Hotpoint Wf860 Washing Machine Review

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

HOTPOINT WF860 WASHING MACHINE REVIEW

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This washing machine has a top speed of 1600 rpm and has a large 6Kg drum. It has a nice digital display that informs you of the time left to complete the program as well as the temperature and spin speed settings. You can manually adjust both the spin speed and the temperature of the wash. There is a delay start timer if you are willing to take the chance of letting a washing machine wash while you are out, or in bed.

The 6 Kg drum is handy if you have a lot of washing, but the current Hotpoint washing machine range does seem to have problems with smaller awkward loads and can thump around a bit if you put small loads in with a few heavy items in. The electronic controls are not supposed to let any out of balance load go into spin, but they seem to let the smaller bad load slip though at times. ( RELATED ADVICE: How do I avoid out of balanced loads in washing machine? )

NOISE LEVELS

This washing machine is promoted as super quiet. On wash it certainly is. Eerily quiet in fact as all you can hear is the water splashing about. However, these washing machines are not super quiet on spin. They are just as noisy as most other cheap to middle quality washing machines.

THINGS I LIKE

The heater and thermostats are at the back of the tub for easy access during repairs. Nice electronic display and controls. Nice door and handle design.

THINGS I DISLIKE

The new control module can give an electric shock up to 5 minutes after the washing machine has been unplugged. This could be nasty for any DIY washing machine repairers who will be unaware of this.

The door seal clamp that holds the seal onto the tub is rubbish. It’s not that it isn’t likely to do the job properly, it’s just very awkward to replace once removed. No doubt there’s a “special” tool available, but using just narrow-nosed pliers is a pain.

No water pump filter! This is ridiculous. All washing machines should have a customer drainable and clearable filter and not having one is enough to prevent me buying such a machine even if everything else was great. Most washing machines get obstructions in them sooner or later which jams the water pump. Without a pump drain hose and pump filter, most people will have to call out a repair engineer for something they should be able to fix themselves. ( RELATED ADVICE: washing machine water pumps )


SUMMARY

Very quiet on wash, but not so quiet on spin. Nice looking - but looks aren’t everything - and no easily accessible pump filter, which is unforgivable.

There are more (much more comprehensive) washing machine reviews on the main Washerhelp web site


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