your wachine machine?

[etccarmageddon]

hi my friends!

i'd appreciate any feedback re either your wachine machine or washer/dryer.

I'm about to buy one in a couple of weeks (probably washine machine) and have been looking everywhere, which magazine, online forums, reviews etc, and am heathily cynical! I am looking for a machine which will give me good results. Ive gone off Which mag before, and have little faith, and am looking for the following:

1. Good wash i.e doesnt leave white streaks like my zanussi and good at getting doggy/cat hairs and slobber off my clothes!

2. has a high spin as possible (we currently have 1250 spin and it doesnt quite leave the clothes dry so are thinking in the region of 1400).

3. We'll be paying for a 5 year warranty unless it comes free!

Please be honest, and if you recommend something, please be explicit!

We've looked at £300 machines and above and even less! - mostly Bosch and a couple of Miele machines. My main concern is that people say such and such machine is brilliantly reliable but then when you use it you find the wash quality is below par - which is what happened with our Zannusi purchased because of the "which" recommendation which left us with the opinion that Which write ups are irrelevant!

So please let me know what yours is or has been and what you think of it in terms of wash, quality, reliablility and dryness of the clothes when it's done a wash.

thanks in advance.

[Paul K]

Can have a read through here
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=3540
I know there are a few threads about that discuss the pros and cons of washing machines etc.

[etccarmageddon]

Can have a read through here
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=3540
I know there are a few threads about that discuss the pros and cons of washing machines etc.

cheers - already been there but not enough actual info on what people use and what the true wash performance is. e.g. I keep hearing Miele are the best but if I get one it might turn out to be 100% reliable but average wash! so I want to know actual experiences.

[Shaun]

We have an Indesit (WIDL126S) and its great, had it about about 6 months and its never missed a beat.

Available for £314.99 from a store on kelkoo :
http://householdappliances.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/sbs/146601/11224459.html

It's a condensing washer dryer, perhaps not exactly what you're looking for but we've found it a god send. The wash is brilliant even on the flash wash (30 min) and the tumble takes ALOT less time than our separate tumble dryer used to take. Has a 1200 spin which I find sufficient, however it also has a reduced spin option for delicates.

'A' wash and 'B' energy rated
Daily wash
Washes and dries a 4 kg load straight through
Extra economy time 4U and sports programmes
Soak and rain wash action
5 kg load
Dimensions H 85 x W 59.5 x D 53.5 cm.

On the whole we find it a great machine, cant say thats Indesit on the whole as we've only ever had this one.

Hope this helps.

[Monster Jedi]

Zanussi electronic with 1600 spin best washer me and dragon jedi have ever bought

[Gareth]

We've got a Candy DoubleQuick 1500 washer/dryer. Came at about £300 from Asda about 18 months ago.

I think it's OK (to be honest, the washing and stuff is the wifey's domain) but nothing brilliant. The washing performance is fine for everyday stuff, but if you're filthier than the average family then it may not be up to your needs.

The tumble dryer load is about ½ the size of the washing machine, which I think is a bit of a pain in the arse, but apparently that's normal :shrug:

[etccarmageddon]

come on guys, this is a test, the other half reckons she can get more response off ' dog pages.org.uk. so dont let me down!

[paulyoung666]

hotpoint WMA76 , 2 years old and going strong , used everyday at least twice ( 2 kids ) , as paul touches wood furiously :D :D :D


edit --- and you can still buy (http://www.find-electricalgoods.co.uk/Washing-and-Drying/Washing-Machines/Hotpoint-WMA76P.htm) them , got to be a good recommdation :erm: :D :D :D
edit 2 --- spin it twice and the clothes are more or less dry , no need for a tumble dryer ;)

[carlingman]

Dont know what model mine is.

Looks a bit like a wicker type basket and I just throw me clothes in there.

About two days later they appear perfectly dry and on hangers in the airing cupboard.

I think its called Julie and its priceless.

:D

Now back to the real thread we have Creda 1000 Supaspeed which washes well and is basic about 8 years old and never failed and up to now has had one replacement door.

Good range of settings for half loads/deep wash/crease care etc and enrgy save as well bought from Currys and has up to now been pretty faultless.

:D

[etccarmageddon]

thanks for the feedback chaps - all information is welcome!
just discovered Siemens were offering 5 year free waranty but offer ended on 1st April!

[Paulie]

We have a Bosch WFF 2001 washing machine. Had it for a long time (when 1000 rpm spin speed was the highest) and has never let us down. Washes well too.

Dryer is a Bosch WTA 3100. Got at the same time and has never let us down either.

If you can, get a seperate washing machine and dryer.

[SMHarman]

Bosch - the links below would be to the most comparable products - mine are about 2.5 years old now. Highly recommended (and stackable).

The 1400 and 1600 rpm spins are probably a lot more affordable these days, but then the 1200 was a good compromise between price and ability.

The dryer does a great job with dog hair. The washer gets everything clean. It also has a good gentle wool wash, so handwashing in this house does not happen.

http://www.boschappliances.co.uk/productdetail.asp?type=HL&cat=Washing+Machines&grp=Exxcel&product_ref=WFX%202467

http://www.boschappliances.co.uk/productdetail.asp?type=HL&cat=Dryers&grp=Logixx&product_ref=WTA%204408

[Halcyon]

A Wachine machine !?!!?!?!
Not got one of those.

But I do have a washing machine. Hotpoint.
Not had any problems.

[daxx]

Hotpoint seperates and stackable, 5 yrs old and no problems cant remember model # but it's got a curvy pattern around the top end

[ian@huth]

hotpoint WMA76 , 2 years old and going strong , used everyday at least twice ( 2 kids ) , as paul touches wood furiously :D :D :D


edit --- and you can still buy (http://www.find-electricalgoods.co.uk/Washing-and-Drying/Washing-Machines/Hotpoint-WMA76P.htm) them , got to be a good recommdation :erm: :D :D :D
edit 2 --- spin it twice and the clothes are more or less dry , no need for a tumble dryer ;)We have one of those too. Wife likes Hotpoints as overall time for a load is lower than many brands. The only grumble she has is the programme she uses most has the slower spin speed and she has to stop it when it gets to spin and reselect the 1400 spin speed. Time remaining shown on the display is handy.

We have a small Creda tumble dryer which we bought secondhand thirty years ago and it's still going strong. Had to replace the drive belt about ten years ago but that only cost a couple of pounds from the local electrical shop bargain bin.

[andygrif]

1. Good wash i.e doesnt leave white streaks like my zanussi and good at getting doggy/cat hairs and slobber off my clothes!

The streaks sound like your washing powder. Have you tried any of washing liquids instead? Hair removal is best carried out by those lint roller things, or wrap some sellotape round your hand (sticky side out obviously) and dab them off.



2. has a high spin as possible (we currently have 1250 spin and it doesnt quite leave the clothes dry so are thinking in the region of 1400).

The chap who sold us ours (in John Lewis) said he didn't think spin speed made that much difference over 1000 rpm. So we bought the cheaper machine with the slower spin speed!


3. We'll be paying for a 5 year warranty unless it comes free!


Miele at John Lewis. Shop around for the best price, then get JL to match it. You can't beat them for things like washers.

I know the Miele machines are much more expensive, but you're buying a machine that will last you ten years plus. Something like the Bosch or Siemens is a mid-range machine and the rest is short term fodder. You gets what you pays for, but the Miele is a better bet as it should last twice as long as the lightweights, but is maybe only 50% more for the lower end ones.

Oh, one word of advice if you do pick a Miele...don't try and move it on your own!!

We bought our Miele two years ago, not a problem of any sort since and it's still soooo quiet compared the Hoover it replaced. It also has a clever end of cycle setting which rotates the drum one rev every few seconds to keep the clothes from going stale before you remove them from the machine.

[zoombini]

We have a whirlpool, horrible rubbish - never again.

Hotpoint, had them before & will again, very reliable.

From information given by repairers of them, the Bosch ones are the top ones for reliability etc.
Proberably a you get what you pay for, they cost more to start but proberably have better parts in?

[Ramrod]

We use a Miele, very happy with it.
You might want to consider a Dyson...they look interesting :)

[SMHarman]

Large though - and stickyouty - they do not fit in to the space of a traditional washing machine elegantly.
They also got no better ratings by Which? and worse reliability.

[zoombini]

And besides, if any kids come into the kitchen they will rebuild it into a race car. :D

[iadom]

You do need to do a bit of research, these days you cannot be sure of what you are actually getting. Indesit and Candy are both at the lower end of the quality/ reliabilty section but it is sad to say that Candy have owned Hoover for almost 8 years and Indesit ( Merloni as was ) have a controlling stake in Hotpoint. Of the Italian machines the Zanussi/Bendix/Electrolux ( all the same machine and owned by Electrolux ) are the most reliable but do have expensive spares. With regard to the German machines and in particular the Bosch ( part of Siemens ) appliances you need to make sure of the place of manufacture. A large amount of the Bosch washers / dryers etc are in fact produced in Portugal & Spain, also some are even imported from Goa ! . Check the label and if it says made in the EU then it is almost certainly not German made and will be an inferior product, also if it is under £300 the chances are it is one of these machines. Most of the major German appliances are well made and reliable but do not represent value for money once you pay over £400. This includes Siemens, AEG, Meile etc.
Servis are a cheap imported machine and do not have a good record for reliabilty.
It really boils down to what you want to pay. If you want a decent all round appliance then Hotpoint/Hoover/Zanussi. If you want a more upmarket machine then any German machine around the £400 mark is fine.
Do you want a Ford/Vauxhall or a BMW/Audi ? I have left Mercedes out because their quality leaves a lot to be desired these days.

Machines such as LG ( Korean ) and BEKO ( Turkish ) have not been on the market long enough, but lack of proper service back up meaning you have to rely on 'in house' service agents could be a problem.

PS. Rumours in the trade say that the Chinese are coming, however 20 years ago the same thing was said about the Japanese.;)

Dyson. Ugly. horrible, overpriced. to big for most modern kitchens.

Have a look at the public section at www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk (http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk) you will soon get a feel for what to avoid.

[etccarmageddon]

cheers - the best buy at the moment appears to be the bosch classic 1400 which for some reason is marked down in price at comet and john lewis and is going for £300. it's out of stock in john lewis and we also see lower spin bosch models going for more money!

http://www.johnlewis.com/Shopping/Product.aspx?ARA=Electrical&CAT=Washing+Machines&SCT=Washing+Machines&PRT=Washing+Machines&Type=SKU&Id=230196577

free delivery at john lewis is also a plus!

we have considered a miele as they are coming with a 5 year warranty but we tend to move house every 2-3 years and therefore it's a pain moving something big and expensive.

before I posted this thread I told her indoors we'd get lots of good help and sure enough we havent been let down. :)

we were tempted to get this baby which I have found at around £430 but a lot of reviews rubbish the service provided by AEG as they are poor at responding and dont keep to their promise of quick repairs.

http://www.johnlewis.com/Shopping/Product.aspx?ARA=Electrical&CAT=Washer+Dryers&SCT=Washer+Dryer&PRT=Washer+Dryers&Type=SKU&Id=230204198

[iadom]

Be sure to check the origin of the Bosch machine, the Portugese/ Spanish produced machines are not as reliable as the German made ones and Bosch spares can be expensive. If it does not say 'Made in Germany' on it then I would advise a Hotpoint of a similar price, all hotpoint machines have had a 5 year parts g/tee for over 20 years now, spares are also much easier to obtain.

[etccarmageddon]

cheers - I didnt know hotpoint gave 5 year guarantees!

[paulyoung666]

cheers - I didnt know hotpoint gave 5 year guarantees!


on parts , but you need to use an approved hotpoint repair company :)

[etccarmageddon]

yeah! :( not even bought one yet and we're already talking about how I'm gonna get it fixed!

[Seti]

I use hotpoint. Dont' ask what model cos I am a girl and forget things like that but it hasn't let me down yet. *Sian touches wood* It's two years old and washs fabulously. Takes dog hair St Bernard slobber and stuff off clithes. Shame the ST Bernard doesn't fit it in though J/K

Sian

[SMHarman]

Shame the ST Bernard doesn't fit it in though J/K

Sian
I was thinking the same - shame Dyson don't make a walk in dog vac - remove the loose hair from the dog not everything it sheds on.

[Salu]

I was thinking the same - shame Dyson don't make a walk in dog vac - remove the loose hair from the dog not everything it sheds on.

I think Rover may make one of those? ;)

[Millay]

Im fortunate to have never had to by a washing machine, two of the poeple I share my house with are invloved in the building industry, so we tend to get a steady stream of second hand white goods going through our dootr, currently we have a zanussi 1200 Turbo, its a crackign washing machine about 10 yeatrs old, but just soldiers on...

Good luck always scares me thinking of buying washing machines as they are so expensive and people always have horror stories..

[andygrif]

cheers - I didnt know hotpoint gave 5 year guarantees!

Do bear in mind that they will only provide the parts if their repair bods carry out the work. As their own repairers are likely to cost twice the amount of the little chap up the road you might find a 5 year parts warranty a bit of a false economy.

[ian@huth]

Do bear in mind that they will only provide the parts if their repair bods carry out the work. As their own repairers are likely to cost twice the amount of the little chap up the road you might find a 5 year parts warranty a bit of a false economy.We have a cooker with a five year parts warranty. When the fan element went I rang up the warranty company (Expert Appliance Care) I was quoted £45 for the call out and first 20 minutes work. Shortly after I got a call back from them saying that they had got the price wrong. Quizzing them on this they said that the £45 was for customers who had bought through Iceland and a couple of other places (didn't know Iceland sold cookers?) and that the price should be £75.95. It only took me ten minutes to fit the new £25 element.

[iadom]

Good luck always scares me thinking of buying washing machines as they are so expensive and people always have horror stories..

The cost of the average washing machine, and most other white goods for that matter is around the same or even less than 10 years ago.
__________________

Do bear in mind that they will only provide the parts if their repair bods carry out the work. As their own repairers are likely to cost twice the amount of the little chap up the road you might find a 5 year parts warranty a bit of a false economy.

Hotpoints labour charge is currently just over £89.:sh ocked: I do a large part of my work on Hotpoint machines and 75% of the time it is far cheaper for me to do the repair, I only use genuine spares and having worked for Hotpoint many years ago and with 37 years experience in the trade there is no way anyone from Hotpoint would be able to tell who actually last repaired the machine, this prevents the customers g/tee from being compromised by pattern spares or the local cowboys shoddy work. If I go to a 12 month to 5 year old machine and it requires a major repair I always refer them back to Hotpoint. On the odd occasion a customer will insist that I carry out the repair if the cost differential is not much above Hotpoint's repair charge. I am glad to say that most of my customers have more faith in me than the manufacturers own engineers.

[SMHarman]

I am glad to say that most of my customers have more faith in me than the manufacturers own engineers.Thats down to an ownership of the problem. As a smaller repair outfit you cannot shirk responsibility if the problem is still there after etc.
Thats why I have great faith in my washing machine repair guy - not that I have spoken to him in a while.

[etccarmageddon]

eventually purchased a Bosch from the co-op online as they are a mighty load cheaper than anywhere else.

http://www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk/products/ProductList.asp?qtype=2&brandCode=BOSCH&groupCode=LDWMCH&topGroupCode=LAUND

the Bosch excel 1600 model which is £490 in Argos is £402 here!

[SMHarman]

That is because technically it has been superseded with this
http://www.qed-uk.com/?i=12qnTf0IwFaw&vp=6&bg=001&bp=wfx32684&bi=0
As a Bosch WM owner, I sure it will be a good purchase though and I bet the differences in the new model are inperceptable.

[etccarmageddon]

I thought it might be a discontinued one! looks like I was right.



I've found the WFX 3268 here for £424 which is roughly the same as the co-op for the 3267 when you allow for the delivery charge of £20 at the co-op.

http://www.rtd.uk.com/bosch.asp

[etccarmageddon]

In the end I decided to upgrade to the top of the range Bosch Logixx 1600 for £500 from the Co-Op which was £640 at Currys! I originally intended to get a cheap Hotpoint but have always fancied either a Bosch or a Miele.

Very impressed by the cleanliness of the dog's sheets it washed - unlike my previous machine (a Zanussi), all the stains have been removed.