The quick dry cycle was estimated at 45 minutes, and it came in at that on the dot. The ventless Duet dries thoroughly and gently, but not exactly rapidly. This can be frustrating if you’d like to add more time, or if you realize too late that you selected the “delicates” mode when you should have selected “bulky.” No Frills Performance Once started, a cycle can’t be adjusted or switched unless the machine is completely powered down. The scale for the Eco Monitor only varies between “good” and “best,” with the quick dry and timed dry modes both coming in at merely “good,” and bulky and towels dipping down to somewhere just shy of “best.” The heat pump is reusing air that’s recirculated through the machine instead of releasing it outside, like vented dryers do, meaning it’s not wasting already-heated air. The control panel is bright and futuristic, with cool blue LEDs.īeneath the LCD and the dry time adjustment keys is a small graph called the Eco Monitor, which allows the user to see how the selected settings affect energy usage within the cycle chosen. When selecting a mode, the knob only produces audio feedback when passing the “normal” setting at the 12-o’clock position. The cycle control knob features the standard array of automatic cycle modes: heavy duty, normal, bulky, casual, delicates, and towels, along with quick dry and timed dry. The tones on the interface are musical and pleasant, ascending and descending scales as higher or lower settings are selected. Further to the right is a wider control bank of touch keys that supports options for temperature, dryness level, signal volume, and “wrinkle shield.” Just below this bank are keys to operate the speed, balance, and eco HybridCare energy options - and separate light, signal, and lock options. Eight cycle settings are available for selection from the primary radial knob, flanked on the left and right respectively by the power and start/pause touch-keys. The control panel is bright and futuristic, emitting a cool blue light from its LEDs and segmented LCD. Sadly, one overly enthusiastic tug on the filter’s door actually broke the closing mechanism, so it’s standing open permanently on our model. It slides out and in with the aid of a hinged handle. The filter itself is an asymmetrical box that’s about 12 inches wide, 6 inches deep, and 6 inches high. The aforementioned HybridCare filter is beneath the main hatch to the right, just along the bottom edge of the machine. One thing we didn’t have to worry about was emptying a tray after each cycle, because an attached hose drained the water from the machine. Unfortunately, it’s also easier than it should be to re-insert the trap backwards, which can cause some rather stubborn jams. The closure tab on our unit’s trap has a sharp burr on the mold line that tore up some thumbs, but this could easily be solved with a file or a scrap of sandpaper. it’s a unique unfolding taco-shape that opens along its spine. The lint trap is housed just inside the hatch at the six-o’clock position. In addition to its generous dimensions, it sports a fourth baffle, which the manufacturer claims offers more balanced tumbling. The interior of the dryer offers fairly few surprises. The model is currently only available in classic white (WED99HEDW), but has previously been produced in a dark grey (WED99HEDC), which costs an extra $100. In a hurry? Dry your clothes in just 15 minutes with this countertop dryer I tried to make my dryer smarter, and it (mostly) worked Your Whirlpool smart oven can now act as an air fryer, too Evidence of Whirlpool’s HybridCare technology can be found on the front of the cabinet in the lower right corner is an ancillary hatch that houses the HybridCare filter. It sports an almost entirely steel construction, with the exception of the plastic control panel, and the viewport is one layer of tempered glass and one layer of transparent acrylic. Stately and unsurprisingįrom the front, the HybridCare looks like a fairly typical mid-to-high-end appliance. Whirlpool is aiming to cut that tether with the HybridCare Ventless Duet dryer, but with an MSRP starting at $1,800, ventless freedom may still cost a pretty penny. No matter how many different cycles it sports, nor how cavernous its interior, nearly every dryer has the same requirement: a 6-inch diameter articulated duct that connects the machine to an exterior wall. When shopping for a dryer it can be easy to get caught up on metrics like capacity or dry time, forgetting all the while that ventilation is one of the most overlooked necessities of the entire appliance category.
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