Kenmore 2642272 4.5 Cu. Ft. Front Load Washer Review

The drum holds 4.5 cu. ft., a full-size family capacity: the manufacturer's listing describes it as fitting a large household load, up to 22 bath towels. A big drum means fewer loads of bedding and towels each day, and less wear on the fabrics than cramming them into a smaller machine.

Steam and sanitize

The Steam Treat option adds steam to the wash for stain treatment, and the Sanitize cycle is NSF certified under Protocol P172 with a 99.9% bacteria reduction. That is the feature that matters most in a house with a baby, an allergy sufferer or someone recovering from an illness, because it lets you wash bedding and towels at a level a normal warm cycle does not reach.

Speed when you need it

The Express cycle runs about 25 minutes for a small load, which covers a school uniform or a gym kit on a weeknight. Accela Wash shortens the main cycles, and the manufacturer's 26% faster figure is conditional: it holds for a specific load size, cycle, temperature and soil level, so treat it as a claim about one setting rather than a rule for every wash.

Flexibility

There are 12 cycles: Normal/Casual, Bulky, Heavy Duty, Whites, Towels, Sanitize, Express, Delicates, Kids Wear, Cold Clean, Clean Washer and Rinse & Spin. You also get 5 wash temperatures, 5 spin speeds, 4 soil levels, plus Extra Rinse, Extra Water, Pre Wash, Delay Start, My Cycle and Control Lock. My Cycle saves the settings you use most, so you do not have to reset your usual stain routine every time.

Efficiency

The washer is ENERGY STAR certified with an estimated 110 kWh per year, which keeps the electricity bill down over a decade of weekly washing. The steam treatment, the NSF sanitize cycle and the 12-cycle range are what make this a full-feature machine rather than a basic one.

The warranty is one year, limited, on parts and labor, with no extended motor or drum coverage stated. That is the single biggest reason to think twice: a front loader is a long-term purchase, and a repair outside that first year comes out of your pocket.

There is no Wi-Fi, no app and no smart features. If you want cycle notifications on your phone or a remote start, this machine does not have them.

The cabinet is about 34 inches deep, and roughly 55.7 inches with the door open 90 degrees. Measure the laundry room and the path to it before delivery, because this is a deep machine and it needs the room.

The spin tops out at 1,200 RPM, which is high but not the highest you can find. Clothes come out fairly dry, and a higher spin would cut drying time a little further.

Noise is worth checking before you buy: no decibel figure is published for this model. The manual notes that the cabinet can move slightly by design and that the machine reduces spin speed when a load is unbalanced, so some of what you hear is the machine protecting itself.

The washer is not ADA compliant, so it does not suit a household that needs a front loader at an accessible height without a pedestal. The box lists the instruction manual, two inlet hose screen washers, a drain hose guide and a cable tie, so confirm at purchase whether hoses come with it.

Front-loader upkeep is mandatory, not optional: a monthly Clean Washer cycle, a wiped and dried gasket, the door left ajar and a cleaned pump filter. That is the cost of owning any front loader, not a defect of this one.

These are the figures that decide whether the machine fits your home and your routine.

The 216 lb weight means two people and an appliance dolly for delivery day, and the 27-inch width is what lets it pass a standard doorway. The 10-amp draw on a dedicated 15-amp circuit is worth checking before the installer arrives, because a shared circuit will trip.

The manual allows zero clearance at the sides and top in an alcove, about 3 inches at the rear, and a closet needs roughly 2 inches at the front plus two louvered vents of about 60 square inches each. Those vents matter: a closed closet with no airflow traps heat and moisture around the machine.

With the door open 90 degrees the machine needs about 55.7 inches of depth. Measure the hallway, the laundry room door and the turn into the room before delivery, because a deep cabinet that fits the alcove can still fail to make the corner.

The washer is stackable. Stacked height is about 84 inches with a pedestal and about 52.6 inches without one. A matching dryer and a pedestal exist as accessories; check the stacking kit requirement for your setup before you order.

The drain standpipe should sit between 24 and 47.24 inches high.

Buyers on Amazon most often praise performance, and value for money and ease of use come up next. Size and customizable settings also draw positive mentions, and the large majority of ratings are four or five stars.

Noise is the one point where opinion splits, and a meaningful share of low ratings sits alongside that majority.

What that pattern means for a buyer: most people are satisfied with how the machine washes. The risk is concentrated in noise and in the occasional unit that arrives with or develops a fault.

The manual's routine is short and worth putting on a calendar. Run the Clean Washer cycle monthly with liquid chlorine bleach, wipe and dry the door gasket after the last load of the day, leave the door ajar between loads, clean the pump filter periodically (expect about a cup of water), and wipe the dispenser drawer.

Mold is a category issue for front loaders, not a defect of this machine: the rubber gasket and the horizontal drum trap moisture and lint, and a machine left closed and damp grows the smell everyone complains about. The maintenance routine above is the mitigation, and a household that skips it will notice within a year.

The display shows a short code when something stops the cycle. E30 means the door is not closed. E10 is a water fill problem. E21 means the drain is too slow. E12 signals an overflow, and EXX means call for service.

Some normal behaviors look like faults. The door locks and unlocks for about 30 seconds at the start of a cycle, the machine runs a self-check of up to two minutes the first time it is plugged in, and the spin speed drops when a load is unbalanced. None of those need a repair visit.

The same 4.5 cu. ft. front load washer also comes in a metallic silver finish as model 2642273, while the white version is model 2642272. Capacity, cycles, dimensions and warranty carry over to the silver machine, so the finish is what separates the two. Check the model number on the order to get the color you want.