larsi had two of them already and always had good things to say. He traded the 70 for the Miele Little Giant and likes that better.

But for a front loader with a heater at an affordable price point, Electrolux is one recommended here by those who have them. People seem to like them better than Asko or Bosch. But any good front loader with a heater will get stains out with a long hot cycle. I got 3 day old espresso stains out of my husband's chinos that way.The rap on the Electrolux is the rinsing which some don't feel is excellent. Larsi can explain more.

Everyone with a front loader is very accustomed to long wash cycles and couldn't care less. We get great results.

Really a nice looking machine!

jchan...I had both the Electrolux 60/iQ and 70/Wave Touch washer...and both were phenomenal at washing. Wonderful cycles, and for a front loader, the cycle times were fine!!

BUT.....both units were the worst rinsers!! You could not see the water, or barely even hear it sloshing when rinsing.

Really, most front loaders do a fine, if not great job at washing...but most are pathetic at rinsing. You should test rinsing!

My Miele Little Giant PW6065 Plus washer will put the rinse levels half way up the glass door. Now, that is how laundry should be efficiently rinsed!!

@JChan - listen to Larsi. There is not, to my knowledge, a domestic reviewing agency that adequately tests washers and dryers (you hear what I'm saying in this, right?). If Reviewed could get this right, consumers demand would shift and force manufacturers to actually listen to what is/isn't being addressed.

Just shy of an hour for a normal load doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but then again I'm not comparing to wash times in traditional Top Loaders, either. Most of my cycles take an hour or more. Glad you liked this unit. Thanks for sharing.

It is an excellent price point. The detergent system reminds me of Whirlpools load and go detergent system. What lacks in all these reviews is definitive useful technical data. Water temperatures actually used for the cycle at hand, water level, etc. After all cleaning is based primarily on what detergent and measurable water temperature is used. Stating a Heavy Duty cycle at 2 plus hours is the best cleaning we ever seen is pretty lame from a review standpoint. Any machine will clean competently in that time frame. There are far too many variables and caveats when comparing machines. What I learned from experience, you really don't know how they work till you take em home and test them. Then you'll either love em or hate em. What really will sell this product over performance is the niche Nest like ultra cool interface aimed to catch the most discerning millennial buyer. I love that myself!

What was the wash temperature on the Heavy Duty cycle? We love high temperatures here, but that doesn't mean we want to expose all our stained loads to high temperatures.

8 pounds is a tiny load for a washer this size.

Test rinsing as performed in the complete cycles that you test, AND test the rinse-only cycle if there is one. Maybe the rinse-only cycle is an antidote, at the cost of some inconvenience, to poor rinsing in the complete cycles.

Larsi,

We do check for residual detergent and redeposit. On the 617, I didn't find any of either on the test cycles I ran, which is a sign of adequate rinsing. It might be because of the type of detergent we use, which is an AHAM powder--a formula that is known and stays constant. We did do some "off the cuff" tests using regular laundry and regular liquid detergent and we didn't notice any problems with rinsing.

Rococogurl,

Sometimes it's tough writing about appliance for a general audience. It's good to see the misconceptions and biases against front loaders starting to let up!

Suburmand,

The hot setting on the 617 is around 125F.

I must agree with everyone who is asking for rinsing performance evaluations.

Many years ago, the German consumer magazine started including rinsing performance into their tests. The industry changed. Prior to the first test with rinsing performance, washers used to tout super low consumption values. Then the issue with the annual washing machine test came out. Ouch! Every washer got bad or even horrible grades for rinsing. Miele, Bosch, Electrolux... all of them. The magazine suggested to only load the washer halfway up and/or use the extra rinse option. (unless you have skin like Donatella Versace *lol*) Fast-forward to today and we are again seeing washers that use proper amounts of water during the rinse cycle.

I think British Which? magazine and the Australian consumer magazine are also testing the rinsing performance - meanwhile, Consumer Reports mostly seem to care that the wash drum is over five cubic feet. Meh!

Okay, I was still writing when you posted your response.

It's good to hear that the Lux uses hot(-ish) water - unlike the LG 5000, I think, that had recently been tested and reached 98°F on Heavy Duty.

It's also nice to read hat you found no detergent residue on the clothes. But let's be honest: eight pounds of clothes? Back in the 80s, 24'' washers in Europe could handle larger loads than that. I know this is what the AHAM protocol says to use, but it would be nice, if you could also check cleaning and rinsing with full loads. Just sayin'.

Oh, one question I do have: any plans for testing a Miele washer in the future? I know you tested the W4800, but you never tested a compact one.

Alex

Lack of residual detergent and redeposit seems like a pretty low bar for rinsing performance :-)

You make a comment about the Kenmore 22342 (which is a TOP LOADR and not a front loader, not in the same league and I don't think it should have been mentioned with a front loader review. The comment was user can select hot wash on delicate cycle of the top loader and not the front loader and give a positive nod so as to not make stupid mistake. Quite frankly, I WISH there were times I could get a hot wash on my Whirlpool Duet WFW97HEXW0 Delicate cycle but I cannot. My Jeans cycle is a delicate cycle with spins between each rinse and a cool down before the wash water drains. The Maytag Maxima MHW8100 Wrinkle Control Cycle (and the replacement Maxima MHW8200 offer Hot and Extra hot wash temps as well as Steam for Stains options. this Wrinkle control cycle is the same as my Jeans cycle, but offers more water temp options. I"ve said it before here, I do NOT adhere to the stupid labels for cycle designations. I find the cycle that gives me the options I want. Fast, Medium, slow, or Hand Wash tumbling and hot, warm, stain treat with steam water temperatures and spin speeds I want. Or at least the ability to make selections within parameters of the cycle. Whirlpool Duet and Maytag Maxima are the only front loaders that offer that total flexibility. LG, Samsung, and Elect5rolux don't in products intended for the U.S./North American market. Most U.S. consumers don't understand how to properly do laundry and just opt for cold water washing all the time because they've been sold that bill of goods. Europeans know the value of proper warm & hot water washes and their machines offer far more flexibility. Like Larsi's Miele Little Giant. The exception to all this about general public are those of us seeking good ol' fashioned clean laundry and use modern machines and work our best around the stupid Energy Star dumb-down temperatures.

@Johnathan (jchanatreviewed)

First, I kind of feel you outed our group by posting OUR discussion link about the new Elux on Reviewd.com (cult following) in the fifth paragraph of the full review.

You say there are a lot of pictures but there are only like nine.

By the way the "Specifications" tab leads you to a blank page.

You used to give charts for cycle and water usage and water temp., you don't do that any more, why?

Wouldn't ANY washer do well with such extended wash times?

I love my Elux because of the shorter default wash times but I do add an extra rinse and add extra time (using the soil level adjuster, which adds/subtracts time).

With the longer wash times and the low water usage did you check for pilling of the fabrics? Some people have been complaining about LG, Whirlpool, Samsung etc. because of pilling being caused by longer wash times. All that tumbling is abrasive to fabrics. At what point do we call a cycle TOO LONG? What good is a crazy long wash cycle good for if it ruins fabrics by rubbing them excessively?

The WaveTouch & IQ Touch gives the user way more temp. options, time options, spin options, rinse options, modifier options etc.

Who's clothes get THIS DIRTY that they need a 2:17 (two hour & 17 minute) wash cycle. My WaveTouch Electrolux Sanitize cycle doesn't even take that long, it's default is 1:39 (one hour & 39 minutes), that includes three rinses and spins in between each rinse. Even my Heavy Duty cycle is 45 minutes with an extra rinse.

While I like Electrolux I think they went overboard with washer wash times on these new machines and I would totally recommend the older machines over these new ones.

I'll assume Normal is the cycle used for the energy star rating? You can rest assured HOT 125F is only available on select cycles. What is Warm? Not trying to pick, but no one tests these units like they should be. The other question what is the point of origin, Mexico..China? Love lux products but something had to be cut somewhere to arrive at this price point. It's considerably cheaper than Lux,s flagship units.

@jachan - Is this new machine you reviewed the Elux European compact?

This machine is a 27 in made in Mexico FL. It is 4.3 cu ft for lower end to 4.4 cu ft discussed here. Says it is stackable or put on pedestals. If 125 degrees is hot. I would bet warm is around 105 or barely warm IMO.

George, you are totally right....He used our Houzz discussion of Electrolux machines!

I'm PO'd that he did that. Without even asking if we minded.

I in fact DO MIND.

This is OUR group.

Now now. Linking to something is a compliment and it's publicity. Consider yourself famous.

rococogurl...I'm just protective of OUR group and don't want to see the wrong people infiltrating (for fun) a very good thing we have here.

I have the same visceral reaction. But people who read washer reviews are the same people who would find us by other means i.e. search.

Georgect et al,

I apologize if the decision to include the link upset you and also for the late response–I was away for the weekend. I will speak to my editor about its usage. It was his decision to put it in and only he has to power to take it out.

Rococogurl,

Are you thinking about the Electrolux EIFLS20QSW?

I reviewed it awhile back and you can see it here.

@jachan - Tell you editor that test results don't require outside sourcing. They do require additional details rather than vague summaries. A few photos b & a photos of your testing would make the review much more authoritative. It also would be nice to know the nature of the test strip fabric. What were the test conditions? Did you work independently or use machines at the manufacturer's place? No one relates to pounds of laundries. We aren't weighing it at home. We do relate to the number of loads, water temperatures for each setting, and other details. F.ex. In the video when you editor says that the machine mixes the detergent with the bleach and fabric softener -- rather than adding them sequentially -- that's a rather big deal. What's up with that?

I don't care at all about the link. This is a public internet forum and the owners want outside links. A few years ago, you wouldn't be allowed to post a link to your piece here -- it would have been considered spam.

Rococogurl,

I appreciate the input.

Information about how we test can be found here.

A quick run down:

The test conditions are extremely stable. The water temperature, the air temperature, and humidity are all accounted for. That way, a washer tested in winter gets the same treatment as a washer tested in summer. All this is done in our own labs in Cambridge, MA. The strips come from Germany. They are chosen because the company uses the same stuff every single time (same vineyard for the wine, same breed of pigs for the blood).

There was a time that we showed the before and after for every cycle. We also had charts for every cycle's resource usage. I clearly remember how time consuming it was. It's to tough to balance having lots of details and reaching a general audience. Some people want to know every detail, while others only want to know if they should buy it. I think we struck a good balance, but maybe it's time to revisit.

As for the Electrolux mixing everything together, the 617 does that to speed up the wash cycle. I'd have to look up the more technical details.

OMG those iButton temperature readers are amazing. I hope Larsi and SuburbanMD see these. What a fascinating way to get readings on wash temps even past the point of door-locking.

No need to drown readers with input. But a facts are helpful.

# of loads.

type of loads, f.ex. whites, towels, poly workout etc.

enzyme/non-enzyme detergent? very different results with Method liquid vs Persil Pro Clean f.ex.

temperatures tested i.e how hot is the hot wash? You told us 125F. Is that as hot as it goes?

Internal heater?

Number of cycles & Range of cycle lengths

These are quick facts that should be known up front.

A pretty interface is fine though it doesn't do anything for me.

Who cares if the machine mixes -- I put all the stuff in first. I want it to work best not stupidist.

Also why certain things, like a heater and number of cycles are important and why they are not. Then folks can adjust response to their needs.

I'm not going to harp on the link (I did that already).

I like more information. I can decipher the info. I need and can disregard the rest but at least it's there.

And...the Specifications section is still all blank.

I really like the I-Button temperature monitoring, however no where on your site have I seen this published for any machine. It certainly would be key information paired with the testing cycles and modifiers.

Agreed! It's an incredible technology and if you're really monitoring wash temp throughout EACH cycle tested, I truly believe you are in the minority (if not the only one doing it). Do it and publish!! :)

Such information was published years ago. It's no longer published because... well, I guess to "simplify" the reviews. Check the Gallery section of this Electrolux review from 2012.

http://laundry.reviewed.com/products/electrolux-ewfls70jiw/gallery

Simple or hidden. The temps on that reviewed unit from 2012 are in my opinion sub standard. It's very pertinent info that should be published if the review is credible.

@jchanatireviewed - is any of this testing data information archieved and available as review on request? I would be highly interested in that.

As far as the reviews go, I also agree with posting the specs for each cycle such as water temp, water usage, and number of loose threads. This information is VERY important to me. A rinsing based test on cycles like normal would be very valuable.