We have had 4 service technicians out in the last 2 months and they say 'EVERYTHING TESTS FINE. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG". However we show them our dirty clothes. We have the smell the clothes that come out and they agree that it shouldn't be! We are stuck in a circle. Call Sears. Make appointment. Hang around for 1/2 day for the tech to show up. Tech shows up and says the same thing. What can we do to get past this? We have spent a lot of money and have a washer that doesn't do its job.

I had a problem that Sears couldn't find either. Turns out it was broken by design, but Sears didn't understand the design. This was not your problem, probably, but I'll tell you how I troubleshot it, and can offer you some diagnostic help, perhaps. I will assume you're using good soap (I use Tide Liquid HE).

My problem was that sometimes the bleach would not dispense. The "sometimes" part made troubleshooting problematic. I took off the top of the washer and just watched what was going on. The key thing is the dispensing mechanism on the left side. You can watch as a small motorized cam moves the dispenser through 4 positions: I - prewash; II - soap; III - bleach; and IV - fabric softener. Once the dispenser is positioned, water flows through the dispenser and into the tub. I eventually found that the bleach didn't dispense in the Bulky/Bedding cycle, and it turns out that that's the way it's supposed to work -- only God and Whirlpool know why.

Sears' service information database didn't have that information. Through another forum, I was led to some Whirlpool service information that goes into great detail on how the washer is supposed to work. You can download this 72-page document from https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/SrvTechAdm.nsf/2cd44500d572193285256a45004fd9d6/eab852a13fbc842085256aa200643dd6/$FILE/Duet%20Job%20Aid.pdf, and maybe get some clues. Make an extra copy for your Sears guy -- my guy lamented the lack of information that he had access to, and said that if he had had the Whirlpool document he could have told me over the phone that the washer was working as designed, saving him (and me) 4 service calls. Part 6 of this document has extensive information for diagnosing problems. I'd focus on dispenser issues.

We like our washer a lot; I'm amazed at how good a job it does on a tiny amount of water. If your water is good, and the machine is dispensing soap when it should, then the wash should smell a little bit like the soap when it's all done. If you've got bad water, or the soap doesn't smell good, or the soap isn't dispensing, those are about the only things I can think of that will cause your problem. We have found that we have to leave the door open a little when the washer isn't being used, or the washer doesn't dry out properly after a load and eventually smells like a sewer -- that's a well-known issue, easily circumvented.

Good luck...