Product review (3 stars): A new approach to washing clothes
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Whirlpool-Cabrio-Series-WTW6400SW-28-Top-Load-Washer-with-4-5-Cu-Ft-Capacity-and-Direct-Inject-Wash-System/dp/B000HBI8CE/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Whirlpool Cabrio Series WTW6400SW 28" Top-Load Washer with 4.5 Cu. Ft. Capacity and Direct Inject Wash System</a>

We've had the Cabrio Washer and Dryer Combination for about 3 years now. I will say that I highly recommend an extended warranty. This is new technology.  Beyond that, I'll limit my remarks to the washer here, just noting that the dryer really isn't anything special or unusual - just your everyday dryer, although nice and quiet, with a fancy control panel.

Now to the washer: I would say that the best way to think of this washer is as a front loader turned on its side; with a LOT of space inside. Big loads are the idea with this machine and it washes a lot of clothes very well.

It uses a method of washing clothes that's different from the traditional "soak the clothes in a lot of water, put soap in the water, stir them around and then rinse out the soap with a lot more water".

This method is more like washing a car - you don't drop the car in a giant bucket of water - you wet it, spray the (in this case special "HE" high efficiency) soap ON the clothes,stir the wet soapy clothes around and then finally spray them clean with more water.  In summary - the way it works is VERY different than you're used to. It does seem to get the clothes nice and clean so wierd is not the same as bad; high points there.

It's very quiet doing all this and the clothes seem to come out very clean. We've had zero indication of any unbalanced load problems; in fact except for a quiet 'whining' noise from the very high speed spin cycle, it's hard to tell the washer is running when you're in the next room.

As has been noted in other reviews, the electronic control panel is very well thought-out and intuitive to use. Some things in the controls take some getting used to, such as the idea that you don't choose your water level, but do choose the amount of soil in the clothes. One nice feature is the 'estimated time left' feature.  Good to know when you need to come back to the laundry room. A wash cycle seems to take about 40 minutes without any presoaks or extra fancy options. You'll need to turn on the 'end of cycle' alarm (or have a good sense of 40 minutes) or you'll never hear when the washer when the wash is done. By the way, I intend to follow the advice of another review here and use a surge protector on the washer to protect the control panel - This is VERY IMPORTANT as, like any computer circuit, it WILL FAIL  in a power surge.

Now for the bad - well, ODD, anyhow - news. This thing spins your clothes like nothing you've ever seen. Almost all the water is extracted (very dry!) but the clothes sure are twisted up. You WILL have to untwist things before you put them in the dryer. You WON'T be able to just grab armloads of wet stuff and toss them in the dryer. In a 'normal bucket of water washer' the wet clothes get plastered in straight lines around the outside of the tub when the washer spins dry. Here they TUMBLE like stones in a polisher around on the bottom of the tub and ROLL themselves into twisted strings or balls. Untwisting them seems to make them dry without any wrinkles in the dryer. You don't have to get crazy about getting everything untwisted, but you're gonna have to do it. Since things aren't very damp it's not really such bad work, but I wouldn't want to have to do it for a family of six. I don't think that the 'twist marks' would come out so well if you were to line-dry the clothes (does anybody do that anymore?)but in the dryer the end result seems just fine.

So in summary - we're happy with the machine and the quality seems acceptable, but it's different, and I'm not sure everyone would be happy.  If you're looking for efficient and quiet, but don't want a front-loader, then very high points here. If you're looking for very,very, cool new technology, high points again.  If you are suspicious of new technology (hated your VCR when it was new?) then you'll hate this. If you have tons and tons of washing every day, I think you'd be better served with an 'old-fashioned' washer. That technology has been perfected, even if it's less efficient.  If the rolled-up-into-balls-that have-to-be-unrolled-before-drying bothers you (and I suspect it might) then I'd look elsewhere.  It's a good design and good quality... just way, way different.