Whirlpool Fabric Freshener

• Removes odors such as tobacco smoke or cooking odors, using only steam, to save you on trips to the dry cleaners
• Relaxes wrinkles using a hands-free, immersive steam environment to bring clothes back to their ready-to-wear state in just over half an hour
• Gentle on your clothes, using only water and avoids the use of chemicals or detergents
• Selecting among Heavy Duty, Normal or Delicate cycles is easy - just fill the cycle cup with distilled water to the desired level
• The 30 minute cycle time allows you to freshen two garments at once - just hang and go!

I read about this in the SkyMall catologue and when I checked in to the Marriott hotel, suprisingly there was one in my room. There was also a survey card near it so I think they''re testing it out at hotels. For someone who travels about 80-90% of the year, and only spends weekends at home, this machine is great! I completely took any scent or odor out of my clothes, including perfume or food smells, and in addition, took out about 95% of the wrinkles. This machine is great for someone like me who is a busy professional that can never make it to the dry cleaners on time to pick up my clothes before they close, and many times, i just need the odor and wrinkles taken out. I had a shirt with a stain on it and I cleaned it with my shout wipe and stuck it in the Fabric Freshener and my shirt came out wrinkle and spot free and fresh. It cleans 2 garments at a time and the total cycle time is right around 30 minutes. You literally just put your clothes in, fill in the cup with water, zip up the bag, press the button and go watch tv or whatnots, and by the time your show is done, so is your clothes.

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This would be a five-star item, were it not for one serious flaw. It comes with heavy clips, a.k.a. Tension Weights, much like heavy, giant bag clips, which you can attach to the bottom of a shirt, or pants, to help straighten out the wrinkles. You know the wrinkles that stretch horizontally across the back of a shirt after it''s been worn? These clips are great for helping get rid of that. HOWEVER, the clips that came with my Fabric Freshener could not withstand the heat and fell apart after a few uses. If only Whirlpool would redesign these clips, which are made mostly of a soft plastic which starts to warp in a critical place, where plastic tabs grab the axle about which the clip pivots. In the meantime, I''m looking for a substitute. Pants hangers with the bars that clip onto the bottom of the pants legs are a start. They work with shirts, but they are too big for pants because the pants hang too close to the bottom of the appliance.

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For about 8 months, this thing was a lifesaver. Not as good as a good ironing, not as clean as dry cleaning, but I could dress professionally every day of the week, thanks to this contraption. As I was using it heavily (ave. 2-4 cycles per week) I kept up religiously with suggested maintenance, but alas one day, it would no longer take water for the steam cycle and was rendered useless overnight. I''ve ordered a new one hoping (possibly naively) this is a fluke but this otherwise 5-star product is downgraded owing to it''s (in my opinion) way-too-early demise.

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I bought my freshener in February 2007. My intention in buying it was to be able to treat my dry clean clothes at home and get more wearings out of them before having to send them to the cleaners. It has definitely performed well in that area. It does a good job on business-type jackets, pants, and dresses. Linen doesn''t always come out as wrinkle-free as I would like, but it''s typically good enough for at least one more wearing. I haven''t had much luck with shirts or blouses. Prior to buying the FF, I used Dryel in my dryer. I''ve definitely been happier with this since it uses only water, you''re not left with that unique (and strong) Dryel smell. Also with Dryel, if you didn''t get the clothes out as soon as the dryer finished, they''d look worse than when they went into the bag. If you forget about the items after the FF finishes, it''s not a big deal since they''re hanging up already. Still, I want to make it clear that it''s intended to freshen the clothes, not replace the dry cleaner. In other words if you''re expecting that machine from The Jetsons where you throw the dirty shirt in and get a clean pressed shirt out, you will be disappointed.

Now, the reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because I''m on my second one. I used it for nine months before deciding to put it through the vinegar cleaning cycle. I had read in several places online that many of them stopped working after that, so I had put it off instead of doing it every six months as directed. I ran it through and sure enough it stopped taking in water to create steam after that. We won''t even go into how steamed vinegar made everything around it smell. I tried cleaning it out and using a shop vacuum thinking it was clogged with no luck.

I decided to call the Whirlpool support number that came with it even though it was long past the limited warranty period. I got a voice mail and left a message with my name, phone number, and serial number. Based on everything I''d read, I expected to get either no response or an unhelpful one. I was pleasantly surprised when my call was returned within 20 minutes, and the representative offered right off the bat to ship me a brand new one. She let me know that this was a one time replacement and to not do the vinegar cleaning cycle, even though the manual called for it. She said as long as I only used distilled water it would be fine. The new one arrived about a week later, and I''m now back in business. UPS should be picking up the old one today. I shipped both vinegar cups back with it.

One more point for my review after the first one broke and I was debating what to do about it, I decided to run a report in Quicken to see how much I''d spent on dry cleaning to see if it really did save me any money. From March to November of this year, I spend almost $400 on dry cleaning. During the same period in 2006, I spent nearly $1000. That''s what made me decide to call the help phone number. Even if they hadn''t done anything to help me, I would have replaced it, since it essentially paid for itself in three months.

Or you will end up with a dead unit like so many other people.

This is a known flaw at Whirlpool but instead proactively informing people of that, they only do when you call to complain.

This is a 5-star unit when it works. Using this, a Kent fabric brush and a little spot cleaning I was able to eliminate my dry cleaning. I was also able to reduce my ironing. This product does not eliminate ironing as many folks are mistaken in believing.

But the Fabric Freshener also has a serious design flaw that is known by Whirlpool. I was told they are in the process of printing correct manuals (this product has been on the market for at least 3 years now). For this, they should get negative stars. And it took many, many phone calls and emails, ultimately escalating to their executive office to get an answer as to why my unit stopped steaming.

I was told that the cups have a "water softener" built into them (little beads) that migrate into the system. In the presence of vinegar, these beads swell up and clog the unit, thus preventing it from steaming.

The rep said this why they recommend changing the cups every six months (but this in no way will prevent the problem once you do the vinegar cleaning). They now say do not put vinegar into the unit. Well, duh. Thanks for that bit of information way too late. Again this begs the question: why on earth is this vital information is not in the product description on their website?

On the plus side they told me they would do a one time full replacement of my year old unit. On the down side, it should have been here by now.

So buyer beware: the product is really quite excellent when it works but Whirlpool has some serious ethical issues with its products, repairs and customer service. (Google Whirlpool complaints to see what I mean).

4-7-09 ETA: I got the replacement Fabric Freshener, filled up the new water cup and it did not work. It did the exact same thing as the old unit. Tried to steam then skipped right to dry. I tried again with the old water cup and it worked the first time, didn''t work the second time. This supposedly new replacement makes awful grinding noises and seems like it is well past its useful life. I don''t expect it to work consistently or for very long. The promised shipping label to return the old unit and the updated manual were both missing.

My best advice to anyone considering this as a purchase is do not waste your money on this. It is just not a good value.