Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I suppose you get what you pay for, but when my old, very basic model, cheap washer finally quit, I bought this one. I couldn’t be more disappointed. Complain #1: the machine will not allow user to select load size, or water level. Instead, the washer is advertised as “auto-sensing,” and will select the water level based on the “sensed” load size. But the only size it “senses” is extra large: place a small load of hand towels in it, and the machine will fill two-thirds of max capacity. Consequently, it wastes water and excessively dilutes the soap. Complain #2: the washer gently swirls clothing back and forth in its overfilled water tub. The agitator doesn’t “agitate” vigorously enough to clean heavily soiled fabrics — I could clean my clothes more efficiently dipping them in a river. Complaint #3: the washer locks once the rinsing cycle begins (it also locks during washing and spinning). I occasionally have to stop the cycle if I want to drop some liquid softener on the load. I also cannot restart a wash or time the wash cycle once it begins. The cycle has to be cancelled and started over. Certainly a minor inconvenience, nothing more, but as the laundry lord of my home, I like a machine I can fully control, even halfway through a wash, should my teenagers decide to throw in their stinky socks after I started laundry. If Amana wishes to offer a low end, cheap machine to its customers, I recommend skipping the attempts at fancy auto-sensors and automatic locks. Stick with the basics: let us choose the load size, temperature and cycle type, and all that’s required of the washer is to obey the knob selection.