The washer at our house has been on the fritz for a while. It's an obscure, European brand, and while it has some awesome features (requires hardly any detergent, frontloading, highly water- and energy-efficient), the fact that there's only one repair company in the entire San Francisco Bay Area that will service it, and that the repair company routinely charges $150 every time we have it fixed, is making me consider changing machines.
I was further tempted when I read about the Barolo Kenmore washer. This 4.0 cu. ft. front-load washer uses SteamCare technology, which pretty much eliminates the need for pre-treating. The washer is also Energy Star-qualified, using 77% less energy & 73% less water than other machines. On average, it only uses 151 Kilowatt hours per year, as compared to the 420 kilowatt hours/year used by the top-loading Kenmore Elite Oasis machine.
This machine isn't cheap—it's several hundred dollars more expensive than most other washing machines, though it's $100.00 off through October 4th, selling for $1599.99.
But you know what's most cool of all? Dr. Jane Goodall is endorsing them.
I'd love to own these and do my part but they are priced way out of my range!!!!!!1 I hope for the day the energy efficient stuff isn't so costly up front for the consumer who makes a modest living.