Product review (5 stars): Old School Washer Still the Best
I get my clothes DIRTY; landscaping, installing insulation, etc.  I bought a cheaper Whirlpool HE washing machine and tried it for three weeks. Returned it, salesman said a more expensive HE machine would do the job.  Tried it, returned it. I followed washing instructions exactly. Used HE detergent, in the water first..... If you work in an office and maybe just get a little sweat in your clothes I think the HE machines would be perfect for you.  But if you get serious dirt on you then they aren't worth crap, IMO.  I know they save water, but water is plentiful here and not that expensive.  Maybe HE is better for drought stricken areas.  And I don't really save much water when I have to wash the clothes twice.  (Just like my wonderful water saving toilet...which I have to flush twice. LOL).  Besides not cleaning well, they make an annoying growling sound (that's all I can call it) while washing, and two rinse cycles is minimum.  I do have very hard water here and that may play a role, but it doesn't affect how the Speed Queen performs.  This machine washes all the insulation fuzz off my clothes, takes our all the serious dirt, and doesn't make much noise in the process.  The lid doesn't lock down, so it's very quick to toss in more clothes.  (No having to hit the pause button and wait for it to release the lock).  BTW; on the Whirlpool HE machines, if you left it on pause for more than a couple minutes, it resets and drains the machine--you start over. You can set the water level manually on the Speed Queen.  It has a REAL agitator, and you can set a second rinse.  Stainless steel tub is nice. The spin cycle wrings out most of the water, so dryer time isn't bad. Thank GOD they still make this type of washing machine.  I have read on the internet that they will be phased out in 2017, so all that will be available is the HE type of machine; but I consider that a rumor right now.