I say, you always are right there posting smack. Sometimes you can't even read it right, but again have all the answers. At least you can spot a typo, GENIUS

Posted by Nohandle on 2006-10-29:

I also have the Whirlpool Ultimate Care II washer and dryer and have been well pleased with both. It has almost gotten to the point we are shocked when we purchase an appliance and don't have a problem.

Slim I was told the exact same thing years back..the more features on an appliance the more to go wrong and have kept that advice in mind when making a purchase. I have found, however, in order to get a particular feature one might want (extra large tub) sometimes we have to select a model with features we don't need or ever intend on using. I haven't figured a way around that one.

Crawfish, I recommend the Ultimate Care II as well, although the Quiet Wash and Quiet Dry cause me to raise my eyebrows a bit.

Posted by Slimjim on 2006-10-29:

True nohandle, each brand will have a few features with each step up in the line. Only go as high as you need to. Quiet wash is nothing more than some sort of insulation package varying between brands as to what. Doesn't make the unit anymore reliable, nor does timed delay, extra rinse, stepped spin speeds etc. They just make the unit more money and more complex, and if you would never use those options, don't spend for them.

Posted by Nohandle on 2006-10-29:

Slim, I've found the hand washable, extra rinse or signal button are some of the extras most probably don't need or want. Folks also might want to think twice about using that bleach dispenser option. If all the bleach is not dispensed with the previous load you might might find some clorox spots on the next load. Takes one load to figure out where that came from and I quit using that option on the previous washer. The Ultimate Care II might take care of that problem, but I've not tried it for obvious reasons.

Informative post Crawfish, and the additions as well, that's how we live and learn. I'd rather profit from someone elses experience than learn it on my own..especially if it's at my expense.

Posted by crawfishjumbalaya on 2006-11-02:

Thank you NoHandle. I submitted your responses as very helpful. Unfortunately, I have not used the bleach option. I use the Clorox2 bleach that is added to the wash. Thank you for your insightful addition.

Posted by Watching on 2006-12-29:

I am new and don't know if this is the right forum so please forgive me if this is not "in the spirit" of this site.

I have an Ultimate Care II that came with our house. The washer works very well but the dryer (electric) takes forever to dry anything. Case in point- I washed two pairs of jeans, 3-4 t-shirts and a bumch of socks earlier today. I put the load in the dryer for two full 70 minute cycles on high temp befor they were dry- even then they were not "bone dry." My old piece of poop GE dryer in the old home would cook that stuff in 40 minutes or less.

The dryer does get hot and so I don't think there is an issue with the temp. I checked the vent and hose. They needed some cleaning but the air flow was relatively free through it. Even after cleaning the vent and hose the drying power was less than optimal.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should look into next? Is this model just a long dry cycle?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Posted by Handyman_in_SATX on 2007-06-11:

Watching,

I had a similar problem with a fairly new dryer and it turned out that my vent to the roof was clogged with lint. I used an electric leaf blower to blow out the lint. I took the top off of the pipe on the roof first and the leaf blower snugged up real close to the dryer vent connection. It looked like gray snow on my rooftop when I was done.
Good luck. Always look for the easy solution first.

Posted by EyeBuyer on 2008-09-07:

The Ultimate Care II by Whirlpool, if it's still being sold, should come with a huge sign on it saying, "Caution."

I have this machine; it began malfunctioning within a year of purchase but, of course, none of the parts were covered under warranty. The problem was the "spin" cycle stopped spinning. The water would not drain out, either. It was a mess.

Not only that but the machine does not rinse adequately. Should I be so daring as to do a load of darks after completing a load of white laundry (in which I used a bit of bleach), I notice bleach stains on my darks after taking them from the washer. This bleach residual problem has nothing to do with the "bleach dispenser" that comes with the machine. It has to do with the machine not rinsing thoroughly. I never use the bleach dispenser, adding the bleach by hand instead; I even double-rinse the load in which I used the bleach. I still, however, find that there are very often bleach spots on the next load.

Speaking of double-rinse, since this machine doesn't rinse well on a consistent basis it is usually necessary, especially after doing a load of wash in which bleach was used, to double rinse that load.

This machine should have been taken off the market after the first several hundred machines reported problems. Several hundred machines, you ask? I would bet that's a very LOW estimate!