First impressions

I just got this washer today, so this might not be a completely objective review; I will update immediately if there are any new occurances with it. Unpacking it was easy, and there were minimal things to be done to complete and install it. You have to screw in some sort of screen to the bottom which is supposed to muffle the sound of the washer. The pre-drilled holes are way too small for the screws, but they fit in about 1/3 of the way each, so it stayed in place. It then tells you to install the sink adaptor, which I have to admit wasn't a problem for me, but that's only because I already own a Haier dishwasher and they turn out to use the exact same adaptor, so mine was already installed. The u-shape drain hose is one of Haier's hallmarks, and didn't surprise me, though it didn't exactly delight me either. The only way I've found to combat this is to push the washer right up against the hose to prevent movement.

The first problem was when I was reading through the manual and it told me to install the lint filter, that it was a functional part of the washer. It said it should be in with the user's manual. It wasn't in there. I tore the box back apart, dug through all the styrofoam, and, nothing. I called Haier and they were very responsive, only because I had my receipt in hand still, because it was still taped to the packing box. They arranged for a serviceman to come "between the hours of 12 and 5" on Monday. *Their* product is defective and *I* have to stay at home for five hours?

But then as I was finishing the rest of the installation, I realized that the lint filter was *already* installed. They'd put it in at the factory and hadn't changed the manual. Beautiful.

I hooked it up to the sink, put some detergent in, selected a cycle and waited. Lo and behold, leakage, as seems to be the norm with this product. It did take water in, but it was leaking *everywhere*. I was putting towels on the floor, then putting them into the washer to be washed after they got soaked. I finally realized (three towels later) that it was because I hadn't tightened the water intake valve enough, and the leaking stopped 99%. If you turn the water up too high, it will still leak a little bit, but you shouldn't have it up that high anyway.

It does hold a lot more clothes than I thought it would. Not quite as many as a full size washer like Mom's, but about 80% as much. I washed two pairs of jeans, at least five shirts, some socks, and at least two towels in one load, and the "medium" setting was more than sufficient for it.

It wasn't as "portable" as I'd pictured it being. It does have handles, but there are no wheels and it is pretty heavy. I'm not the strongest person in the world, but I do lift at the gym three times a week, and I still felt like I was going to break my back moving it fifteen feet from the living room to the kitchen. I'd pictured myself moving it from a closet to the sink for laundry day once a week or so, but now I'm sure I need to hook an adaptor up in the bathroom and keep it stationary in the hallway; there's no way I can move it that often.
The bottom line, though, is after about an hour of troubleshooting, I got it working, and washed my first load of clothes, and they came out just fine.