Recomment me a washing machine!

lorebringer

In the sales we were hoping to buy a new washing machine and am currently looking for recommendations - had a goo at a Hoover but not sure if it is a good washing machine brand?! Can't stretch to a Miele or Bosch (anything over €300 is out really, more looking around the €250 mark). Any help is really appreciated!

EDIT: Just noticed the typo in title - d'oh!

Solair

I'd look at :

Beko
Zanussi
Indesit (They also make Hotpoint).

Candy and Hoover (same company) are, in my experience in renting flats, not very reliable.
Low end Whirlpool aren't made by Whirlpool and tend to be really bad at washing in my experience too.

Don't buy unheard of brands, as you may have issues with parts and service and build quality.

Also, physically look at the machine in the store for build quality. There are noticeable differences.
Check for things like, does the machine have decent drum paddles that are likely to tumble clothes etc.

JenK

Two days ago i bought a Zanussi from Powercity, €250.00. Its an 8kg load and has loads of different cycle options. One wash in and so far so good! There delivery is about €20 and they'll take your old one. I borrowed a friends jeep and took it home myself to cut down on costs.

Solair

With washing machines in particular, as they are subject to a lot of mechanical stresses, you really do tend to get what you pay for.

If you buy a Miele, Bosch / Siemens or other high-end brand, in general you get a machine with a very sturdy construction, better quality components like suspensions, motors, drum, bearings etc which will last for a long time and take quite a lot of heavy use.

If you buy a cheap machine, it will have been made at a lower cost by using cheaper components. So, that generally means less sturdy construction and a shorter life span.

However, that being said, many people will get 10 years out of a Indesit or Hotpoint without much trouble at all.

The main thing is actually physically look at the build quality in the shop. Open the drum, stick your hand in, turn it, see if it feels solid or flimsy. Check the outer casing, the door etc etc.

In general, bad build quality is very evident from a simple look visual inspection!

Also, if you do have a cheaper machine, don't expect it to wash massive loads or take a lot of abuse. If you treat it well it will last a long time. Expensive machines tend to have over-engineered components like bigger / more powerful motors that have plenty of extra power, heavy suspensions and thicker drums. If you overload the machine with towels for example, it will usually just cope with it and at worst the clothes just won't wash well.

With a cheaper machine, you might be stressing the motor and suspension to breaking point and beyond their design tolerances. So, the main thing is just treat the machine well and it will last!

borderlinemeath

Bosch washing machine €299.95 in power city sale at the minute. Should last far longer than the likes of hotpoint/zanussi/indesit.



Apologies for size of pic!

lorebringer

Ended up getting a Bosch on sale in DID for just over €300, ended up at about €350 including delivery and taking away the old one - typical, we went over budget :rolleyes:

Thanks for all the advice

Solair

The few extra quid will just be saved in callout fees for repair people!

Bosch and Siemens machines are essentially the same. The two companies have a joint-venture company called BSH that manufactures all of their white goods, so other than a few extra features, they're more or less identical machines.

The budget-end Bosch machines tend to be simple, robust and seem to just do what they're supposed to do without any fuss for years.

lorebringer

Solair wrote: »

The budget-end Bosch machines tend to be simple, robust and seem to just do what they're supposed to do without any fuss for years.

Can't really ask for more

Solair

Yeah, most of the extra bells and whistles are just gimmicks anyway!

I mean, what does a washing machine need to do? Fill with water, heat, tumble the clothes around and spin dry... There are only so many combinations of those actions you can do!

coylemj

Solair wrote: »

Yeah, most of the extra bells and whistles are just gimmicks anyway!

Two of the 'bells and whistles' you get in a Miele....

1. At the start of the wash cycle it slowly pumps in water until the clothes are saturated and excess water runs off into the bottom of the drum, it then uses that information to set the amount of water to use for all of the wash and rinse cycles thereby minimizing the amount of water and energy (to heat the water) to use. Reducing the amount of water used also allows you to use the minimum amount of detergent, about one third what you'd need in a regular machine.

2. When it starts to spin, if it discovers that the clothes are imbalanced so that the drum starts to wobble, it will slow down, toss the clothes back and forth (i.e. spin slowly clockwise and anticlockwise) and then retry. It will eventually manage to achieve an even distribution and will then spin up to the max., you could almost iron the cottons straight out of the machine.

Billy Bunting

The zanussi jetsystem has been using those 'bells and whistles' for years.

Solair

coylemj wrote: »

2. When it starts to spin, if it discovers that the clothes are imbalanced so that the drum starts to wobble, it will slow down, toss the clothes back and forth (i.e. spin slowly clockwise and anticlockwise) and then retry. It will eventually manage to achieve an even distribution and will then spin up to the max., you could almost iron the cottons straight out of the machine.

Most machines do more or less exactly that. That's how they avoid flying through the kitchen cabinets. Only very old machines don't have the ability to balance a load.

They also all have various tricks for saving water and energy. Bosch / Siemens uses huge scoops to ladle water over the clothes, Electrolux/Zanussi use a recirculating pump, etc etc.

The main thing you get with Miele is extremely good build quality.

Billy Bunting

And extremely expensive parts. :eek:

UrbanSea

Anybody justifying buying a Miele are off their rocker.

Solair

I doubt many people would actually want to keep a washing machine / dishwasher for >30 years anyway. A lot of kitchens wouldn't even last that long before being renovated.

Billy Bunting

From my experiences modern machines will give you on average 5 or 6yrs before giving trouble, cheaper machines such as Hotpoint, Zanussi and the like are usually worth the repair as the parts are relatively cheap, unlike the likes of Bosch and Miele for whom parts make a person have to really sit up and have to weigh up whether its economical to carry out the repair when its very possible that its the start of a slippery slope to the washing machine recycle centre.

Stick with a cheap machine with as few buttons (how many do you really use) as possible, if theres an extended warrenty included then thats a bonus, don't pay out for them, most breakdowns will not be covered by a warrenty but be down to misuse of some type.

Solair

Well, to be fair to Miele, the folks have one which was bought in 1995. 17 years old. It's used on average once or twice a day and has a 1550 RPM spin.

It still looks new and has never had a single repair of any type.

Their Miele dryer is from about 1992, 20 years old and has never had a single problem either.

coylemj

UrbanSea wrote: »

Anybody justifying buying a Miele are off their rocker.

Don't agree, my last Miele washing machine lasted 17 years.

Billy Bunting wrote: »

From my experiences modern machines will give you on average 5 or 6yrs before giving trouble, cheaper machines such as Hotpoint, Zanussi and the like are usually worth the repair as the parts are relatively cheap, unlike the likes of Bosch and Miele for whom parts make a person have to really sit up and have to weigh up whether its economical to carry out the repair when its very possible that its the start of a slippery slope to the washing machine recycle centre.

Good point, you're potentially leaving yourself open to high charges for labour and parts with a make like Miele and you might only get another year out of it even after a repair that could cost as much as a cheap washing machine. Mine just like you said started to go down the slippery slope, I made the decision to squeeze another 6 month out of it, then I bought a new one.

Billy Bunting

Solair wrote: »

Well, to be fair to Miele, the folks have one which was bought in 1995. 17 years old. It's used on average once or twice a day and has a 1550 RPM spin.

It still looks new and has never had a single repair of any type.

Their Miele dryer is from about 1992, 20 years old and has never had a single problem either.

As with all machines you'll find some that just run and run, usually the older ones or IMHO most are cheaper brand named applinces because they are affordable to repair.

I have a Miele machine in my workshop the past few years, customer asked me to just take it away, 18mths old, NEVER used, but the motor seized, customer with a b&b newly installed it when hubby was taken ill,
Miele didnt want to know. :rolleyes:

anuprising

Billy Bunting wrote: »

.

I have a Miele machine in my workshop the past few years, customer asked me to just take it away, 18mths old, NEVER used, but the motor seized, customer with a b&b newly installed it when hubby was taken ill,
Miele didnt want to know. :rolleyes:

miele didnt want to know because its a b&b and goes against the terms of the gaurantee .the company is very strict and run a tight ship.miele are expensive to repair but worth it .they give 5 years as standard ,all thier software is updateable and repair men just have to plug in laptop and there away , very few independants have access to the software or fault codes ,thats why they rubbish them to customers .

Billy Bunting

B&B or not, Most manufactureres have a thing called a good will gesture, you would imagine Meile would to, especially when a machine has never been used.

Solair

Almost none of the manufacturers will cover you for commercial use of a domestic machine.

inovo

I bought an LG 8kg Direct Drive machine 4 weeks ago. Excellent machine i must say. You could keep it in your bedroom at night its so silent. I was really surprised even when its spinning at 1200 rpm. Gives a really great wash too along with the bonus of having a medic rinse option which i find works well when washing work clothes.

UrbanSea

coylemj wrote: »

Don't agree, my last Miele washing machine lasted 17 years.



Good point, you're potentially leaving yourself open to high charges for labour and parts with a make like Miele and you might only get another year out of it even after a repair that could cost as much as a cheap washing machine. Mine just like you said started to go down the slippery slope, I made the decision to squeeze another 6 month out of it, then I bought a new one.

Coyle any number of brands that were sold before circa 2000 people were getting 15-20 years out of appliances. No brand will give you that nowadays and that's from experience. Zanussi/Hotpoint/Whirlpool even the dreaded Hoover were lasting that long,it's not exclusive to the astronomically priced Miele.

anuprising

miele are the dogs dangly bits ,how many machines give you the option to dry clean ? very few
they pay for themselves over thier lifetime ,you are buying technology not just a washing machine
when buying computers why do people pay extra for highter spec lap or desktops when a cheap one will still get you on the internet ?
its a mini or a merc situation

if anyone needs the fault codes for them pm me ,

@billy bunting ,why dont you replace the bearings in the motor if its seized ?

byte

Some of the lower end Zanussi models are now made in China, aimed at the budget market thinking Zanussi is a great brand.. take a look at the label inside the door before committing.