We have the EcoSmart washer and the SmartLoad dryer by Fisher and Paykel and LOVE them. I didn't feel the need to have the fancier electronics and more cycle options the others offered for the higher prices. We do daily laundry for the 10 of us so they really get a workout! :-) We had a similar set in our last house and were happy with their performance and energy savings, so since the 'lower end' models they make currently are even better than those, we decided to keep it simple and least expensive. My one definite upgrade was to get the top-loading dryer, which was worth it. Anyway, I'm pretty sure you'll be very happy with the F&P laundry equipment. We also have 2 of Bosch's 500 series dishwashers and are quite happy with them. We had a Bosch in our last home, too, so had a several year history of satisfaction with that one. The Bertazzonis have my favorite look (SO gorgeous, especially in the colors), but I wanted higher highs and lower lows, and burners that didn't vary so much in power.

Leana, Like anything, what you will get in response to your query is mostly opinions. I won't waste my time or yours dissing any products I have no emperical evidence for, but I can throw in my opinion on the F&P, as I have the IWL16/DEIX2 pair, and I love `em. No washer/dryer set is perfect, but this comes the closest I've experienced yet. Low water usage and fully-automatic, and does a darn good job when left to its own. It also has the flexibility to modify any part of the wash, do traditional deep washes with the clothes swimming in as much water as you want (I only do this for delicate stuff), etc. The TL dryer rocks too, and I've gotten so used to not bending over and over again I'm not sure I could go back to an FL anything. I've only had mine a troublefree 6 months, not long enough to comment on durability. About the only gripes I could come up with are that sometimes I wish the agitator design was slightly more aggressive. The machine makes up for the smallish fins by moving it around pretty quickly (and in large arcs) with heavy loads, and it does a tremendous job 98% of the time. I notice only with large loads made up of a LOT of small items (i.e. briefs, hand towels, etc.) it doesn't seem to be quite enough to get the kind of rollover I prefer. This is easily corrected by just bumping the water level up one notch from the auto selection, however. Again, that's the rare exception. Most everything else I just throw it in, add the detergent, select temp, and it goes and goes! Daryl

I don't know what they're using for price comparison, but the research I've done lately puts F&P about $200 cheaper than the COB (Cabrio/Oasis/Bravos). And the agitator models seem about $100-200 cheaper than the Whirlpools too. However the Whirlpools do have a larger capacity so that can make a difference if you need the added size. The IWL at around $700 sounds like a preferable option at least for me over the Cabrio. And the EcoSmart at about $500-$550 seems like a real bargain in a washer. Owners can tell you much more about the difference between impeller and agitator, but there's several people here who had the impeller and returned it for an agitator version. Sounds like the impeller is much more finicky on how it's loaded. Agitator is more a dump and run where the "higher tech" is a bit more fussy. F&P is an impressive and innovative company to me. Definitely worth looking into. Now for dryers, are you using gas or electric? I hear more complaints from gas dryer owners about baking clothes than electric owners. I'm hearing rumors that lately the dryers don't get as hot as they used to, which can be a good thing. My Whirlpool Gold has 4 heat settings (technically 5 with the "no heat" option), although I have used high heat all but twice since I got it. A dryer should not wrinkle. Leaving the clothes in there too long so they wrinkle is not the dryer's fault. My dryer, as do many others, including the F&P topload dryer, gives the option of tumbling the clothes on and off as a "wrinkle preventer" if you don't get down and take the clothes out. If it's that bad, I turn it back on for 10 minutes and let it get someheat in there. That'll remove the wrinkles, then get the clothes out and on hangers or folded and no problem. Sometimes the washer is to blame if too high a spin speed starts to wrinkle the clothes.

Maytag Epic? I know you had problems with the Neptune blah blah blah...whine whine whine. The Neptune was made by Maytage Corp.; the Epic by Whirlpool. In fact the Epic is merely a Duet dressed in different clothes ...minus $400. Not to mention the Epic is one of the quietest FL washers on the market with one of the quickest normal wash cycles (circa 40 minutes!). As for the GEs, don't waste your time, unless you find frequent trips to the laundry mat necessitated while you await a technition who actually knows how to fix your machine exciting.