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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Controls

  • Interior

  • Sides

  • Back

  • Speed & Performance Overview

  • Normal Cycle Performance

  • Delicates Cycle Performance

  • Bulky Cycle Performance

  • Quick Dry Cycle Performance

  • Dry Cycles

  • Customization

  • Additional Drying Options

  • Controls

  • Door

  • Lint Trap

  • Comparison Overview

  • Performance

  • Customization & Features

  • Design

  • Comparison Overview

  • Performance

  • Customization & Features

  • Design

  • Comparison Overview

  • Performance

  • Customization & Features

  • Design

  • Conclusion

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Controls
  • Interior
  • Sides
  • Back
  • Speed & Performance Overview
  • Normal Cycle Performance
  • Delicates Cycle Performance
  • Bulky Cycle Performance
  • Quick Dry Cycle Performance
  • Dry Cycles
  • Customization
  • Additional Drying Options
  • Controls
  • Door
  • Lint Trap
  • Comparison Overview
  • Performance
  • Customization & Features
  • Design
  • Comparison Overview
  • Performance
  • Customization & Features
  • Design
  • Comparison Overview
  • Performance
  • Customization & Features
  • Design
  • Conclusion

Introduction

The {{product.name}}'s accompanying washer is the Kenmore 40272.

Front

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Controls

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Interior

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The interior of the CDWT980VSS.

Sides

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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS side views

Back

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Speed & Performance Overview

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The {{product.name}} performed well on our drying tests. After each cycle, the {{product.model}} had removed between 88% and 100% of the water in our test loads, the sole exception being the bulky cycle. Unfortunately, the bulky cycle only dries up about 65% of the water, so you'll likely have to run the load twice.

Normal Cycle Performance

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The normal cycle did a great job removing all of the water from our 8-pound test load. The cycle takes longer to complete than the 41 minutes it claims, but it does get results.

Delicates Cycle Performance

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If you were planning to use the {{product.model}}'s delicates cycle to dry heat-sensitive articles, then we just saved your laundry: this cycle gets hot and stays hot for over 10 minutes. In fact, we're not entirely sure what about this cycle differentiates it from the normal cycle.

Bulky Cycle Performance

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We were a bit disappointed with the {{product.name}}'s bulky cycle performance. Our bulky cycle test uses a down comforter, which is likely the largest, thickest item anyone would want to run through a dry cycle. Comforters are tough to dry because of their thickness and size. A dryer's agitators tend to ball up the comforter, which typically results in the outside of said ball getting dry while the inside remains wet.

Quick Dry Cycle Performance

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The Quick Dry cycle isn't really quick: it takes a half hour. This being said, we found the {{product.name}} was able to completely dry our standard 4-pound load in that amount of time. While we wouldn't recommend this mode for full-size loads, if you just need to dry a few things in a reasonable amount of time, the Quick Dry cycle is a good option.

Dry Cycles

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The control dial allows you to select from a few different cycle presets: normal, bulky/bedding, casual, heavy duty, sanitize, small load, delicates, and express dry. Each option has an LED next to it to indicate it's selected. The LCD above the dial displays the time left in the cycle. The power button is located to the left of the dial and the start/pause button is located to its right.

Below you'll find all the dry cycles available on the {{product.name}}, along with the manual's description for each.

Customization

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The controls on the right let you fine tune a dry cycle. You can tinker around with the temperature, dry level, set up a timer, and customize the chime. There are four intensity settings for each. While this is likely more customization than the average user will ever want or need, many competing dryers offer a few more customization options, or a bit more granularity with the intensity settings.

Below we've listed the different customization options, along with a description and the degree to which you can customize each.

Additional Drying Options

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The {{product.name}} doesn't have any additional drying options.

Controls

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The {{product.name}} doesn't feature the most complicated controls. The dial is similar to older units' rotary controls, so they shouldn't trip anyone up. The customization controls and LED display off to the side could be a bit confusing for those familiar with older devices, but they're fairly self-explanatory and can simply be ignored.

Door

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The {{product.name}} has a very usable door. It features a large handle on the inside edge which allows for easy opening and closing. It isn't a hands-free solution to loading and unloading laundry, but in our experience the hands-free doors are significantly more awkward to use: you won't have to slam and re-slam the {{product.model}}'s door to get it to stay shut.

The interior of the CDWT980VSS.

Lint Trap

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The {{product.name}}'s lint trap is pretty standard. It's located just inside the door, and pulls up and out for easy cleaning. The trap has one main screen and two smaller ones on top of it. Cleaning the screen is pretty simple since it's mainly just the one large area.

Comparison Overview

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If you're looking for a budget option, the Not only is its $736 price tag more palatable than the {{product.name}}'s $999, its cycles all seem to end with dryer laundry. Add in the {{product.brand.name}}'s somewhat persnickety door, and you can see how this match-up falls fairly heavily towards the {{product.name}}.

Performance

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The {{product.name}} pretty solidly out-performed the {{product.name}}, providing you don't mind a wait. It seems like most of the {{product.name}}'s cycles ended too quickly and didn't dry enough. The {{product.name}} took its time to complete the cycle, but resulted in dryer laundry every time.

Customization & Features

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Both units had about the same number of customization options.

Design

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The main design difference between the {{product.name}} and the {{product.name}} is the door. The {{product.name}}'s door closes solidly, has a large handle, and is generally pretty usable: we had no complaints. The {{product.name}}'s door is hands-free about 50% of the time and a hassle the other half. Shutting the {{product.name}}'s door is surprisingly unintuitive, and we found ourselves resorting to slamming it closed most of the time.

Other than that both units were on the same level of quality. We liked both of their control interfaces and aesthetics.

Comparison Overview

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The {{product.name}} had slightly better performance at a discount, but doesn't have the {{product.name}}'s steam features.

Performance

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Customization & Features

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Both units had about the same number of customization options, but the {{product.name}} has a lot of features the {{product.name}} does not. Some of these features utilize the {{product.name}}'s steam tray, which can be filled with water or whatever you wish to steam your clothes with.

Design

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While we liked both units designs, we thought the {{product.name}}'s control dial featured a far easier to read layout. When you turn the knob, an LED appears directly next to the cycle you've highlighted. On the {{product.name}}, the LED indicator is connected to the name by a thin line, which can look like it's pointing at a different LED if you're standing directly above the dial.

Comparison Overview

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This comparison is a bit of a blow-out: the {{product.name}} features almost better performance, a slightly better interface, and costs about $300 less. We'd typically elaborate on the pros and cons of each device, but this match-up is fairly cut and dry.

Performance

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Customization & Features

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The {{product.name}} and {{product.name}} offer about the same number of customization options, dry cycles, and features. Neither one was particularly impressive in this regard.

Design

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Both units feature good designs in terms of aesthetics, but we thought the {{product.name}} had a slightly less confusing interface. Our main gripe with the {{product.name}} is that its display looks really cluttered with all its customization options listed. The {{product.name}} features a much cleaner layout that's less likely to overwhelm.

Conclusion

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At $736, the {{product.name}}'s price is its saving grace. While it's not the best dryer we've reviewed so far, it's about $300 cheaper than its competition. It does have two downsides, however: it takes a really, really long time to complete its dry cycles and it doesn't have the array of options you'd typically find on a mid-range device. This being said, the average user likely isn't going to use all the options on their dryer anyway. If you're looking for a good dryer but don't necessarily need the latest in steam-drying technology, the {{product.name}} is definitely a good buy.

Meet the tester

WasherDryerInfo.com Staff

WasherDryerInfo.com Staff

Editor

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