Tip: Don't use HE liquid detergent, it will ruin your washer (ruined my friend's 9400). Sears sells a very good, imo, huge bucket of HE powdered detergent for a very reasonable price. You can even get it delivered via their website if you don't live near a Sears (and a couple times they've offered free shipping which is really nice!) I have had my 9400 washer for almost 2 years with no complaints. It is in a basement on cement and doesn't seem to move at all. It sounds like a small jet plane about to take off during the spin cycle! Not at all loud, but a slight high whine that gets higher and higher unti you think it will either take off or explode (but it doesn't!) Another tip: you should run your hot water in the utility sink before doing a regular warm load. The temp boost only works on the sanitary selection and the whitest whites, and won't help a regular warm load's temp at all. The Duet has a huge capacity which I love! I fill it with jeans, select the heavy duty cycle and everthing comes out clean! (and very wound-up and tangled. you have to shake out your clothes so they don't dry all twisted and wrinkly. I imagine this is with all FL.) What would I change? Nothing really, although we are redoing a new house and I'm strongly considering either the Bosch Nexxt 700 series or the Duets for the new house. The price is slightly lower than the Duet and the Bosch 500 rec'd very good reviews on Consumer Reports. Warning: Too much sudsing is one of the major troubles with the Duet (and probably other FL as well). Always use HE detergent and don't use too much - a little goes a LONG way! Good luck! PS. I really noticed a large drop in our water consumption after installing the Duet.

tcake, You pose an interesting question. Are you referring to Fisher & Paykel's new Aquasmart impeller washer? I assume that you are, because the impeller version of the Cabrio is actually quite a bit different from the agitator based F&P washer. Unfortunately, I don't know nearly as much about the Aquasmart as I do about F&P's agitiator washers, but I will try to compare the two products based on what I do know. The biggest difference between the Aquasmart and the Cabrio is the drum capacity. Whirlpool claims 4.5 cubic feet IEC drum capacity, whereas F&P currently claims 3.7 cubic feet IEC drum capacity for their washers, which is actually cheating on their part, because the "IEC' capacity rating was originally intended for washers without agitators, and until now F&P's washers have all had agitators. They justify this by claiming that their washers are HE rated, and so the rating applies to them as well, but they are wrong. The rating only refers to usable wash capacity, not energy efficiency, or water consumption. Anyway, the "true" capacity of these washers is 3.9 cubic feet for the Cabrio, and 3.0 cubic feet for the F&P. This is for F&P's agitator washers, so the Aquasmart with impeller will have more than this, probably something close to 3.1 cubic feet, which means that the Cabrio has a 0.8 cubic feet drum capacity advantage over the Aquasmart, or 26% more usable capacity. This is a lot. Cabrio obviously has the clear advantage in this regard. Unfortunately however for Cabrio, this capacity advantage requires a larger size washer. The Cabrio is 27 inches square, while the Aquasmart is 25 inches square. This means that the Aquasmart will fit into a lot more laundry closets, a clear advantage for Aquasmart. The Cabrio has a porcelain top with a tempered glass lid, while the Aquasmart uses plastic for both the top and the lid. This is definitely an advantage for Cabrio, because plastic tops and lids are not nearly as durable, and will probably start to look scratched and dingy after just a few years of use. The Cabrio has a rotary dial cycle selector, while the Aquasmart has an LCD display. This is probably more of a personal preference thing, but I'm inclined to favor the Cabrio rotary dial for more ease of use. The Aquasmart probably uses spray rinses, while the Cabrio doesn't. This will result in significant water savings for Aquasmart over Cabrio, but it requires the user to specifically select a deep fill rinse if they want to use fabric softener. In my view however, this is the better compromise, because water savings are important. However, it's important to remember that spray rinses will not be as effective as a deep fill rinse for particulate soils and pet hair. I think the Aquasmart lets the user choose a deep fill wash, while this choice isn't directly available to Cabrio users. It is possible to cheat a little however, because there are some Cabrio cycles that use more water than others. These are the major differences. Other than these the machines are probably quite similar. As far as which machine is best, if you have the space, and want the extra capacity, then the Cabrio is a good choice. If not, then the Aquasmart is probably a pretty good choice as well.

Lol...ok yes I felt the water for slipperiness and took the temp twice..I think it was just part of my learning curve...I don't open it every load..and don't plan to..I'm trying to take good care of this machine, and don't want to deliberty do anything that could possiably harm it. Now that I know using the add a garment could cause problems I won't use it unless its urgent..I had no idea doing this was harmful..I still say it shouldn't even be an option but I haven't used it excessivly. And don't plan to again...I found out my main question. .which was whether I added enough detergent. .I also know I can actually judge it by suds level..no bubbles at all..not even a few tiny ones and the water feels clear unconditioned..a few tiny bubbles and the water is slippery...now its figuring out the proper amount for each load with each detergent. .which will take time and is more of a judgement call...I've learned Miele whitecan be used with a full load of whites using hot water..but can't be used in a full load of sheets that are washed every three days but US or Euro Pearls can be. Towels can also be done in hot using 1&1/2 T Pearls but even 1T. Miele is too sudsy. Tide Turbo powder works great at 3T on colors, it will suds up a bit close to the end of the wash cycle but appears to disappear quickly. Tide F&G pods should only be used in a FULLload and Mich's ALL Stainlifter pods do great all the time. I'm taking notes lol.

The pattern of flashes on the cycle Status lights is supposed to indicate the error code. Should be a set of flashes 1/2 second apart, a pause for 2 seconds, then a 2nd set of flashes 1/2 second apart. Repeats until power is shut off. Other lights such as for cycle options may be involved, so make note of all the lights that are either steady or flashing. The serial number indicates manufacture in the 25th week of 2011.