I instantly fell in love with my Nexxt washer. I formerly owned a high capacity washer that wasted lots of water. With my Nexxt, I can do a load of whites and take a shower at the same time. The Nexxt won't empty out your hot water heater (though obviously, it might if your hot water heater is very small or slow) and it uses water extremely efficiently. When you put clothes in to wash, the tub doesn't seem to fill with nearly enough water to get things clean. I worried about this at first, but now that I've done many loads of laundry in it, I see that you don't need 40 gallons of water to clean some towels. I also figured that gray socks were normal, and that if you wanted white ones you had to go buy more. Gradually, however, my gray socks are becoming as white as they were when they were new as I wash them in the Nexxt. My husband says his underwear are now blindingly white. The temp boost cycle is fabulous for getting cotton whites nice and clean. I don't even use bleach, although the Nexxt does have a bleach dispenser.

You can use high efficiency laundry soap, which I haven't been able to find for sale in my area. Instead I use regular laundry soap but only about half of the smallest measure. So far this is working very well. I think my huge jug of Tide is going to last me a year!

Under the top panel on the machine there are three receptacles. One for soap, one for fabric softener, one for bleach. The Nexxt "sucks" down each liquid during the appropriate cycle. This is a huge improvement over toploaders that essentially throw everything into the tub at the same time. I would often run a separate rinse cycle with my top loader to get the fabric softener to work, wasting still more water. There's no need to do that with the Nexxt. Things come out of the wash smelling lightly of fabric softener, and not like soap. I haven't used the bleach option yet. I don't know if I need my whites any whiter! I do tend to use a bit more fabric softener with the Nexxt than I did with my old top loader. Maybe half again as much as the recommended amount.

Those are the good points, and they are very good. Now let's talk about when things go wrong. I washed a throw rug in my week-old Nexxt washer. The rug disintegrated into a million tiny fibers each about an inch long. Not really the washer's fault as the rug may have been damaged (not sure) but still, things do happen. Anyway, the washer sucked these fibers through the drum and the next thing I knew, my washer was beeping and displaying "E04" on the display. Since I am a
technical writer, I believe strongly in manuals. I got my washer manual and saw that something must be clogged. Unfortunately, the hose was the only part I could look at, and that was perfectly clear. There were no other tips in the manual about how to clear a clog. I spent a washer-less week waiting for a repair man to arrive and dig out the fibers from an owner-serviceable cleanout area that is not documented at all. I could have done this myself! Instead, it cost $80 to have the repair man show me how to do it. One more page in the manual would've saved me a bit of money, but instead I waited for the repair man since I dreaded opening anything that might void the warranty. Unlike my old Kitchenaid toploader, there are NO manuals available online; no exploded diagrams that you can get for free. Whatever is in the Bosch is a big secret. I don't know whether to recommend that you get an extended warranty or not, as my rug fiber problem was not covered by the warranty (even though my machine was only a week old). This was a bit disappointing since I've owned washers for 15 years, and that week spent waiting for the repair man was the longest time I'd had to do without one.

I have owned my Nexxt for about a month now. Most cycles take about 100 minutes to complete, though you can do delicates or handwashables in much less time. If you've never had a frontloader, they are much gentler on your clothes than toploaders. There is no wringing action to stretch or deform your clothes. The spin cycle goes as fast as 1000 rpms, which is up to 3x faster than most toploaders. This means it takes less energy to dry your clothes. This is especially helpful for air dried items. Sometimes I wish I could make my own cycle: for example, I would very much like a cold handwashables setting. The greatest number of options are for permanent press and cotton, which really are the items that come up most frequently. The Nexxt will save you money on your water bill (you will be amazed how much you save if you currently own a high capacity washer). I believe it also uses less electricity. I tend to do more small loads now instead of waiting for the stacks of clothes to get out of control. It has definitely cut my gas bill since it uses so much less hot water. You can also wash lots of unusual items in it. My favorite so far: a 5' x 3' mud mat. It took the "power wash" option (another nice feature for extra dirty things) but it did get clean.

Despite the lack of good documentation, I recommend it highly. It's expensive, but if I can keep it going for a few years, I'm confident it will pay for itself in water and energy savings in a few years.

-----UPDATE-----

Due to popular request, here is more information on the E:04 problem, and some assorted tips:

If you get the E:04 error, he first thing to try is turning the washer off and back on again. You will more than likely have to begin the cycle over, but sometimes this will clear the message.

Since clogging up the drainage pipe, I have gotten that E:04 message when I've used too much laundry soap. I think that's the main reason people see that message. Just turn the washer off and start the cycle again WITHOUT adding any additional soap. I think the suds somehow make the washer think the drainage pipe is clogged.

The other thing that can happen is a genuine clog, like in the case I described in my review. The Bosch is excellently engineered to protect the pump from damage. There is a circular panel on the front of the washer that hides the drainage hose. Remove this panel (simple, but there is a knack to it) and you can pull the drainage hose out. Keep a bucket handy because the hose will be full of water. You may lose a little bit of skin off your hand during this process, and it's best if you can have the salesman demonstrate this procedure for you. That panel is not the easiest thing to remove. You have to reach in past some sharp metal to get to the drainage pipe. Wrap a towel around your hand and BE CAREFUL. It's definitely worth a shot if saving a service call is worth it to you (and clearing out clogs are NOT covered by the basic warranty). My service man assured me that removing this panel would not invalidate the warranty, but you may want to check with your dealer before you open up yours.

It's been about six months and I still adore my washer. I've found the Temp Boost setting is best for cotton towels, Delicates is great for, well, delicates, the Warm Permanent Press setting is great for jeans, and Cold Permanent Press great for most clothes. To avoid getting small items stuck between the glass and the rubber inner seal, do not overload the washer. If I try to wash too many socks, one will now and then end up in that small space. You can cram one big thing in the washer and it will still get clean (I regularly wash a bathroom carpet in there), but DO NOT cram it full of lots of little things. Follow the helpful loading instructions for each cycle.

**** UPDATE 11/20/2005 *****

One year later and I'm still delighted!

Both washer and dryer are going strong. Now that I am better at measuring soap, I never get the E04 error anymore. Occasionally, I get an E01 error, which seems to mean that the door is not latching properly. This happens once or twice a month. I resolve it by holding the door for a few seconds while the wash cycle starts, and everything proceeds just fine. I have tried high efficiency laundry soap - don't bother. I stick with my huge jug-o-Tide. I just fill halfway to the smallest measure indication on the measuring cup that comes with it. I found that HE laundry soap costs the same per load as normal laundry soap. If you buy normal and use half as much, you save money and things get just as clean. For delicates (bras and similar items), I use the Delicate cycle plus an extra rinse cycle and just cover the bottom of the measuring cup with soap. Yup, I wash my delicates with Tide. Another money saving tip - set your washer to spin after it completes the wash cycle for large, absorbent items (king size comforter cover, in my case). This helps get rid of excess water and shortens the time the item spends in the dryer.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1099