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  • Introduction

  • Design & Usability

  • Performance & Features

  • Conclusion

  • Science Introduction

  • Normal & Delicates

  • Rapid & Bedding

  • Introduction
  • Design & Usability
  • Performance & Features
  • Conclusion
  • Science Introduction
  • Normal & Delicates
  • Rapid & Bedding

Introduction

Design & Usability

Gray exterior, bright digital controls — is it a DeLorean?

Every time I opened the door to this Maytag, I expected Christopher Lloyd to pop out and yell something about my kids. It's all because of the design: The digital timer on the control panel, the bubbled front, and the overall shape remind me of some futuristic device from a Reagan-era sci-fi movie.

Like the upscale machines from corporate cousin Whirlpool, this Maytag's jet black and silver controls eschew physical buttons for capacitive touch controls. While they sure are sleek, they require a lot of tapping. In the short time that the MED6000AG spent in our labs, the black background picked up a lot of fingerprints. Besides the buttons, everything else was responsive and intuitive. The door and lint trap opened without a fuss. One thing of note is that the MED6000AG is designed to help keep your laundry fresh. After a cycle has concluded, the machine will give it a tumble every once in a while to help reduce wrinkles.

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Performance & Features

Take your time, do it right

I remember it was pouring when I met the Maytag MED6000AG. I rolled up to the testing bay in my trusty office chair, raindrops tapping on the roof. The Maytag MED6000AG was just the ticket, the cure for a cloudy day. When our test laundry load was done, the sun was shining again. That's mostly because the Normal cycle took about an hour and fifteen minutes. That grossly overshot the LED screen's stated duration of 38 minutes, but it gave plenty of time for the weather to change. It also left our test loads 99 percent dry.

The Delicates cycle really impressed us. It also got our test loads 99 percent dry without reaching any dangerously hot temperatures, a Herculean task for many dryers. Unfortunately, it did have the same problem of taking much longer than stated: An hour and 45 minutes instead of 28 minutes.

The Bedding and Rapid Dry cycles just didn't get our test loads dry, which isn't a surprise. But it's how poorly the Bedding cycle did that upset us. It took about an hour and left our comforter only 68 percent dry. There was a signal for us to flip the comforter, but — because we're following protocol that's based on how consumers use their machines — we ignored it. Don't look at us like that — our research shows that you likely would too.

The Rapid Dry cycle was the only cycle on the MED6000AG that actually lasted the stated duration of 18 minutes. It managed to get our test load about 56% dry. That's not bad considering we gave it a standard four pound load of laundry, wet. It would probably do a great job with just a single shirt.

On the features front, the Maytag MED6000AG has nearly all of them. It's got everything from steam to wrinkle reduction.

Conclusion

Maytag has stepped up their game with their latest in the Maxima series. The $1,299 MED6000AG model is designed to be the volume seller in the lineup, below the higher-end MED8000AG, but it still holds its own. With a Normal cycle that got our test loads nearly perfectly dry, our only major problem with this machine was how long it took. A load of laundry isn't a masterpiece, and we think it's appropriate to demand punctuality. Features like adding steam for wrinkle reduction, however, somewhat make up for this machine's languid laundering.

Science Introduction

Every dryer that passes through our loading bay undergoes a battery of scientific tests. The time is now the walrus said for objective facts. This is what we how we determined the MED6000AG's performance.

Normal & Delicates

Normal and Delicate is a combination I will never be, however, these were the Maytag MED6000AG's strongest points. In order to test the Normal and Delicates cycle we took eight pound loads of laundry and wetted them to 1.5 times their weight. These test loads were then placed in said dryer and weighed after the cycle's completion. For the MED6000AG, both the Normal and Delicates cycle managed to get the test loads to 99% dryness. That's basically a wearable state for your clothing. Not much more than you can ask for in a dryer, aside from getting the job done a lot more quickly.

Rapid & Bedding

In our tests the Rapid cycle didn't do that well. After 18 minutes, it got our test load 56% dry. Though it's not good enough for us, it should be good enough for you. Most consumers use the Rapid cycle in order to dry a shirt or two, not a four pound test load. The Bedding cycle managed to get our test comforter 68% dry. Taking a little over an hour to complete, this cycle seemed to falter, even though it reached over 126 degrees. In the end however, running the Bedding cycle twice to dry your heavy bankets isn't too mind boggling.

Meet the tester

Jonathan Chan

Jonathan Chan

Senior Manager of Lab Operations

@Jonfromthelab1

Jonathan Chan currently serves as the Lab Manager at Reviewed. If you clean with it, it's likely that Jon oversees its testing. Since joining the Reviewed in 2012, Jon has helped launch the company's efforts in reviewing laptops, vacuums, and outdoor gear. He thinks he's a pretty big deal. In the pursuit of data, he's plunged his hands into freezing cold water, consented to be literally dragged through the mud, and watched paint dry. Jon demands you have a nice day.

See all of Jonathan Chan's reviews

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