Morning all

Our washing machine has been limping along for a while however now appears to have spun its last.

So what should we be looking for in the seemingly baffling world of washing machine specifics?

There is only me and Mrs stayhigh with my son staying at the weekends so we don’t have a huge amount of laundry. Having a delay function would also be useful due to working shifts.

A 6kg drum would do but is there any merit in getting an 8kg? FWIW it will live in the shed.

8kg and a high RPM so you can get your duvet in ( what my mum say).
Silly prices for coloured ones! My aunt still has her twin tub ( chase you round the room) washing machine.

Chose a brand semi-arbitrarily (we went for Samsung, because of something someone said on Twitter) and then buy the second cheapest one.

This works for most purchasing decisions.

A basic Miele. End of thread 🙂

Personal choice… Bosch.

Put together really well with a proper access panel on the back. Drive belt off & motor out in about 10 minutes with only an adjustable spanner. Brushes changed (£11.99 locally) and back to running as smooth as a smooth thing after 5 years of service. This is not the top of the range model (Classixx 6).

Beko for us. Does what it needs to. Nowt fancy, cheap enough and hasn’t failed us in 5+ years.

It is a large capacity one but weighs the load so if there’s not much in it doesn’t go mad with adding water.

Think it cost us all of £200…

BEKO for us too. Not the cheapest one in the shop, but a long way from the most expensive. Loads of functions (we’ll probably never use,) big capacity, big door for easy loading, quiet, economical.

Saw exactly the same machine rebranded for John Lewis at nearly £600, we paid £250. Job’s a good ‘in.

Wouldn’t touch Meile with a shitty stick, everything I’ve read seems to suggest they are nothing like as good as they were.

Basic Bosch would be my choice if you want premium, Beko for economy. If you intend on fixing any niggles it would be good to check how cheap and available spares generally are, our present Servis POS is on borrowed time as a new motor is £160 and the rotor bars are failing.

You sure the John Lewis machine was Beko? My tumble dryer is an AEG clone and I know their fridges are Electrolux so I assume the building contract is with them.

EDIT: Wiki says Electrolux is definitely an OEM for John Lewis

Seen two Boschs die prematurely. And my current one is heading that way.
Miele for smaller and expensive. Lost custody of that!
I really like my partners huge Samsung one.

Samsung one does the business.

We got a samsung 9kg ecobubble one. It has a digital motor and is v quiet/barely wobbles.Has a specific sports clothing setting as well. Only downside it takes ages to hang out 9kg of washing! With currys discount and cash back circa 400 sheets.

Three bottom of the range Mieles in my family. All worked perfectly so far.

Beware Bosch’s reputation in the WM arena. We bought a decent spec Excell for £450 last year (great reviews at the time) only for the bearings to play up within 15 months. Extended warranty is 2yrs but it hardly demonstrates faith in the model … even more so as the DIY repair is an all day job as it requires a strip down.

Turns out loads of people have experienced the same and have been bleating about it.

Has put me off Bosch for a while and is the reason we avoided then recently when replacing our dishwasher.

Got a servis washing machine. Bit flimsy but 12 min wash is great.

You’re faced with the usual “what white goods” dilemma – the fact that someone has had a Miele/Bosch/Samsung for 15 years and it’s still going tells you nothing about the build quality of current Miele/Bosch/Samsung products, all it tells you is that they were ok 15 years ago.

Take a good look at the programmes and features and find out which ones you’re likely to actually use. Bear in mind that default washing times seem to be inordinately long these days particularly for heavier loads – our Siemens takes something like 4 hrs to do an 8kg load if you don’t select all the go-faster options and if you use a tumble dryer it probably won’t all fit in; it’s often quicker to do 2 smaller loads. The 15min quick wash is great for sports kit though.