Danby DWM99W Millennium Portable Washing Machine
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Danby DWM99W Millennium Portable Washing Machine
Customer Review: Danby Portable Washer Terrible Design
Summary: 1 Stars
I have owned my washer for 8 months. First the water level never fills to a proper level. It is always too low and you have to manually add water. Secondly the first rinse cycle is not long enough. It does not remove enough soap. Thirdly the spin cycle is not very strong. The result is that I have to frequently run a rinse cycle after the machine has finished. I can see the soap in the water. This means that you have to spend a lot more time monitoring the machine and washing clothes than it is worth. It is really a hassle. Danby does not care about how much time you spend, they designed a cheap machine to make money. That's the bottom line.
Beware of the damage this machine can cause. The wheels of the washing machine are extremely hard and mark floors. The only floor this machine will not hurt is concrete. Beware of your hardwood, tile or linoleum. Danby does not care about your floors.
The inside design is also extremely poor. Incredibly there is no screen to prevent items from going down into the pump like in a portable dishwasher or other washing machines. If you have kids you know that something can sneak past you into the wash. It is inevitable. I had a paper clip jam the pump and the water did not drain. I called Danby directly, got no help, was directed to call a service company for warranty work. They came over, found a clip had jammed the pump and I was charged $95 for a service call and labor. It took four minutes. Service man told me to call Danby to complain about the design. Danby was totally unsympathetic. The Danby customer service person blamed me for the problem. I pointed out that the manual does not list the possibility of the pump jamming because there is no safeguard screen. I also pointed out that when I called I gave the symptom but received no help nor instructions on troubleshooting the problem. The Danby representative said I should have directly asked how to fix it. I said that help should have been offered when I described the problem. I don't know what else to do! That's why I called in the first place. Danby does not care about you once the sale is made.
Conclusion: Danby does not design good products and Danby does not help or care if there is a problem with your washer.
To my disgust I also own a Danby apartment dryer and can't wait for something to go wrong with it. Thankfully I almost purchased a Danby air conditioner but stopped at the last moment. You sure get what you pay for with Danby. A terrible product with matching terrible service. If you purchase a Danby washer don't complain that you were not warned!
Customer Review: Made me sane again
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't normally write reviews, but I had to for this washer.
I live in an apartment, and as a first time apt dweller I learned that you have to go to the laundromat way too often when you don't have access to a washing machine. Each week I was spending at least $10 to wash clothes in a nasty laundromat while I sat around and waited forever and protected my clothes. It was both miserable and a huge waste of my time. So I decided that something must be done. I originally planned to get a regular washer and hook up to my kitchen sink somehow (it can be done), but then realized that might be a little trickier than it had to be.
After some research, I found the Danby portable. I was attracted to it immediately, but needed to make sure that it was going to be a good machine.
I had to drive a 6 hr round trip to get it; it wouldn't fit in my car, so I had them unpack it and jam it in. Then once I got back late at night, I carried it up to the 2nd floor MYSELF and set it up. I triumphantly washed a load and almost cried from happiness.
The set up is straight forward, you just have to fiddle with the aerator and make sure you get the hoses in the right place etc. If you don't have 2 facuets you'll have to switch temps in the middle of a load, so I just wash everything on hot.
It has made my life much happier and easier. I have clean clothes and can fit quite a bit in a load. I don't over do it though because I really don't want it to break.
My only complaint is that the hose leaks in the back on occasion, but I've tightened it several times and it doesn't leak anymore.
My advice? Buy it, use it, love it. But make sure you're home when you run it so that you don't potentially come back to a Noah's ark situation.
Customer Review: Wonderful in tight spaces or little resources
Summary: 5 Stars
This is another Danby purchase I would do again.
Something I should point out that I forgot to in my review of the Danby countertop dishwasher is the kitchen/bathroom sink adapter Is The Same as the washer. So one adapter for both on the sink side!
I was able to buy one of these in Mexico, unlike the dishwasher. Good thing, because it weighs more than the dishwasher. I had it delivered. I started out using it with the sink adapter. Then I moved out of an apartment and into a house, and hooked it up with regular washer hose. (Got hot water by attaching the hose to the bottom of the water heater).
Unlike the dishwasher, the unit is very quiet. I had no "walking" while in the spin cycle when I had it on casters. I just bought a rolling plant stand instead of the Danby casters.
Sure the stainless tub (dishwasher has a stainless tub too) is smaller than today's "normal" washer. Reminds me of the amount of clothing a washer from 60 years ago could do.
Like the dishwasher, all mechanical controls, no electronics. Again, very light on resources like water and power needs. Really does what they say it will. Make sure you don't let the drain hose come out of the sink. The fresh water will keep filling, and going right out the drain hose on to the floor.
I dropped using a laundry service after my co-author Gudrun showed me the miracle of micro-fiber. Great fabric choice for any road warrior, and I was afraid the local service wouldn't know to say, not use fabric softener on my clothing.
This unit is GREAT on my micro-fiber fabrics using the economy cycle with the gentle button turned on. Yet it can do my heavy cotton robe or quilt cover in regular mode.
A fantastic buy.
Customer Review: Disposable Washing Machine
Summary: 2 Stars
My husband and I bought the Danby portable washer as a Christmas gift to ourselves. We live in Brooklyn, NY and with a 5 month old baby at the time, were doing massive amounts of laundry. At first, we LOVED it. Such a relief not going back and forth to the Laundromat. It was quiet and got the clothes clean. We were very careful about not overloading it or using too much soap and we were happy.
Around 11 months after we bought it, we started hearing a banging noise during the spin cycle. Unfortunately, that was also at a time of sleep deprivation and illness and it took a while to get a repair estimate. When my husband told the woman at the repair shop this, she laughed and said that it seemed all Danby products broke after one year! HaHA, ha... Funny. Which by the way, the ONLY shop in NYC that repairs Danby machines charges an $85 non-refundable diagnostic fee.
We paid the $85 and he told us it was the transmission, and that between the cost of the diagnostic fee, the part and the labor, it would probably cost more than the cost of a new machine to fix it. He said sometimes, Danby would cover the cost of the part when it's so close to the warrantee cut off. If Danby wouldn't cover it for us, they would let us know before they ordered it so we could decide to go forward or not. I got a message the part was on the way and assumed that Danby would cover it. Two and a half months later the part makes it to Brooklyn and the repair place has no memory of that conversation and we are responsible for the part.
NOT worth it unless you don't mind buying a new machine every year.
Customer Review: Horrible, Danby Portable, LEAKS BAD
Summary: 1 Stars
Well, I must have gotten a LEMON, because this washer leaks everytime, if you want flooded floors each time you launder, this ones for you! Leaks around the cord coming out of the mcahine, leaks underneathe constantly during washing cycle. I have towels around it and a mop to keep wiping up, so neighbor below doesn't get their ceiling wet. Knob to raise and lower wheels fell off and won't go back on, so now I can't even move it to the sink to use it at all. The agitator knotted the clothes and towels, sheets up around it as it moves and shoves them up out of the water, so they are not even getting washed. The only good thing about it is the size and it looks cute, sitting there, but I do not need a usless piece of crap to just sit there to stack things on, for that is all this washer is good for. I was so excited to buy this and it was a hassel to get it up 5 flights, I was estatic to start using it, and the first time, water leaking all under it, clothes out of water climbing up the agitator, knob falls off to roll it and will not go back on. I only attempted to use it 4 times. A horibble, nightmare of a machine. Now it just sits there with kitchen stuff stacked on it, can't deal with paying someone to take it back down my 5 flights to junk it, no room with this in here to buy another brand. The cost of having a repair man out to fix it, was almost just as much as buying another different brand. DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE. I don't know how the other reviewers GOT LUCKY, but this is the same exact machine I bought and it is not worth one dollar.