Hi,
Moving into our new places soon and we're looking to get our first washing machine. A few questions wanted to get clarified. No need for a dryer atm, I think..
What washing size should we get for a household of 3? 8-9kg?
What are the reputable brands and what brands should I stay away from?
Any partcular features I must have in a washing machine?
Front loader or top loader?
Warranty over branding? Someone mentioned to get long warranty over brand.
Thanks
Why? I'm a top loader kind of guy, curious as to what the advantage of a front loader is?
Longevity of clothes, especially elastics!
Less water wastage! More eco.
Hmm, may depend on your usage really..
Some quick googling suggests (cut-and-paste):
However, front loaders also suffer from a range of drawbacks. First of all, washing clothes in a front loader usually takes longer than a top loader. The average washing cycle of a front loader is about an hour while that of a top loader is 15-30 minutes.
Front loaders are also not available in very large capacities, and they cost much more upfront as compared to top loaders. While front loaders are more water and energy-efficient than top loaders, it does take time to recover the expensive upfront costs.
One more thing about front loaders is that you cannot overload them. Overloading wears out a front loader, and it also puts a lot of pressure on the drum bearings. While you shouldn’t overload a top loader either, it is far less risky as compared to front loaders.
Another drawback with front loaders is that they tend to have problems with mould and mildew. This happens especially if too much detergent or the wrong fabric softener is used, or if the gaskets and drum remain wet between washing cycles. On the other hand, top loaders rarely suffer from mildew or mould because water can easily evaporate from the top door.
So it may not be quite that simple.
@iDroid: Most of continental Europe and Ireland has stopped selling top loaders 20 to 30 years ago. Poverty stricken England and its abused possessions are buying top loaders because they are poor.
There is a special drum cleaning detergent available and newer machines have a setting for it.
No overloaded machine can wash clean regardless of the design.
Early Samsung had a cast block that corroded, new ones have a small door to add forgotten items. Some Samsung top loaders caught fire!
Combination wash dryers are rarely a perfect solution. Drying needs more space between clothes.
Top loaders are generally easier to operate, open lid as many times as you feel there are less restrictions.
I believe front loaders are only gentler on clothes in comparison to top loaders with agitators in them, if your top loader doesn't have an agitator there's not much difference.
Down votes a valid question?
OzBargain, you're a harsh land - harder to navigate than an active battlefield.
Bosch Series 8 FL.
Check out the Samsung 8.5kg/6kg Washer Dryer Combo WD85T4046CE @
$711 from Appliances Online.
https://www.appliancesonline.com.au/product/samsung-85kg6kg-…
if you have the money and most importantly the space, get two separate units, do not get a combo as they are not good imo. Takes too long to do a complete cycle.
Bosch is good. Stay away from Samsung. Honestly can't believe mine broke the big metal bit that holds the barrel, that just seems nuts.
Long warranty is always a good thing, so long as you assume the company will uphold it and aren't just using it as marketing with the plan to weasel out of it later.
Front loader uses less water and energy, wash better but tend to take longer to wash. Granted, my bosch has a quick cycle of about 45 minutes so it's not really a problem.
Our legacy LG beats its Korean brother hands down.
Bosch is also ok or if you wish to splurge, a Miele will stick around possibly for longer….
Bosch front loader.
Have had one for 8 years and still going strong.
had a Miele and Asko prior and TBH couldn't justify the additional outlay.
What washing size should we get for a household of 3? 8-9kg?
Yep. An 8-9 kg washer is perfect.
What are the reputable brands and what brands should I stay away from?
I've had nothing but positive ownership experiences with Bosch washers and dryers over the years. YMMV.
I've owned an LG washer-dryer combo and it was a piece of garbage. YMMV.
We've just bought a new house which came decked-out with new appliances (washer, dryer, fridge, TVs etc). The washer and dryer are by Fisher & Paykel and you can hear/feel the cheapness. We should have kept our 3yo Bosch Serie 8 washer and dryer and given the F&P units to our daughter instead of the Bosch.
Any particular features I must have in a washing machine?
Front loader or top loader?
I've had front loaders (home and investment properties) for the last 20 years. I will never go back to a top-loader.
Warranty over branding? Someone mentioned to get long warranty over brand.
Is your actual question "Warranty over quality?". If so, my answer is no. I'd prefer to have a machine that works flawlessly for, say, 10 years (well beyond a typical two year warranty) than have the hassle of dealings with call centres and local repair agents (plus inconvenience from the downtime) each time the machines conks out.
Having had "expensive" front loaders we have had a better run with LG front loaders through the trials and tribulations of kids. We've gotten around 7-8 years out of the LGs while the one and only Bosch we had lasted 3.5 years. Only replaced the LGs as it was not economical to repair them - why pay $500 to repair an $800 appliance that is 7 years old?
Currently have 1x10kg and 1x14kg front loaders. Perfect for doing large loads of washing in one hit. Family of four and two dogs. We've had the 10kg for a while and when we got dogs needed to go bigger to wash the dog beds, so got the 14kg. It was so handy having two washers we just kept both.
One feature I love is cloud connectivity. Our laundry is downstairs so its great when upstairs to get a notification on my phone/watch that the washing has finished. Can hang it out and put on another load - great when you need to get through a heap of washing in a short period.
9kg German made Bosch, minimum I think. We have 2a/2 primary school aged kids, and the amount of washing we do is remarkable. Seems to be every few days. At least in summer you can stick the clothes outside and they’ll be dry in an hour, in winter takes ages (have a dryer but try to minimise use of it)
Didn’t get the idos one, couldn’t justify the extra $$
Our 4 yr old LG Front loader 11kg, which cost us $1300 at the time, has started leaking and repair guy has quoted $280 to fix, currently waiting for what seems forever for the valve part.
With having young kids and not having a washer for over a month now, we are seriously considering just getting another one.
While Bosch sounds great, we were hoping to get something a little cheaper.
Does anyone have any feedback on Westinghouse Front Loader washing machines, we were looking at a 10kg front loader in their range. around $1000. thank you.
You could consider this one? A bit smaller but 9kg is still pretty big. https://www.appliancesonline.com.au/product/bosch-serie-6-9k…
Westinghouse machines are generally decent, about on par with LG.
Thank you. Would like to stick with a large size washer cuz we've got little kids. Might go down to 10kg but otherwise we will be doing multiple loads a day, like we used to, before we had purchased the 11kg current LG.
Saw this: @~$542
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/726465
CHiQ 8kg-5kg Combo Washer Dryer: $542 (RRP $999) + Delivery ($0 C&C) @ The Good Guys Commercial (Membership Required)
Front loader