moosh in indy.

Maybe you’ve seen the commercial for the new Kenmore top loading washer where a woman with neatly coiffed hair and a perfectly fit little black dress comes out and does some fancy move with some piece of luxurious fabric in a spotless shiny room attempting to sell you on the new line of Kenmore Elite washers and dryers.

Well here’s me right before I did my laundry.

And here’s what a real (well, my) laundry room looks like. (Not pictured, Costco sized stacks of toilet paper, tissues and paper towels. And the little pink trash bin that overflows with various rainbow colored and glitter infused lint (I’m looking at you Addie.))

However the washer featured is the exact same. However instead of luxurious fabric I wash things like tutus, baby clothes with six year old mysterious stains and my husbands highly pungent workout wear.

Glamorous, no?

My clothes have been washed in Kenmore appliances for as long as I have been alive. I remember watching my teddy bear Snuffles swirl around in the giant black drum with the lid open as I sat on the dryer, making sure he was okay. I remember the hell fire I experienced the day I left a cherry Chapstick in my pocket and it melted all over my stepdads work clothes in the dryer. I remember screaming incoherently at Cody after he washed and dried my favorite wool sweater only months after we had been married.

I have mentioned before that I adore doing laundry as much as some people adore going to the salon. My sister and I both look forward to the day we get to replenish our fabric softener supply with some new scent. Sleeping in freshly washed sheets does make you sleep better and burying your face in a warm pile of freshly washed baby clothes will make your heart grow three sizes and your uterus go thump.

So when my decade old Kenmore washer made a horrible thumping noise and stalled leaving a load of darks sitting in a tub full of water a few months ago? The laundry loving part of me crumbled a little inside. Long story short through a flurry of emails, tweets and a couple of phone calls, Kenmore stepped in and allowed me to take on the task of putting one of their new Kenmore Elite washers and dryers to the test.

RIP Gramma Kenmore.

Like I said, it’s one thing to wash a sheet in a commercial, or be dazzled by an appliance salesman. It’s an entirely other thing to wash strawberry vomit out of a fluffy blue dress up. (Which I have done, successfully.)

Differences between my old Kenmore and my new Kenmore:

• Obviously the top loading washer isn’t anything new. I will be a top load washer girl until the day I die, it just makes more sense to me. However the new washer doesn’t have an agitator, allowing far more washing capacity and it has highly customizable settings for energy saving, delicates, a quick wash cycle and my new favorite for dish towels, sanitize.

Out with the old.

In with the new.

• The biggest difference between the dryers? This one actually works. (Kidding, kind of.) Clothes come out dry, but not scalding hot nor ever so damp that they will start to smell in a week or two. It also has a steam refresh setting, I’ve had the most success with it on bedskirts, where you don’t *really* need to wash them but the iron is no match for the factory set creases.
• The dryer easily keeps up with the washer on normal sized loads. Meaning no wet loads on top of the dryer so you can start a new load while waiting for the dryer to finish…this happens in everyone’s house right?

It's not very warm in here.

steam! shiny! ECHOOOOO!!

Downfalls of the new Kenmore (you know there have to be some.)

• The wash basin is SO HUGE that I can’t reach the bottom. For real. I’m 5’3″ and when not pregnant I can stand on my very tippy toes and reach the tiny rogue socks stuck to the bottom. However in my current very pregnant state? I have to either get a stool or wait for someone else with much longer limbs to be around to fetch things for me. Regardless, there’s always grunting involved from me when moving clothes from the washer to the dryer.

help! I can't get out!

• While I’m still working on figuring out all the settings, a load full of Addie’s clothes with all the tiny long sleeves, stretchy leggings and long pants can get very VERY tangled after the wash cycle. So far nothing bad has happened as far as anything ripping or tearing, but it can be frustrating when trying to untangle one dress that cannot go in the dryer from several others. It also happens if there are a lot of Cody’s work shirts in the washer at once. For very delicate/stretchy items you would have to use lingerie bags and a gentler setting.
• The glass top and door. It’s very distracting. All these features that are supposed to free up time in which you can get other tasks done? They’re negated by the coolness of watching your clothes swirl around. We stand around and watch every load of laundry for at least a few minutes here and there. It’s mesmerizing.

Perks of the new Kenmore.

• They work. I never realized how slow and lethargic my 10 year old appliances had become until I began using these ones. I was just thankful to have something that got my clothes clean eventually. The time I save now when it comes to laundry is sizable, and I’m so thankful for that.
• The sanitize setting, *insert something scientific here* but in layman’s terms the washer and dryer both have a sanitize setting, meaning when I get that bee up my bum to try cloth diapers? I’ll be well prepared
• It sings songs, not that this should be a selling point, but my old Kenmore let out the most disconcerting BUZZ!!! at the end of a cycle that was quite scary given our bedroom is right next to the laundry room.
• The money saved in energy and water can pay for the appliances themselves over their lifetime.
• Kenmore Connect. I’m going to have to link you to a video to explain this feature because I still don’t believe it’s true. Your washer and dryer can tell a service person OVER THE PHONE what is wrong with it so either you can fix it yourself or the service person who comes to your home is already prepared with the proper parts and tools.

No more time wasted on service calls! YOU WIN!

If you’re in the market…here’s the Kenmore site on my washer and my dryer.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review other than receiving a Kenmore Elite washer and dryer to facilitate my review. The opinions and experiences contained above are true and my very own. Especially the one about watching the laundry through the glass lid.

Have you ever been out with your friends at dinner and one starts to get uncomfortable because the waistband on her pants is just a little too tight and it’s starting to give her gas while your other friend has blisters from the shoes she hasn’t worn in awhile and no one has a band-aid to help her out?

Meanwhile you’re wearing stretchy stretchy pants with the most perfectly fitting sweater and shoes so comfortable that you could walk to the moon and back if the need arises?

You want with all your heart to give your gassy friend the stretchy pants off your body and switch shoes with your blistery friend but you can’t, because if you were to go without pants you would get arrested and your other friend has feet three sizes larger than your own.

The best you can do is teach your friend with the pinchy pants the rubberband around the button and through the buttonhole trick and for your sore soled friend? You help her hobble out to the car barefoot, who cares if she’s not wearing shoes? You’re her friend, not a 7-11.

Some of my favorite people are going through some very difficult times right now. And while their problems are those of deep sadness, depression and heartache rather than tight pants and pinchy shoes…I’m still left feeling helpless over here in my comfy pants and properly medicated brain.

I haven’t had much to say lately because I’ve been so preoccupied with prayers, hopes and wishes that my friends, whether close or far away, in or outside the computer, can feel better. I know they’ve all done the same for me when I’m down in the dumps.

So ladies? Until your pants fit comfortably and your shoes don’t pinch, I’ll be here, rooting for you.