Product review (5 stars): Panda 7.9 lb washer: very satisfied
I have had my little Panda for 3 months - zero problems with it.
A few tips and pointers - and questions I had before purchase.
First: the pump is strong and great. I drain it in the bathtub; no, it does not need a gravity assist. Sometimes, the pump stop pulling water, and I just turn it off, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on or, as direction booklet advises, jiggle air out of hose.
The spin really is quite strong. I put a fan in my bathroom to hasten the final drying process, which works very quickly.
Jeans are the only thing that challenges this little powerhouse. One pair of jeans and a few small items, max. Otherwise, a typical load might be: a couple shirts, a couple undershirts, a few pair underwear, some socks, and a light pair of pants. The "7-8 pounds" recommendation is for dry laundry, of course. I looked up laundry weights, and definitely do less than the recommended weight - but still, it does a great job for the kinds of loads I've described.
Heavy towels are another thing that are best one at a time, though some small items can go in with it.
Sheets: one at a time just because they get too tangled, but individually they are fine in the machine.
Overall, it cleans at least as well as most large automatic machines. I generally do a wash, a rinse, then a final rinse with softener.
Lint: I was worried from some of the reviews. This has been zero problem, I have no idea why this has been an issue for some people. After rinsing out the lint clip, make sure it is fully snapped back in.
Attachment: I live in NYC. Bathroom faucet, as expected, did not fit hose. I unscrewed the aerator and took that and the hose with me to a couple hardware stores, and then found that a Gracious Home had a great plumbing department and hooked me up with a great adaptor.
The machine, despite being very light and plastic, is very sturdy. I go easy on the dials, and if I turn off pump or spin, I wait 10 or so seconds before turning back on. This is sensible precaution: it really doesn't feel flimsy at all.
My one regret: I probably should have accepted the loss of space and gone with the larger size, but I just couldn't believe it would really work this well. Next purchase, perhaps. I am very happy with this little machine: it fully lives up to its hype. It's great to have my daily needs met without the laundromat, which I now only need for really big stuff. Delighted with the machine.
Oh: yes, it DID say Panda washer on the delivery box, but because of the relatively small size of box I don't think people would guess it was really a washing machine.