Product review (5 stars): steam washer that got very good reviews. I opted for the oversized machines because ...
This purchase was made at a local appliance center, but I wanted to share our experience and provide information about the HE technology.

About 10 years ago, we replaced our Maytag washer and dryer with a Samsung HE model since we wanted updated technology, energy efficiency, and lower utility bills. After 9 years of this first machine (which I really liked), repairs were becoming costly (which I didn't) so opted for another Samsung in June 2016--a 5.6 cu. ft. steam washer that got very good reviews.  I opted for the oversized machines because I wanted to be able to wash our king comforter at home rather than take it to the cleaners and do fewer loads of laundry each week.  The washer/dryer pair was obscenely expensive (doubtful I'll ever recoup the money that was spent on the equipment through whatever was saved on the utility bills), but it performed very, very well and I was able to do our week's worth of laundry in four loads.  I never experienced the bad smells that others have written about, but I did leave the doors open so it could air out and had to do the self-clean cycle more than I thought it needed to be.  Our clothes were relatively clean, but I did need to rewash heavily stained items on occasion which I thought was suspect.

Cut to this year--we built a new house and it came with a tankless water heater (our previous house had a regular old water heater in the garage with the washer and dryer next to it).  Our second day in the new house, there was laundry to do and to my surprise, there was no hot or warm water coming into the machine.  The contractor's plumber was still on site and he came over and confirmed the water heater was working and the machine was hooked up correctly; he was not sure what was happening but suggested I run the hot water in the utility sink next to the washer to prime the lines.  He thought that the washer used so little water that it wasn't signaling the water heater to turn on.  The following day, I wasted several hours on the phone with Samsung, the water heater manufacturer, the water heater installer, and a plumbing supply company to see if they knew what was going on.  Samsung was clueless and said they had no idea why the washer didn't work and had never heard of this problem before.  The water heater manufacturer said the machine didn't pull enough water to let the water heater know we needed hot water.  The plumbing supply company said we needed a recirculating pump.  The water heater installer said they could not make changes to the heater but if we purchased a pump, they would install it for us.  The more I learned, I was dumbfounded that two high-tech, energy efficient pieces of equipment could not talk to each other.  Installing an additional pump was going to negate any savings we realized from the tankless water heater or the HE machine.

The plumbing supply company suggested we place a service call to an established local appliance repair center which I did.  When the technician called me back, he said he could not fix the machine because it wasn't broken--it just couldn't communicate with the hot water heater, and he did not want to charge me for a service call when he knew he could not fix the problem.  Such is a reason to do business with locally-owned businesses.

At this point, I suggested that we might want to contact the buyers of our old house to see if they wanted to buy the washer and dryer and move them back.  My husband was still determined to find the solution and he spent more time on the phone and online hunting down help.  He tried some tips from YouTube videos, none of which resulted in hot water and a broken flow valve.  But we both learned that consumers are not really happy with Samsung products for a multitude of reasons!  He then called the appliance repair center back to order another flow valve.  In the process, they told him that they were running a sale on washers and dryers and did we want to come in and look at them?  He asked if they would take away our Samsungs and dump them because he was done with them and they said they would.

So I went down to the appliance center and they immediately steered me to this Speed Queen washer; the sales person and her husband own laudromats and she said Speed Queen is the only machine they will purchase.  I had never considered purchasing this brand and didn't realize they were even still around. The 5 year warranty (NOT a $300 "extended warranty" you get from the big box stores) was impressive enough, but the machine has a stainless steel tub that looks like it will last forever.  Plus, I get to choose the water level, the water temperature, and the soil level. Best of all, it talks to the tankless water heater and I can now wash in hot, warm, or cold water.  I get to choose that, too.  I bought the washer and dryer set, on sale, for less than I paid for the Samsung washer alone.

Face it, the washer is old school--it's plain white, it has an agitator, it's square, and there are no bells and whistles on it.  It's an old school work horse and it will outlast any new HE machine that comes down the pike.  But there's a reason old school works; it's made well, it's fast (a 29 minute cycle)!  I've come full circle and am back to using the kind of washing machine I grew up with.  Looking at the SQ reviews, and not seeing one negative review says a lot.  If you get fed up with the HE machines, there is still an option to purchase something that works.  And this washer is it!