Washing Machine

[Royston]

My Hoover washer gave up the ghost yesterday and went to meet it's maker.

I had a man out to repair it, but it was grave news. unfortunately the buffoons who delivered it forgot to take out a 2 foot length of packing polystyrene which burnt the motor and computer board out, rendering said washer into a pile of scrap iron. Still it did well to last eight years with such a disability.

The repair guy said that there have been loads of takeovers in the washing machine industry lately ( as you can imagine, I was on the edge of my seat!) And most of the former British brands are owned by the Italians now.

He said the best place to put my money was with John Lewis own brand washers, or pay megabucks for a Meile washer.

Monster in law has a Meile and they are very good, but I can't afford a grand for a washer, so leaning towards the John Lewis upstart.

Anyone have a John Lewis washer? Are they any good?

[anonymouse]

We replaced ours over a year ago (get a lot of use).

Did some research and Miele are supposed to be the best - 2nd best at the time of the 'cheaper machines' from what I read were Zanussi.

Isn't Kentish a washer-repair man ?

He'll probs be along soon to advise.

(Have to laugh at the can't afford £1k for washer :P)

Buying washing machines

and re John Lewis

John Lewis - the best? | Whitegoodshelp Blog

and

Which are the most reliable and the least reliable makes of washing machine?

[Royston]

cheers Val, some good info there. I'm sure we bought the Hoover from John Lewis originally!

[neelyp]

John Lewis machines are made by one of the big companies (can't remember who), but you can get a Miele for £600, by God they're built to last, designed for 20 years normal service. Check their website, they often have machines with 5 or 10 years free warranty.

One thing to be aware of is they do slightly different models for different retailers, the offers may not be the same on them all.

Miele - Washing Machines Overview

[Gwilo]

AEG?

Pretty quiet if you get the mounting correct (ooh err)

Think we've had ours for four/five years now. And it gets completely hammered. sometimes three times a day.....

Miele were recommended too, but, the prices.......

[philc]

We've been serial Miele buyers for a few years now, after our thrid cheapo washing machine died after 3 years. We've invested in washer, drier, dishwasher and vacuum cleaner, which were all bl00dy expensive, but are built like tanks, and are all guaranteed for either 5 or 10 years.

I'd recommend them, if you have the dosh. Bear in mind if you do buy Miele, you won't be replacing them in the next couple of years.

John Lewis tend to rebadge Bosch and AEG appliances -you can see the resemblance if you walk around the shop. They wouldn't associate themselves with cheap and nasty, let's face it! A friend of ours has a JL washing mashine and loves it.

Phil

[ncarring]

JL ones are rebadged Zanussis allegedly.

John Lewis JLWM1203 review

[skomaz]

Well we've gone for Bosch everything - washing machine, fridge and freezer and all have given excellent service (so far). Sometimes pricey but not as bad as the miele. Family and friends have also had the same good experiences so worth a whirl.

[gadgetman]

We've gone all hotpoint, and bagged quite a top spec one that RRP'd for about £400 for £200 thanks to some helpfull voucher code sites.

[cheezemonkhai]

My Hoover washer gave up the ghost yesterday and went to meet it's maker.

I had a man out to repair it, but it was grave news. unfortunately the buffoons who delivered it forgot to take out a 2 foot length of packing polystyrene which burnt the motor and computer board out, rendering said washer into a pile of scrap iron. Still it did well to last eight years with such a disability.

The repair guy said that there have been loads of takeovers in the washing machine industry lately ( as you can imagine, I was on the edge of my seat!) And most of the former British brands are owned by the Italians now.

He said the best place to put my money was with John Lewis own brand washers, or pay megabucks for a Meile washer.

Monster in law has a Meile and they are very good, but I can't afford a grand for a washer, so leaning towards the John Lewis upstart.

Anyone have a John Lewis washer? Are they any good?

Got a JLWM1201 and very good it is, but essentially IIRC they are Zanussi underneath it all. It's done ok for coming up for 3 years in a shared house.

£300 with a 3 year warranty is £100 a year if you assume it will only last that long.

£500 for a 10 year warranty Meile is only £50 a year and you know you can get spares for 10 more after this.

Parents have a Meile and it is a cheaper one. It's miles ahead of the JLWM one in terms of build quality, quietness, and wash performance and the JLWM one is better than most for those.

I'd get the Meile if you can stretch, but if not the JLW will do fine for 3 years and maybe a bit more.

[Decron]

We looked at JL ones and the reviews were great.

However I am a tighta55 and went for

Buy HAIER HW-C1460TVE-U | 1400 spin washing machine - Laundry & Dishwashers | Comet

Although it was on offer when I bought at £169.99

It's been great and washes well. It gets a lot of use too. If you get 3 years out of it then it's been a bargin!

[ap0gee1978]

Hoover have been owned by Candy ever since the infamous free flights fiasco. We bought a Hoover freezer (made of plastic that went brittle in the cold ), and a Hoover tumble dryer (with an On/Off relay that died after about 6 months, fixed by sticking the switch down with white Gaffa and using the interlock on the door as an On/Off switch :nono: ) Our new house had Indesit stuff built-in in the kitchen, which is also unmitigated Italian crap, except the Bosch dishwaser, which is excellent. The Indesit stuff is steadily being phased out in preference for Bosch and Neff stuff, and while our old Hotpoint has now gone West (to be replaced by a Bosch number), that at least lasted about 10 years...

[monkeychild]

MEILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have one and it's grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat

Ask Andy of the Kentish personage and he will tell thee, as he are the washer gnu!

[expostmanpat]

Get a Hotpoint twin tub and a dumping stick , don't forget the mangle

Lasted my Gran a good 20 years

['daiking']

Get a Hotpoint twin tub and a dumping stick , don't forget the mangle

Lasted my Gran a good 20 years

Mangle? Luxury! We used to dream of having a mangle.

We used to have to bash our clothes against rocks in the river...

video

[cheezemonkhai]

We looked at JL ones and the reviews were great.

However I am a tighta55 and went for

Buy HAIER HW-C1460TVE-U | 1400 spin washing machine - Laundry & Dishwashers | Comet

Although it was on offer when I bought at £169.99

It's been great and washes well. It gets a lot of use too. If you get 3 years out of it then it's been a bargin!

Only down side I see with that is it's £200 a year if it breaks at 12 months and 1 day and the extra warranty means it would cost the same at the JL one.

The miele are very quiet in operation and even spin now and again post wash to keep the cloths from creasing etc. Some very nice features.

[Decron]

Only down side I see with that is it's £200 a year if it breaks at 12 months and 1 day and the extra warranty means it would cost the same at the JL one.

The miele are very quiet in operation and even spin now and again post wash to keep the cloths from creasing etc. Some very nice features.

Mines up to 18 months now. The Hoover it replaced had been repairs 3 times by then.

[Royston]

Thanks for all the replies chaps. I know I should have gotten the Miele, as they are the best washers int entire world, but I've hedged me bets and gone for a midrange JL washer. Still £100 a year, but I'm happy with all the reviews an that.

John Lewis JLWM1604 Washing Machine, White - John Lewis

[Kentish]

Nelson Muntz stylee on.."HA HA"

Nelson Muntz stylee off.:P

[cheezemonkhai]

Well it will last at least 3 years so nowt wrong with that.

[Clunkclick]

Last machine I had, Electrolux. Bought 1985 from the local Currys, when they had a shop in every high-street. Lasted 20 years, with no faults whatsoever, until the drum motor coil went. No spares so I had to replace.

Replaced with AEG Lavamat from Comet. Apart from the fact that the contracted-out monkeys who did the Saturday delivery managed to drop it six-inches when lifting it over the threshold, has been OK with one exception. Within six-months of delivery the conditioner section of the powder tray refused to empty after the last rinse had completed, leaving it full of rinse water - presume that the pump lost some efficiency. Its laboured under this defect since then but it doesn't appear to effect operation of the machine in any other way.

After having seen the state of the internals of the Electrolux when the engineer attended, when the new machine was delivered I fitted an electromagnetic water conditioner to the water supply and started using Calgon to counter the hard water. I also use a proprietry flushing agent from the supermarket which is applied to the machine every three months.

I have to say I'm not impressed with the general decline in the quality and durability of most white goods today - IMHO the standards have declined sharply over the last 30 years. Whereas, the really expensive things like cars, I think, have improved in quality and reliability.

Funny that, the things which are priced at a level where 90 % of the population can afford them now fall to pieces in under 3 years, whereas the less affordable things last !

My solution to the recent phenemon of ****-poor product quality, build 'em all in Germany and put all the marketing chaps, who sit on top of the manufacturing operations, to sleep. Once the need to fix product lifecycles at an interval which supports the cost of their little empires is taken out of the equation, it might be possible for engineers to start designing products according to their professional aspirations i.e. with a decent and eco friendly life span.

IMHO, who in their f*cking right-mind has got the time today, or wants to waste it, sourcing, financing and having delivered and installed domestic appliances every 3 years or less. Answer - only the completely swivel-eyed, Daily Mail reading, Jones trouncing "Her-in-doors" or the zombies of marketing men as we know them. I for one *ffing don't.

Nick

[Decron]

IMHO, who in their f*cking right-mind has got the time today, or wants to waste it, sourcing, financing and having delivered and installed domestic appliances every 3 years or less. Answer - only the completely swivel-eyed, Daily Mail reading, Jones trouncing "Her-in-doors" or the zombies of marketing men as we know them. I for one *ffing don't.

Nick

It's take's about 2 1/2 hours to replace a washing machine from broken to installed (Well thats what it takes me. I go to the shop, buy one, stick it in the car, take it home, swap them over, take the old one up the tip). The last one cost £170. Did it all on the way home from work and it was very little hassle. (I have also just had to do this with a fridge which I did on a saturday morning, I took the baby with me, turned it into a trip out and he found it great fun!)

The last machine I had cost me £480 (I had a plan to get some serious time out of it, I had the disposable income at the time and thought I might not later) and in the 2 1/2 years I had that (After the door seal went and the part was over £80 +p&p I decided enough was enough and to cut my losses), it had two pumps and a motor (The first pump cost me dear to get a man out as I didn't know anything about them but having learnt a bit after that I fitted the others myself. Overall the repairs/parts cost £210 ish). It's horses for courses but I don't have £480+ to spend in one go and then spend £200+ keeping it going.

I work in retail and I know quite a bit about product, quality and the customers perception of what is a quality product. You get all sorts from someone who will spend £20 on a phone and then bring it back 4 times because it's not very good (Or they send 50 texts a day and wonder why the keypad has worn after 3 months) to some people who will spend £500 on a phone that is just vastly overpriced and is probably just the same as a much cheaper model underneath the cosmetics and will break just as easily. The trick is to identify the product which will cover all your bases and give you the best functions/quality etc for the most economic outlay. I have a £170 washing machine and based on my own perception I believe I have acheived just that.

As my Dad would say "It's a bit like buying a Skoda..."

Edited 23 August, 2008 by Decron
Hommage to the great wisdom of the father figure in my life

[heresmo]

... Within six-months of delivery the conditioner section of the powder tray refused to empty after the last rinse had completed, leaving it full of rinse water - presume that the pump lost some efficiency. ...Nick

I wonder too what causes that (i.e. the fabric conditioner compartment stays full of water). It has done that on the last three machines I've had, all different makes and of different capital cost. None were dropped on delivery incidentally so logically it must be something else that causes it. Cleaning out the compartment tray has no effect. Operation otherwise for each machine has been OK, so I just tip it out each time. It's puzzling though :ne_nau:

FWIW I think you can be lucky, or not if you've bought a lemon. Uneven loads that bundle (e.g. sheets) or single relatively heavy items even if within weight can wreck the bearings (costly or a bin jobbie). I recall a repair engineer saying to me "But you do weigh each load, don't you?" I did try to keep a straight face, honest.

Mo

[Kentish]

Water or softener being left behind in the conditioner tray will more than likely be a clogged syphon or blocked dispenser jets. The syphon is easily cleaned by removing the whole draw the lifting up and away the syphon cap. You can then clean out the cap and at the same time clean the tray itself. The dispenser jets can be cleaned with a stiff pan brush or something,they are in the roof of the dispenser and just normally need some brush action.

As far as machine's go, we get what we pay for and the general public don't want quality over price. The only machine's now made in Germany are Miele and now Siemens (note..not Bosch) who have just restarted production in Germany after they moved it all East along with the rest of the Siemens/Bosch group.

[Delcac]

Water or softener being left behind in the conditioner tray will more than likely be a clogged syphon or blocked dispenser jets. The syphon is easily cleaned by removing the whole draw the lifting up and away the syphon cap. You can then clean out the cap and at the same time clean the tray itself. The dispenser jets can be cleaned with a stiff pan brush or something,they are in the roof of the dispenser and just normally need some brush action.

As far as machine's go, we get what we pay for and the general public don't want quality over price. The only machine's now made in Germany are Miele and now Siemens (note..not Bosch) who have just restarted production in Germany after they moved it all East along with the rest of the Siemens/Bosch group.

:orb_not_w:orb_wave: