Buying new Washing Machine Help Please

[psychonaut]

I like meile, but I dont like their new washing machine prices. I get to feel that i could buy 4 cheaper ones in the time it takes for the meile to go wrong, there will have been some advances on the state of the art. maybe. maybe there isnt much more to be added to the state of the art of washing machines. It needs to be quiet and not try and walk its way over the bloody floor like our current one does.

i dont care how much water or electricity it uses. an extra £30 a year in juice i dont care about as we have solar and we dont have a water meter.

i have the money to buy a new meile, but i am a tight git and would rather not spend it if i dont have to.

advice and abuse gratefully received!

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello there. I've had my Miele washing machine almost 10 years now and it still sounds and performs like new, never gone wrong once. The thing to remember is that Miele aren't expensive, it's the others that are too cheap and that's why they don't compare. Have a read at my opinion on them here - which is totally unsolicited by them Miele washing machines

I need to write an article about fast wash cycles. They are so totally misunderstood by most users. All fast washes are designed to basically wet and rinse laundry that's not remotely dirty and has not been worn against the skin. It's impossible to wash normal laundry properly in 20 minutes or half an hour. If it was possible then all washing machines would wash in under an hour - it's what customers want - but it's not possible with current washing machines washed in detergent and trying to use as little electricity and water as possible - why do wash cycles take so long?

A lot of people use the fast wash cycles for most things and ruin their washing machines because it allows a build up of slime, grease and gunge to rot the machine from the inside - causes of smells and sludge and slime inside washing machine

Unfortunately I don't have time to study the latest washing machines but you could find a lot of useful information out as a Which? member -what are the benefits of joining Which?

[psychonaut]

hi, thanks for that. you are probably right - miele kit is superb. (well, apart from the vacuum cleaner i have but thats another story....)

understand you dont have enough time to look at latest models....i am already a which member so have been looking....samsung have something like 12 of the top 15 best buys - what're your thoughts on them?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

To be honest I find all the brown goods manufacturers tend to make washing machines with a brown goods mentality focussing more on fancy features and unnecessary innovations, plus they rely on third party networks of independent companies or engineers for aftersales which can result in patchy quality of service. I personally would favour AEG even though they have their faults too but at least spares, technical support and repairs are much easier to obtain.

[psychonaut]

fair enough. ive just taken delivery of a samsung this am so i'll see how it goes....thanks fro your time.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

If Which? give them good reviews it's likely you will be happy with it

[JetSystem]

Andy, I completely agree what what you said regarding quick washes. Another point is that if people actually read the manual, quick washes are only designed to wash loads or less and not full loads. Washing full loads on a cycle that is only designed to take half causes excessive wear on the machine - the programming of that particular cycle means the machine is tumbling and spinning at a speed that is suitable for that capacity, but putting a full load in means that the machine will be ramping up to full spin in half the time but with a full load, causing the motor to work harder than it normally would.

The great thing about Miele is that on the cottons cycle and minimium iron cycles, the machine actually weighs the load at the start of the cycle and adjusts the water level and time needed based on the size of the load, so it will only ever wash for as long as it needs to. The machine may say it will take 2 hours at the start of the cycle, but actually, that time is the longest possibe time it will take and the machine will adjust the load accordingly. They also have the automatic 40 cycle which usually lasts about an hour and is perfect for day to day clothes.

[JetSystem]

Re: Samsung machines. I'm personally not a fan. Their "ecobubble" technology is actually a very old idea - using high suds to wash away dirt. That's what twin tubs used to do. However, modern detergents are purposely low-sudsing for automatic machines, so designed to be dissolved in water, not foamed up. Excessive foam in a washing machine just makes rinsing more difficult, so if you have anyone in your household with sensitive skin or any kind of skin condition, they're probably not the best choice of washer to go for.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks JetSystem, that's what I mean about the brown goods manufacturers (Samsung, Panasonic, LG), they are all brilliant at what they do in brown goods and phones etc, where constant innovation and expanding of features is king. The products are virtually reliable by default because there's virtually no moving parts in them. I'll never know what they all decided to move into white goods, which are a completely different thing. Totally different. White goods are inherently unreliable because of all the moving parts and the physical work they have to do. But instead of focussing on reliability and repairability (great aftersales network and great spares and technical support network) they appear to try and survive in the market (which many other white goods manufacturers have been in for seriously many decades) by coming up with fancy features such as bubble, direct drive and playing nice tunes etc - none of which seem necessary to me. In other words, coming into the market (in the UK at least) so late they appear to try to tempt people over with fancy features that the others don't have rather than making a better, more reliable machine. Having said that, I think they are probably just as well made as the ones they are competing with.