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DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Controls

  • Interior

  • Sides

  • Back

  • Speed & Performance Overview

  • Normal Cycle Performance

  • Delicates Cycle Performance

  • Bulky Cycle Performance

  • Quick Dry Cycle Performance

  • Dry Cycles

  • Customization

  • Additional Drying Options

  • Controls

  • Door

  • Lint Trap

  • Conclusion

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Controls
  • Interior
  • Sides
  • Back
  • Speed & Performance Overview
  • Normal Cycle Performance
  • Delicates Cycle Performance
  • Bulky Cycle Performance
  • Quick Dry Cycle Performance
  • Dry Cycles
  • Customization
  • Additional Drying Options
  • Controls
  • Door
  • Lint Trap
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Front

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This stackable white enamel dryer uses stainless steel trimming on the door and cycle knob to add some pizzazz to an appliance that is otherwise unremarkable in appearance. The control panel has a gray background that makes reading the buttons quite easy, while the small screen displays both the volume of the dryer's signal bell and the estimated time remaining in a cycle.

Controls

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Interior

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The interior drum looks very spacious, and its stainless steel finish means it will hold up better over time. Unlike enamel drums, it won't rust or discolor after prolonged use.

The interior of the CDWT980VSS.

Despite this machine's impressively spacious interior, the lint trap is surprisingly small. The wire mesh is unusually rough, and it can be quite unruly when putting it back into place. Compared to every other facet of this machine, it undoubtedly felt lower in quality.

Sides

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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS side views

Back

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Speed & Performance Overview

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Cycles times weren't anything remarkable with the {{product.brand.name}}, which ran just over an hour for our Normal, Delicate, and Bulky tests, and about 27 minutes for the Quick Dry. These are textbook cycle durations, taking just as long as any other average dryer. What makes this machine pretty darn impressive, though, is its range of temperature control. Normal and Speed Dry cycles got very warm, warmer than we usually see. Temperatures that high are usually indicative of a machine that will over dry clothing, but that's not the case here. Delicate and Bulky loads were surprisingly cool, and still offered very effective levels of moisture removal.

Normal Cycle Performance

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With a scorching maximum temperature of 169 degrees Fahrenheit, we were a bit surprised that it still took this dryer just over an hour to finish. No doubts here, though: clothes were dry. Despite the very high heat, our test materials didn't seem to be over dried, a pleasant little twist to the cycle's end result.

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Delicates Cycle Performance

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Quite a few dryers that get exceptionally hot for their Normal cycles have a problem with delicates: they overdo it, reaching temperatures that can speed up the natural wear and tear of sensitive fabrics. This {{product.brand.name}}, however, got our test materials to 97 percent of their bone dry weight in a little over an hour, with temperatures peaking at only 112 degrees Fahrenheit. That temperature is perfect for delicates, effectively removing moisture while remaining gentle on clothing.

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Bulky Cycle Performance

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Many of the dryers we test don't even come close to removing even half of the moisture added to our test comforter. As such, getting our bulky item down to 82 percent of its bone dry weight is definitely an achievement worth boasting about, and one which this {{product.brand.name}} can lay claim to. The cycle averaged about an hour between our two test loads, and its effectiveness is even more impressive when you consider the fact that temperatures maxed out at just 117 degrees. It's not perfect, but going in to shift your bulky item around a bit should be enough to get rid of that remaining moisture.

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Quick Dry Cycle Performance

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Also nailing the 100 percent dryness mark, the {{product.brand.name}}'s Speed Dry cycle got our half load just as dry as the Normal setting in only 27 minutes and peaking at 149 degrees. Many quick cycles fail to get all the water out, or can't reach effective levels of heat within the short time. Not so here—if you're drying a smaller load, this is absolutely the cycle to use.

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Dry Cycles

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Matching the subtle visual touches that add a small amount of personality to this traditional dryer, eleven customized cycles cover all the basics with just a little bit of extra variety thrown in. The five basic loads offer the traditional settings from Normal to Bulky without cluttering up the selections, while the remaining options provide quick-dry and unheated cycles, as well as one that takes advantage of the machine's steam capability. The Time Dry feature runs from 10 minutes to two hours, available in ten minute increments, and the My Cycle feature allows you to save a customized cycle of your very own.

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Customization

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The {{product.brand.name}} offers four different dryness and temperature settings. Preset cycles will only let you choose among the ones that make sense for each particular load—you can only choose between Low and Extra Low heat for Delicate loads, for example. Steam Dewrinkle, Warm Up, and Air Fluff settings also allow you to adjust the time; with the exception of Steam Dewrinkle, which can be selected down to the minute within a range of 20 to 40, they also adjust in 10 minute increments.

Additional Drying Options

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This machine offers a modest list of extra drying features, just enough to provide a reasonable level of customization without overdoing it. There is an extended tumble feature to prevent wrinkling, a Delay Dry button that tells the dryer to start working up to 18 hours later in single hour increments, and a child lock that will keep any curious members of the household from changing settings once the machine has started.

This machine also comes with an e-Dry setting. GE claims that this will reduce the total energy consumption for certain preset cycles at the cost of lengthier drying times. That may seem counter intuitive, but it's not actually a cycle's duration that determines how much energy is used, but the overall heat. E-Dry is meant to use cooler heat over longer periods of time, thus cutting down on the overall energy consumption.

Controls

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The cycle knob is easy to grip and turns quite smoothly, while still offering a satisfying nudge to indicate when you move from one cycle to another. It's a fairly sizable knob, though, and it can be somewhat difficult to see when the lowest cycles are activated. The fact that the Time Dry indicator light stays on when Steam Dewrinkle, Warm Up, and Air Fluff are selected (to let you know that those are the cycles with adjustable durations) is a nice touch, but can add to the confusion until you're used to it. All other features are very intuitive, and labels are of a reasonable size that, any smaller, might have been difficult to read. The only gripe we had was with the cycle alteration: it only moves from shorter times to longer, and if you miss your desired time, you have go scroll through all the options again. This isn't always a big issue, but the large number of times available make it a bit of a pain with this machine.

Door

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The stainless door is comfortable to grip, and the large handle indentation means you shouldn't have any problem reaching it regardless of whether you want to stack this machine or not. It's easy to close, and doesn't require all that much force to open or shut.

The interior of the CDWT980VSS.

Lint Trap

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Despite this machine's impressively spacious interior, the lint trap is surprisingly small. The wire mesh is unusually rough, and it can be quite unruly when putting it back into place. Compared to every other facet of this machine, it undoubtedly felt lower in quality.

Conclusion

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Appearances can be deceiving, even in the world of laundry appliances. The {{product.name}} is a very unassuming machine, despite it's slightly larger-than-average dimensions. The visual aesthetic is similar to all the other middle-of-the-road dryers that cross our threshold, and the list of cycles and features isn't anything to drool over. In fact, we were disappointed that there's only one feature—the Steam Dewrinkle cycle—that specifically takes advantage of its water hookup. And yet, this rather bland-looking dryer more than demonstrated its worth when it came to effective performance. All our tests produced results that were nearly devoid of excess moisture entirely, including the frequently finicky Bulky load. We've had dryers do that before, but the temperature range displayed by these cycles was more varied and comprehensive than almost any other machine we've tested. Normal and Speed Dry got quite hot, and yet didn't result in over drying. Delicate and Bulky test stayed just as cool as it should to prevent excessive wear or fading on sensitive fabrics. We almost never see that degree of heat and level of temperature restraint in the same machine, making this an unusually effective and sensitive dryer. The {{product.brand.name}}'s MSRP is only $1099, as well, meaning you can get this subtle device for a reasonable price. In fact, a little bit of internet hunting produces sale rates as low as $742, so there really isn't any reason to go out of your way for this machine.

Meet the tester

Matthew Zahnzinger

Matthew Zahnzinger

Logistics Manager & Staff Writer

@ReviewedHome

Matthew is a native of Brockton, MA and a graduate of Northeastern, where he earned a degree in English and Theatre. He has also studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and spends most of his free time pursuing a performance career in the greater Boston area.

See all of Matthew Zahnzinger's reviews

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