Probably refers to the direct-drive mechanical design, which was produced from 1982/84 to approx 2010. Also sold under brand names Kenmore, KitchenAid, Roper, Inglis, and Estate ... and some Maytag, Admiral, Amana, and Crosley between approx 2006 and 2010.

Thanks dadoes. How does a direct drive Whirlpool compare to a new Speed Queen for cleaning and gentleness? Or a front loader?

It is actually unusual for your dryer to die so it begs the question-have you checked all of the ducting to make sure that it's clear?

Does your older washer have a lint filter that you can easily access and clean? To me, a lot of water and those filters are what made those older machines fabulous from the users perspective. They also almost never broke down which is probably why they're no longer made. Today's machines are supposed to last about seven years.. Newer machines have less water and no filter ( although they do have a pump trap). Are you certain that you want a Top-loader? If so, the consensus seems to be to go with speed queen but there are definitely issues depending upon who the distributor is in your area. I would not buy one in my area. If you look at recent threads you'll find quite a long one on what happened to mama pinky and her sq experience I think that she ended up with the duet front loader.

Technically the dryer still works. I don't feel it dries as well as my previous dryer (at my old house). I have another thread about my issues with my dryer.

I don't think that my washer has a lint filter that I can access. There is nothing in the manual regarding one. Where would it be located? My washer has two sets of temperature settings for Warm and Cold washes - both with and without Accuwash. My 2007 Whirlpool only had Accuwash. Is it better to use the Accuwash?

I have read MamaPinky's thread about her Speed Queen and how much she enjoys her Duet. My main hesitation about the Duet is that it does not have a front trap and I had a bad experience with a Maytag Maxima being rough on my clothes. I ended up returning the Maytag and still used my 2007 Whirlpool that I sold with that house.

There is no accessible filter on this machine. It *may* have a passive filter (that's designed to self-clean during drain/spin) attached under the inner basket but I've seen units toward the later years of direct-drive production that didn't have a filter at all.

Carvyn, I have a specimen of this model and the matching dryer, stashed in my garage, bought a few years ago via CraigsList from a college student who was moving. It's a top-of-line, full-featured set for the production year.

Accuwash refers to engaging a temperature sensor that controls the hot and cold water flow to maintain minimum temperatures for the Warm and Cold wash. It's useful during winter weather when tap-cold water can dip to 40°F or less, which is too cold for detergents to be effective. Non-Accuwash positions are straight tap-cold or a proportional mix of hot & cold for warm, which is typically 40% hot and 60% cold.

I have been using the non-accuwash for warm. Will the accuwash warm be warmer in the winter? What about in the summer?

i typically use warm on my kids clothes to help remove any stains. I do have to say that I think that the hot is doing a better job on my towels than my 2016 GE TL with agitator.

I have never had Pre-Treat on a machine before. Am I supposed to use detergent during Pretreat and add more for the cycle?

Since I just began using these machines, I think I will probably see how I like them. I wish the dryer didn't have the hamper style door. I also need to make sure that the ducting is clear as suggested by practical. It is also a gas dryer which is new to me as I have always had electric.

Yes, Accuwash will (depending on your local winter conditions) may make for a warmer Warm (than it would otherwise be) and not-so-cold Cold (probably targets 65°F to 70°F). Summer, again, depends on the conditions. Where I am in TX tap-cold temperature can easily reach 85°F+ during summer and Accuwash, of course, can't reduce it.

Pretreat is a Soak and/or Prewash. Start at the Soak designation and it runs the 20-min Soak (with some brief agitation for mix-up) then a few minutes of agitation for Prewash (with the soak water), drains and spins. Start at the Prewash designation and you get only that part. Yes, you use a normal dose of detergent, then add more for whichever full wash cycle you wish (maybe a bit less since there's no rinse as part of the soak/prewash).

I will never miss the crotch eating Whirlpool Super Surgilator washers. Every pair of my jeans had a hole it the crotch area after a short time. Never had the problem again converting to a FL.