Customer Reviews for Whirlpool 7.3 cu. ft. Ventless Electric Dryer with Heat Pump Technology in Chrome Shadow, ENERGY STAR

I loved the idea of this dryer, but frankly, I am now regretting purchasing it. The efficiency was a major plus, but in the summer, with high humidity levels, this dryer leaves our work out clothes smelling musty. It also now looks like the higher humidity problems created a mold situation in our laundry room. In addition, the cleanout trap (bottom right front panel see photo) has a design flaw in my opinion. While we routinely pull out the unit as directed to remove lint, and clean off the back screen, we have noticed lint on a second screen which is located about one inch behind the initial screen. There is no way to access this second screen unless a technician takes the machine apart. This second screen appears to be covered in lint and I am sure is creating a problem. See photo. Seems like a design flaw to me.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We did a lot of research on finding a solution to our venting issues. We own a townhouse and our laundry is located on the 2nd floor. The way the architecture of the original vent pipe was laid out was poorly engineered. From the back of our old dryer it too an immediate 90 degree bend; traveled for 4 ft. along the floor line; another 90 degree bend upwards; the pipe traveled approx. 20 ft. straight up through the ceiling into the attic and out the roofline. The vent less dryer sold our issues and is extremely energy efficient.

Overall, a very solid 4 stars for this unit. Two things prevent me from rating it a 5; the dryer is noisier than a traditional dryer and it takes longer to dry compared to a properly vented traditional dryer. Aside from that, this is an excellent machine. As for the noise level, while not substantially louder than a typical dryer it does make a bit more noise and the sound is higher pitched than what you typically associate with a dryer. As for the longer dryer times, this is something the manual said was normal with the heat-pump dryer, however, I would have preferred something that dries a bit quicker. Having said that, it still dries quicker than my old dryer did due to the poor venting design in my house. Now to the good; the heat pump technology works great and uses considerably less energy than a traditional dryer. While it still requires a 30 amp plug, the rating plate lists it at only using 14 amps compared to 28 amps listed on my old dryer. I have yet to receive an electric bill since using this unit, but the lower amp rating alone tells me it’s much more efficient. The controls are very intuitive; you simply select a cycle, adjust the dryness level and start it. It has both automatic sensing cycles as well as manually timed cycles. I’ve found the sensing cycles work perfectly. When done, clothes come out fluffy and dry. The drum is stainless steel and has an led light which gives the interior a nice, upscale look. Also, it has a large 7.3 cubic foot drum which is nearly the same size as a typical dryer. Overall, I am very impressed with this dryer and hope it bodes well for the future of heat pump technology in dryers. In short, if you live in a place that has poor venting for your dryer(mine piped the exhaust up 2 stories and through the roof) or you can’t vent a dryer at all, THIS IS THE DRYER FOR YOU! Also, if you are energy conscious; this is a much more efficient dryer than a traditional vented model as well as the condensing vent less dryers. I was less impressed with the Home Depot delivery/installation team. While the guys were friendly and professional, I discovered several weeks after purchase that they didn't install the pigtail correctly(see images). I was able to correct it myself easily, but a person who had no tools or knowledge of electrical wiring would have had to call someone out.

I was making a laundry room on my main floor but needed something that was ventless and found this dryer, it was on sale for a terrific price so I bought the matching washer as well!!!

A lot of the negative reviews were somewhat concerning about this dryer. Was very attracted to the Heat Pump and Ventless for Energy Efficiency and the fact I don't have vent outlet for my house. The price tag was a hefty detourant at first, but went on sale and Energy rebate, decided to take the dive. After receiving it really most the complaints people had seemed to be they got lemons or didn't set it up properly. I got the HD replacement plan for 3 years based on that, so I'd recommend doing that to protect yourself on that front. But I installed it myself. Followed the instructions to make sure it was sturdy and level. Set up the drain hose too high the first time... found it works perfectly if you get a 5-gal bucket and set it on the floor next to the dryer. First load I dried with it, 90 mins or so and they were perfectly dry. Full load of mostly cotton clothes. Since we've done about a dozen loads (we've been washer and dryerless for 45 days almost :( ) and have had zero issues. Everything we put in it comes out dry. The thing can hold a LOT of clothes too. Only "issue" so far was trying to dry a mattress protector for our youngest, the sensors couldn't quite figure out how wet it was by itself. Once her sheets were done washing, added them to the machine and it dried everything just fine. Anyway, if you can follow directions, can afford it, and make sure to protect yourself from lemons, I'd definitely recommend this. Notes: Does not come with power cable by default. If you don't know how to install one (pretty simple actually) or don't want to, you'll need to spend the extra money for a cable (one of the purchasing options) and should pay for the installation or have a savvy friend do it. It does come with a drain hose and hookup that works very well. Delivery guys were amazing. Very fast, professional, and friendly.

I wanted to replace my old gas dryer with this new ventless electric dryer and I'm very happy with the product. It has a huge capacity and I still have yet to completely fill the dryer up to it's full potential. It drys well and I haven't noticed any condensation or water leaking near the bottom like other reviewers have said. Every load I have done has come out dry and not even a hint damp, so it's doing the job well. I had to remove my old vent and seal up my wall since this dryer is ventless so be ready for a small amount of handiwork if the dryer you're replacing is vented, but this dryer has been great. I also had to do a bit of wiring to install a 4 prong receptacle in my wall for the dryer plug. Home Depot representatives told me my 3 prong 130 V outlet was enough but that is not true - you have to have a 4 prong 30A receptacle. Home Depot has some good ones on their website that I picked up and pretty easily installed. Just be forewarned. It is aesthetically very nice and has a modern design and look. The control panel is very intuitive and simple to use and I like the timer screen that tells you how long it will take to finish drying. Even the sound tones the dryer uses are friendly and pleasant, not an obnoxious alarm. The drum light inside is a nice touch and gives good lighting inside the dryer when you open the door. Everything feels pretty well made and robust on this dryer, even just from opening and closing the door. The only exception to this might be the lint screens, where you can see some frayed screen material coming from the outside of the screen. The lower secondary lint screen also feels kind of flimsy and made of cheaper plastic. Nothing terrible but maybe not the utmost quality. One of the things I don't like is the primary lint screen for this dryer. It's shape makes it a little awkward to clean out quickly and easily. It also has 2 lint screens to clean, although the instructions say you only need to clean the secondary lint screen every 5 loads. I personally like to clean my lint screens after every load to prevent fires and to maintain dryer efficiency. I'm not sure if two separate screens are necessary for this dryer design, but it's a bit of a pain to clean both. Not a huge deal though, and the secondary screen is finer than the first so it's probably overall a good thing to have. Just a slight nuisance. Otherwise I love the dryer and look forward to using it more in the future.

I ventured into this purchase knowing that this dryer will take longer to dry my clothes and would require a little more maintenance than my old machine and with that expectation in mind, I'm VERY happy with this product! Everything comes out of this dryer softer and fluffier than any other dryer I've ever used (and I've used quite a few since I moved around a lot for a number of years) and the scent!!! I like my clothes to come out of the dryer smelling fresh and clean! That's why I buy scented detergent! Since this dryer constantly recycles the air, the scent of the detergent/fabric softener does not fade nearly as much as with my old vented dryer. Clothes smell nice and fresh coming out and retain their scent for much longer!One thing about this dryer, which is NOT a complaint, just an observation, is that if you are considering this dryer, you quite possibly might need to rethink how you do laundry. It's harder to get the most energy savings and bang out several loads of laundry in a row with this machine. I generally limit myself to 1 or 2 loads of laundry a day as that's all I have time for after work until I go to bed. I don't use the Speed Mode, I only use Eco Mode as that's why I bought this machine. If you use Speed Mode, you will very likely be able to get more laundry done in an evening than I do.

Only giving this review more than 1 star is because of the energy savings (I guess). But what’s the point of it takes a half day to dry a load of towels. You’re pretty much tethered to this thing 24/7 doing laundry. You have to re-run each load 2-3 times. It says to run small loads but that barely helps. Cuts down a load time from 5 hours to maybe 4. It’s ventless so I guess that’s another plus, but I’m certain there’s better ventless technology out there than this.

I have used this dryer for 7 years in a restaurant to dry towels, since we had no way to vent the dryer. I don't really care how long it takes, about 3 hours for a large load, so it is great to have the electric savings. I would say we work this machine very hard on a daily basis and have not had a problem, until now. It is squeaking. Probably needs new rollers. I think a seven year workout with minor issues is very fair for a dryer. Overall, very pleased.

I would give 5 stars for the innovation and energy savings, but I would give it 1 star for the time that is needed to clean the lint from the system due to poor design. That's why I averaged it to 3 stars. Explanations: + Very low energy consumption thanks to the heat pump, and since it does not push any air outside, the cool indoor air does not leave the house in summer, the warm indoor air does not leave the house in winter, plus using this dryer reduces the demand on my baseboard heaters because of the heat that it produces. - Lint is quickly accumulating being the screen and is not reachable in any way. So after the first year of use, I paid roughly 100$ for a technician to come, unmount the entire dryer in piece to be able to access the evaporator to clean them. Now, every year I would need to pay a technician to do that again, or learn to do it myself. Without doing this yearly of the evaporator, drying time can almost double. So costly yearly deep cleanings and weekly cleanings of the hybrid care filter sums up to many hours of time every year.

I've owned one of these units since 2015. I love the dryer overall--like that it's gentle on my clothes and that it saves on energy costs. I don't mind the somewhat longer drying times and the extra filter to clean out. However, over the last year, the unit started taking longer drying times and getting the clothes less dry. The first thing to check is a little fan vent on the back of the unit--vacuuming it off can solve this problem. However, my problem was lint accumulated in the cabinet itself. Like any other dryer, this one should be serviced annually to remove the accumulated lint. If you don't, you'll probably see big increases in drying times, because the heat pump condenser operation is slowed by all the lint around it insulating it. The back fan is intended to allow the condenser to cool, but if the condenser itself is covered with lint, the fan does little good. So, either get it serviced, or if you are handy, find the youtube instruction videos and clean it out yourself. Sometimes lint can also build up behind the screen behind the extra filter on the unit's lower right. That's really difficult to get to, but I cleaned it out by shooting water from a kid's water gun through the screen. My filter cartridge plastic warped over time (allowing some lint to get by), and it's difficult to find a replacement part specifically for it (whilrpool parts provides it with the whole casing unit in which the filter fits, but that's more than $80). If they are reading this, they, I'm asking that they provide this replacement option.

I have had this dryer for 2 years. We built a passive house, no vents. But now after struggling for 2 years I am venting an electric dryer ! The reality is it takes 3 hours for normal loads. Towels ? 3+ hours, Jeans and Cotton tees ? 2.5 hours. For this family of 5 I am done trying to make it work. I love whirlpool but HATE this dryer !

Always bought Whirlpool appliances, recently went to ventless dryer. I live in a mobile home and since you didn’t have to have flex hose for the ventless dryer it takes less room. I am totally pleased with this dryer it might take a few minutes more but I noticed that my clothes dry softer and less wrinkled. Only thing I miss is a light in the dryer.

Worked for three years before the pump failed. Paid $1700 for an appliance that only lasted three years before requiring several hundred dollars more to repair.

Works well, efficient, love having a ductless dryer, and it treats clothing well. Only downside is second filter, but overall that's a minor inconvenience to what is a great product.

I installed this about a year ago after renovating to add a laundry closet (previously no laundry at all). I had to go with ventless due to HOA restrictions but I wanted full size and this has been great! I'm sure it takes longer than a vented dryer, but certainly not obnoxiously long and I feel like it's gentler on my clothes since it doesn't get quite as hot. I have also noticed little difference in my electric bill versus bills prior to adding the laundry room. No issues or problems with the dryer whatsoever, although its quite heavy so moving it around can be tough.

We cannot vent our dryer so took a chance on exploring ventless machines that apparently have been extremely widespread in Europe for years. Chose the Whirlpool and am basically happy but it does seem to take extra time to get clothes super dry - depending on how stuffed you make the drum. I accept the humidity and heat as the machine is designed as a heat pump which concept should be understood by the buyer before purchasing. If so, comments of heat and humidity in the laundry room become baseless. Noise level seems to be equal to regular vented machines and yes, cleaning the three filter areas are mildly cumbersome but they support the efficiency of concept of being ventless so accept it as part of the equation or buy something else!

I bought this dryer precisely because all waste heat and some waste humidity stay indoors. In this cool desert climate the indoor extra heat and humidity are welcome year round. Almost all moisture extracted from the wet laundry does go down the drain, not into the indoor air. The drain can feed into a greywater recycling system, another plus for desert dwellers. The previous dryer, conventionally vented outside, also vented all the indoor heat and humidity to the outside. This dryer will pay for itself in a few years just by lowering the heating bill. I have had this dryer 14 months, 300 loads of laundry dried, and no complaints until today. Today the drum stopped turning (why 4 not 5 stars) in the middle of a load; I used the Whirlpool website to schedule a service call with a local repair business. It was very easy, no account creation required. The business has 5 star reviews on local social media.

I purchased the Whirlpool heat pump clothes dryer two years ago when it was first available, and am very pleased with its performance. Clothes drying quality is excellent. Clothes are perfectly dried and fluffly. They are not over dried, nor under dried. Drying cycle time is reasonable and matches wash cycle time nicely (we have matching Whirlpool front loading washer.....high spin speed reduces retained moisture). We have no moisture difficulties in the laundry room. Moisture buildup in a laundry room (or any room) is due to poor house ventilation and most likely indicates poor air quality, too (carbon dioxide and VOCs).

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I've been using my new dryer for about a month now and everything is as advertised. Very nice not to have to vent.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We have been using our dryer now for about a month. Living in a condo we could not vent through the wall to the outside as we would not be allowed to put holes in outside walls. Also in Florida one must be concerned about openings because of risk of hurricane damage which precluded venting out a window. Drying times and efficiency are remarkably good with this dryer. I don't feel there has been any loss in either by going ventless.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We bought the dryer one month ago and I am very happy with the purchase. The ventless feature is great and I'll never go back to a vent dryer.

We have our new ventless dryer for almost a month now and LOVE it! It solves a venting issue for our home, and has been the perfect solution. Standard vent dryers were taking 2+ hour for a load of clothes to dry, but with the ventless dryer we are averaging 30-45 minutes. We could not be happier, and hope the technology stays around forever!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought it 3 months ago; the lint catcher apparatus broke, service company came outand exchanged part which also broke right after service man walked out the door.I has been close to 2 weeks with no dryer.

Dryers normally waste tons of energy directly by venting hot wet air and indirectly by dropping your house pressure and sucking unconditioned air through cracks in the house. This does neither.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Have been using our dryer for two months now and love it. It has a little more noise than most but we just close the door! Like the towel, casual and bulky features. Towels seem softer. Ours is a laundry/bath combo so bath is always warm when we run the dryer, another plus!!

Do not waste your time or money. I wish I knew then what I know now. We bought this dryer because we were building a new laundry room on our second floor and did not have a dryer vent, we thought this would be good because they are more energy efficient. We should have put a vent in the wall. The unit takes over two hours to dry a load of white wash and it heats the room it in by over 10 degrees. The units has only been used since the beginning of May and we will be getting rid of it

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We knew going in that the filters quality were poor, but needed the ventless option for our laundry room. Indeed the filters are fragile and our hybrid care filter already has a hole in it. The hole if from poor quality construction and oversight. We had our dryer delivered on 7/5/16 so less than a month. They were more than glad to send us another the the communication with customer service was not an issue. As I wrote on the customer service FB page, this kind of issue is unacceptable, a good engineer would have known that the design was bad. The approach to cheaper is not better and frankly in a company as old and well known as Whirlpool, totally unacceptable in my opinion. Also the buttons on the front of the dryer are extremely sensitive and even with minimal contact will change the settings. Several times I have brushed the front with my clothes and that has turned the dryer off.As far as function we have had no issue, the clothes are not waded and tumbled in a ball and come out relatively wrinkle free if you use the wrinkle prevent setting. Even heavier items like towels and sheets dry at the end of the cycle. We have had some problem with the sensor sensing lighter weight items like underwear being dry before sock or undershirts in the same load, but it will have us trained soon I am sure.It does produce more heat than our previous dryer, but we run the fan in the laundry room and leave a window open in the adjoining room and have not been unduly troubled even on 90 degree days.Yes I would do it again and would have given them 5 stars but for the filter and wondering if there is some other dumb designer issue hiding somewhere.

I needed a ductless dryer and with this duet dryer I finally got what I was looking for. It does a great job and the longer drying time is worth the wait. I got it on sale which made it more affordable. I feel great about the energy savings. It does heat up my laundry room but that will be great in colder seasons. The clothes look and feel better than if dried with my conventional dryer.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] After several months use, we are pleased with the performance of our new dryer. It drys clothes and is much more efficient to operate. We have noticed a drop in our utility bill that can only be attributed to it. The two filter system works well although access to the lower filter is inconvenient and the door does not close well or easily.