@Harmonica, I am glad you are enjoying your Miele washer, that brand is supposed to be very good.
@Joy, so sorry that your Samsung did not work out. It is hard when you have a defined space that you have to fit.
Samsung has interesting features but our repair person strongly advised against that brand.
Follow-up:
The pros about the Whirlpool 5.3 toploader that we were able to return thanks to Costco’s very generous return policy:
-Soap tray that you pre-load for multiple washes.
-Removeable agitator.
-Cycle that fully cleans the machine.
-Cute chime.
The cons: tears the clothes and towels and does not clean too well.
If it were not a clothes chewer, I would have kept it.
We ended up with the Speed Queen TR7 with electronic board that comes with a 7 year guarantee. We got it with a discount during a special store sale, unfortunately Costco did not have it.
-Problem so far: the stainless steel drum had a manufacturing residue that gives a black stain. I noticed it when I went to dry the drum after the first (empty) wash. We called SQ and they said it was “carbon” and that we only had to clean it with a “household cleaner”. It took 6 washes on heavy duty, max soil, large load size, with soak and second rinse to clear that residue. That plus all the towel drying of the tub after the washes.
I think the company should clear the drum of any manufacturing residues before selling this expensive product and not stick customers with that chore. For that reason, I will not be buying a SQ dryer when the time comes, only God knows how to get rid of the residue in the dryer, it probably gets baked into the drum and clothes.
-The good part about our SQ is that it seems to wash well and is not tearing our clothes, so far.
Now I only have to pray for continued good service from my old dryer.