This Maytag Maxima 6000 series washing machine is one incredible piece of hardware. Our clothes have never been cleaner and more wrinkle free.
Our 12 year old Maytag Neptune stacked washer / dryer died an ugly death two weeks ago. The washing machine stopped spinning, it could have been a control board, or a wax motor; but no it turned out to be the bearings. Why did I stick with Maytag on the replacement? 12 years, two service visits, and a machine that worked flawlessly for a first generation stacker front loader. I was pleased with the service.
The key points about this machine it is quiet (not dead silent, but it makes a good solid big heavy motor sounds), it has some sweet features, it looks cool, and it has a big wash drum. Until we got it home, I had no idea it washed clothes this well.
The following review was originally posted for the white version of this washing machine. There is no difference between these washers except for the exterior color.
There's two models in this Maytag Maxima line the 6000 and the 7000 series. The 7000 adds a few cycles, the steam power wash, a separate dispenser for OXI clean products, and an LED light inside the drum. At first I was kind of disappointed I didn't buy the 7000, hey I'm a guy and I love extra functions and the light inside the drum just seems so darn cool. Now that we have this 6000 model, I'm perfectly happy with the choice. There's about a $200 difference between the models. It's not clear how often we would use the steam (frankly, probably never). The light is way fun the first few days of playing with the machine, but long term, not so useful. Besides, the door is so huge and with the smoked glass, I can still see inside the machine. OXI clean dispenser well that would never be used, and the 6000 instructions describe how to mix it with the regular detergent.
The washing machine requires at least a 15Amp 110V circuit, cold and hot water, and a waste line. It's possible everybody knows this, or this is standard for a washing machine. Well for me this was a huge horrible surprise; our Neptune stacker used one 220V connection. I have to run a new 110V line to power this machine.
This machine looks pretty darn intimidating at first glance. The instruction manual is about twenty pages and is also somewhat intimidating. But never fear it is really super simple to operate. The big silver dial in the center, turn it to select the wash cycle. The black panel on the right displays approximately how soon the cycle will finish (sorry, it's a countdown timer). The three buttons at the bottom of the panel are used to over ride the wash / rinse temperature, the amount of wash time, and the spin speed. The buttons all the way to the right control convenience settings like tone at end of cycle, hold clothes, maximum extract, and extra rinses. One other minor control on the black panel this washer can delay start the cycle. There are two very simple + and buttons on that panel that set how many hours delay time.
On the far left is the detergent drawer. I love this part of the machine no more tossing the detergent in the bottom of the drum or going after hidden bleach or fabric softener reservoirs. Slide open the drawer on the left side to add the detergent. There is a setting for powder or liquid detergent. Basically the little switch moves a plastic stop up for powder (allowing freer flow of water to add detergent during the fill cycle) or down for liquid (restricting the flow so the liquid won't immediately flow out and assuring the liquid gets mixed properly with the water). To the right are fabric softener and bleach reservoirs. The machine is super smart, at the right moment during the wash and rinse cycles it forces water through the correct reservoir to deliver the product. The drawer can be removed easily for washing (at some point mildew could grow in the softener side a huge problem in our old Maytag). It is not dishwasher safe.
How to use this beauty? Load the clothes. Select the cycle and adjust options (when the silver dial is turned the machine automatically powers up, no need to monkey with the power button). Add detergent. Close the drawer, and press the start button. The count down timer gives an estimate for how soon the load will be finished. The instruction are specific that this is an estimate the cycle could take more time due to unbalanced loads or too much foam from the detergent.
There is a red Add Clothes illuminated on the panel when there is still time to press the play button to pause the machine and toss in a few forgotten items.
There are enough cycles on this machine to make everybody happy. Two pages of the instruction manual are devoted to the finer points of each cycle, and how full the drum should be. There are a few highlights in the world of cycles. There is a power clean cycle, which actually heats the water of the final rinse enough to meet NSF standards for killing bacteria and allergens. There is a swimsuit cycle that simply rinses and spins the load, in addition to a spin only cycle. The normal cycle is preset to last 56 minutes and does warm wash with warm rinse. The hold setting is interesting. If this option is selected, when the cycle is finished, the machine tumbles the clothes frequently, and blows air into the drum to keep clothes from wrinkling.
Fabric softener isn't added until the very last rinse, no matter which cycle or extra rinse was selected. Bleach is added at the first rinse.
There is some kind of tie in with Affresh cleaner; the machine has a clean Affresh cycle. After a certain number of cycles, a clean light will illuminate. At this time the machine is asking for a clean cycle a 45 minute cycle where no clothes can be in the machine and add either an Affresh tablet or bleach to the bleach dispenser. I understand there were so many complaints of mildew growing in these front-loading washers; Maytag has decided to take a proactive approach to eliminating the problem. I've used Affresh in our old machine and it does work well. At about $8 per three tablets, it's not a horribly expensive prophylactic.
Whirlpool W10135699 Affresh High Efficiency Washer Cleaner, 3-Tablets
Maytag does say to use HE (High Efficiency) detergent. There is some truth to foam causing early failure of the drum bearings regular detergent foams a lot more than HE and causes significant drag on the drum motor and bearing during the spin cycle. There is also some leaning toward powders over liquid detergent. If you love liquid, just pay attention to the detergent drawer to be certain no soap residue builds up, (it's easy enough to remove and wash).
The drum is beautiful (yes I love mechanical things) stainless steel. There are no big bumps in the drum to hold socks or other clothes up at the top of the drum. The drum is huge. A set of queen sheets and pillowcases only fill the thing halfway (that used to almost fill the old Neptune).
This is a flexible machine for installation. Since all the controls are on the front panel, there is a ton of ways to install this machine. Standing all by itself, the top is a great place to sort clothes or fold after they are dried. If the 6000 series dryer is used side by side, the two machines make for a great space to work. There is also an option to place a shelf over the top of the two machines. The machine can be installed under a counter just like a dishwasher. There is a stacking kit to put the dryer on top (when the dryer arrives, that's the configuration we are using). There are specifications for putting this in a closed closet (upper and lower vents are required in the door).
There are three colors white, red, and dark gray / silver. I went with basic white, it was available. The red is actually pretty darn cool looking; it is a nice deep red, and honestly not far off from Ferrari red. The gray / silver is pleasant.
How long will this machine last? I hope somewhere near what the previous machine did. The machine comes with a one year full parts / labor warranty. There's a five-year warranty on a few of the major parts, including that moist fan thing. And finally ten years on the drum and big stuff. After one year no labor is covered. There is the crime, the parts are expensive, but the labor to install them will probably still be out of sight (read, just replace the thing if the bearings go out). I would guess Consumer Reports has an opinion on this machine, and Maytag in general. It's impossible to tell what Maytag did with the electronics. I hope they learned their lesson with the Neptune series and have built robust controls.
I love this machine. Our clothes are super clean and they come out of the washer well wrung out to shorten the drying cycle. Pictures don't do this justice. It is a very pretty machine. It looks a little like the Jetsons go ahold of it.
I was initially drawn to this machine by it's looks, but bought it for ease of use. Samsung and LG consistently get high marks but in everyday use they drive me nuts. For those not familiar with the Asian design aesthetic, it basically goes like this: More buttons + more blinking lights + more beeping noises = more better. Well, in the words of Stan Marsh, "I thought this was America!" It is, Stan, and this one is actually made in America too.
The controls are simple, just go from left to right. Set the mode, modify the default settings if you want, throw in some bonuses (like extra rinse), and press play. I did not really need to read the instructions to figure it out, and the silly noises can be turned off. Another nice feature is the design of the soap tray. The whole tray gets rinsed, and that prevents old soap/bleach/softener from building up.
A major reason for the increased efficiency of front loaders is the faster spin cycle that extracts more water and shortens the drying time. This one actually spins fast enough to completely dry some items like polyester. While this washer is quiet I can hear it switching cycles, although it makes up for that by not whistling a tune every few minutes like some others. The biggest knock I have is that there is no "quick wash" mode, the closest thing is the "small loads" mode that takes 44 mins. Normal modes take a typical 1 to 2 hours, and the dryer is always left waiting.
If you are buying this as a set like I did, the features of the washer and dryer to not really match up. Unlike the 6000 dryer, this washer DOES NOT have a steam cycle and interior light, you will need to step up to the 7000 for that (you also get more wash modes). Also, unlike the dryer this washer DOES come with all of the required connectors (4' hot and cold water lines, and a drain line).
Buy Maytag Maxima 4.3 Cu. Ft. Gray Front Load Washer - MHW6000XG Now
I bought a Maytag Maxima MHF6000XG front-load washer. Everywhere I looked, it was $1199, sometimes on sale for $100 less. I found Gochnauer's on Amazon in a google search, and they listed it for $598, brand new. Since they were within 100 miles of my home, there was a $129 delivery fee. I rented a van and drove straight out to them, completely skeptical. I arrived, everyone was friendly and helpful, and they loaded a brand new washer into my van with a forklift (no extra charge). They then refunded the $129 delivery fee since I picked it up. How did they do this? I have no idea, but holy cow was it a great deal......brand new and half price. Thanks guys!
As to the washer itself, this is my first HE washer, first front-load, and first experience with digital controls, 'smart' washer technology, etc. However, our washer was damaged in a basement flood, and it took me almost three weeks to find this one, so by the time I had it installed, I immediately ran over 20 loads of wash throught it.
Overall I am very happy with it so far. Clothes get clean, are very dry right out of the washer, are not all wrinkled, and smell fresh. There is very little water used, and while it takes much longer than a standard top-load washer, the total time, due to reduced drying time, is not dramatically different. With no agitator, it's more gentle on clothing as well. It's pretty quiet, even when spinning at eleventy billion RPM. The stay-fresh thing is nice for when you can not get back to the washer to move clothes to the dryer when it's done.
The downsides I've noticed are that the opening in the rubber gasket that seals the door must be wiped out as it collects water and various objects that come out of pockets, and if you add liquid detergent/bleach/etc into the trays and then wait a while to start, the liquids will leak out onto the non-running dry laundry load. There is no option to spin-only, just a rinse/spin option which takes longer. And no light in the tub, only the next higher up model, the 7000, has a light (strangely though the matching 6000XG dryer has a light). Finally, the balance sensor can take a while to figure out when it's OK to spin at high speeds, adjusting how the laundry sits in the tub, which can add to total wash time.
I'd give it 4.5 stars overall, mostly because clothes are coming out cleaner and better smelling than my previous SpeedQueen washing machine, and the energy/water usage is much much lower. I remember even after two spin cycles in the SpeedQueen, with towels and jeans it would often take 75+ minutes to dry on high. The matching Maytag MED6000XG dryer has yet to take more than 35 minutes on low or medium heat no matter what I have attempted to dry, and that's because the laundry coming out of the washer is nearly dry to begin with due to the high-speed spin and lower water usage.
Bruce
Read Best Reviews of Maytag Maxima 4.3 Cu. Ft. Gray Front Load Washer - MHW6000XG Here
It's a shelf for my refrigerator...that's it. It's white and matches the fridge.
