Whirlpool Duet WFW95HEDW Washing Machine Review

When you combine these high-tech extras with good, old-fashioned wash power, you get a very useful appliance. And with a sale price hovering around $749, the WFW95HEDW doesn't break the bank, either. If you're looking for a solid washer that makes laundry day easier, this Whirlpool is worth checking out.

Design & Usability

From clef to bar line, the Duet covers it all

{{ photo_gallery name="New Gallery" }}

The Whirlpool WFW95WEDW looks unassuming. The control panel consists entirely of flat buttons. They were finicky, but functional. All the text is easy to read, and wash options are simple and easy to understand. If you've used a front-load washer in the last decade then you should already be familiar with the WFW95WEDW.

The 4.5-cu.-ft. drum leaves plenty of room for laundry, and that drum is lined with waves of steel bubbles that Whirlpool says keep your laundry from wearing prematurely. Our clothing wear tests confirmed the WFW95WEDW isn't overly harsh.

The most interesting feature is Fan Dry, which periodically circulates air after a cycle finishes to keep laundry from getting musty. You can start your laundry before heading off to work, and need not worry about odors when you get home.

There is a wrinkle to using Fan Dry. Whirlpool advertises that this feature can wash and dry a two-pound load. Our tests show that although it removes a lot of moisture, this feature doesn't quite get clothing to a wearable state unless you only put in a shirt or two.

Performance & Features

High notes

The Whirlpool WFW95HEDW sits near the top of the Duet lineup, and it shows. During out tests, the WFW95HEDW showed no obvious holes in its cycle repertoire. Heavy Duty was the most powerful cycle, but it took an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. The Normal cycle took just forty minutes to finish, and offered above-average cleaning performance.

Across all cycles, the WFW95HEDW performed best against sweat and cocoa stains. Conversely, dirt and red wine both proved challenging for this Whirlpool. If you do need more of a boost, you can always add steam to any cycle except Quick and Delicates.

For in-depth performance information, please visit the Science Page.

What We Like

Singing Whirlpool's Praises

For a $749 sale price, the Whirlpool WFW95HEDW brings more features and better performance than you'd expect. Doing the laundry is more flexible at every stage, thanks to features like a legible control panel and simple secondary options.

The interior drum design helps prevent clothing damage during the wash, and the Fan Dry option adds some flexibility to your laundry routine. If you're looking for the complete package, the Whirlpool Duet WFW95HEDW is worth checking out.

By the Numbers

Science is the bedrock of our review process. For washing machines, it's all about cleaning performance and efficiency, and this Duet rocks it all.

Cleaning Performance

During our cleaning performance tests we use controlled, pre-stained cloth swatches. The swatches are coated in common substances like sweat, dirt, and cocoa. Each stain strip is placed into an eight-pound load of laundry and washed with standardized detergent. When the cycle is finished, we take the strips out and analyze them with a photospectrometer to determine exactly how much of each stain has been lifted.

Dirt and red wine turned out to be this washer's bane, but it handled other stains well. Heavy Duty proved the best cycle–outperforming the Normal cycle by 11%, but doing so in an hour and fifteen minutes. The Normal cycle took forty minutes and cleaning performance punched above its weight class: This cycle earned scores within 0.3% of the Maytag MHW8100DC, which costs $300 more.

Efficiency

Efficiency tests take two factors into account: what goes in and what goes out. In terms of what goes in—water and electricity—the Whirlpool WFW95 is fairly efficient. Based on average national costs and use patterns, we estimate an annual running cost of around $34.96.

What comes out is wet laundry. The more wet your laundry is, the harder your dryer will have to work, using more electricity. On average, the WFW95HEDW spun out 59% of excess water. Poor performers leave behind 75%, and anything that's at least near the 50% mark gets a thumbs-up from us.

Clothing Wear

The amount a washer damages clothing is measured with mechanical action strips. The pieces of cloth are machine cut and placed in every wash cycle. When they're taken out, the frayed strands are tallied up to determine how harsh a given cycle was.

The most rigorous cycle was the Heavy Duty cycle. After an hour and fifteen minutes of tumbling, the average strip accumulated 67 frayed strands, which is on par with the average Heavy Duty cycle. The most gentle cycle turned out to be Delicates. That cycle caused 40 frayed strands per load on average.

Altogether, the WFW95HEDW averaged 53 frayed strands per load. That's about average.