I have the Cabrio w/ wash plate with the glass lid. The glass lid makes it very easy to observe what is going on without even having to open the machine. With my old TLer, when I wanted to watch the spin cycle, I would open the lid and use a pen to depress the button the told the machine the lid was closed. Now I can just look through the glass. If I need to open the machine, there is a pause button so the machine will pause and unlock the lid, I use this sometimes for washing pillows. Every pillow in the house is different, so the machine can have problems balancing them, my old machine did too. i don't know if there is a switch you can trigger to watch the machine spin while open, but since you need to do this, I would suggest you spring for the glass lid like I did. If you are washing with hot water, you may have to pause the machine and wipe off condensation to watch.

How's it goin' jcrowley? Glad to hear your Cabrio is performing well for you! :o)

My grandmother has the Maytag Bravos washer also w/ glass lid so one can look inside the machine while in operation. It's pretty much the same machine as jcrowley99's Whirlpool Cabrio, but with the Maytag name on it. It also has the impeller at the bottom of the tub as opposed to an agitator and she says when she wants to open the lid, she presses the pause button and the lid unlocks immediately so she can access the inside of the tub for whatever reason she may need to (as jcrowley99 also mentions).

I should also mention that I have heard very good things about the GE Harmony, also another agitatorless washer with a glass lid.

My grandmother's previous Kenmore TL lid could be opened during the wash/deep rinse portion of the cycle and would still agitate. My aunt's Maytag, however, is the opposite, same as your MIL's.

Oh.......by the way.......my grandmother loves her Bravos. But as you'll see by the reviews of the Bravos with the link I provided, these washers seem to be a love it or hate it type of appliance.

HTH. Keep us posted and best of luck with whatever washer you end up choosing!! :o)

Kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Maytag Bravos at Home Depot

Oh......of course if you want a washer in which you can look into while it is running it's cycle, you also may want to consider a FL as well. Most, if not all FL's on the market today can be paused so you can open the door mid-cycle for whatever reason you may need to. And since today's FL machines use little water in most cycles, you don't have to worry about wash/rinse water pouring out while opening the door because the water level is typically below the door.

And almost all FL's have a glass door on them so you can see inside of them with the exception of the older Maytag Neptune washers and the Amana Enlighten washer. HTH.

Kevin

Thanks for all your responses. Good information. I'm not buying right now but, as I mentioned in another post, my Kenmore TL is going on 20 yrs. old so need to have something in mind for the inevitable. Hope its a long time. Cabrio/Bravo sounds good.

Jcrowley, I knew I couldn't be the only one who used a pen to watch the spin cycle! Cold water rinse should help the condensation on a glass door maybe. Thanks again for the info. Sandy

Yes, condensation is usually only a problem during the hot water wash. Rinses can almost always be easily watched. I did the same thing as you when my 10 year old Kenmore was on its last legs, I did not want to be caught with no washer and no idea of what I wanted to replace it with. A little planning ahead made it easy when the time came to replace it. And not a moment too soon either, when they took the old machine out, they had to wait until I washed the puddle of oil with metal shavings in it off the floor and wall behind the machine. Yuck!

The GE Harmony will, at any point in the cycle, stop if you open the lid. However, the lid switch is easy to defeat. A magnet in the right place will do it. Unlike the Cabrio, the lid does not lock. The latest version, the 9360, has the see-through lid. You can put anti-fog, made for automobile windshields, on the underside to prevent condensation on warm/hot cycles.

jcrowley, sounds like you really waited till the last minute! I do too.

fa_f3, I'll check out the Harmony for sure too. Like that magnet idea. Wouldn't base decision on that, but it's a real plus, for me. I never would have thought of that. Thanks, Sandy

My husband is superstitious about replacing things before you must. He is always worried that if you replace something before needed, the new one may not work as well as the old one. I just like to get every last bit of use out of something before discarding it. If it ain't broke don't fix it (or replace it)!