Argos Value LW-619 > Reviews (2)

Appearance

The sandwich toaster is white and does look very cheap as you would expect it is very lightweight but also looks and feels cheaply made. It matches my other white appliances but still sticks out like a sore thumb as it looks so cheaply made. It is small and does not take much room on the side which is good and the plug is a fair length so it does not need to sit right next to plug socket.

Use

To open the sandwich toaster you simply unclip the handles and lift the top to reveal two plates at the bottom and two at the top they are said to be non stick to make sure your toastie comes away in one piece.This toaster is designed to make two toasties so 4 slices of bread. One good thing about this is it has a light to show you when the toastie machine has heated up and is ready to use when you first turn it on a light comes on to show that it is switched on as there is no switch to do this is just a case of plugging it in and away it goes. When it is ready to use this light clicks off and you can add the bread and fillings.

You should butter the outside of the bread and add your fillings then the manual suggests trimming the bread of its crusts when you use this toaster as the toaster is simply too small for it and this means the crust stick out the edge of the toaster so it is a waste really.Once the bread and the fillings are in the toaster comes the job of closing the toaster and sealing the clip. This can be a little difficult and the bread seems to be too big for the machine even when trimmed so it really does take some pulling and pushing but once you finally manage to flatten the bread enough for it to close and get the clip on the handle of the toaster sealed then you just sit and wait.It does take a while to cook the toastie it says in the instructions that toasties will cook in between 2 and 3 minutes but if you like it a little more well done which I do to leave it in until you are happy with the way it is cooked I love mine to be brown and crispy not burnt but really well done and this takes a good 10 minutes to achieve this but then the filling is extremely hot and you have to wait for it to cool down by which time the bread itself is cold so it is rather annoying.Also has a cool touch feature so you do not burn yourself when opening and closing the toastie machine which in my experience does work well.

Results

When the toasties are finally done you lift the lid of the machine and then it’s time to take them out. As you have to push down so hard to close the machine I find the bread sticks to the grills and it can be rather difficult to prise them off. Once you finally get your toasties out they can be rather misshaped which of course does not matter as you only going to eat them and as the presser shapes them and puts a dent in the form of a diagonal line in the middle of each sandwich it is simple to cut through this pre marked line to end up with 4 pieces of toastie. If you leave the toasties in for a short amount of time I find the bread is soggy from the filling and not appetising at all so I would suggest leaving it in a lot longer than the recommended time in the manual.

Cleaning

Cleaning can be a little difficult as there is no removable grills I did not expect as much from something that costs £6 but this means I have to wipe it down with a cloth and doing so after making my husband’s favourites of cheese and beans really can take some doing with lots of scrubbing meaning either hanging the machine over by the sink making sure I do not get the plug wet or running back and forth with a cloth. As the bread seems to be too big for the machine it also means a lot of the filling squeezes out and tips over the edges of the toaster making even more mess to clean up.

Durability

We have had this appliance for around a year now but to be honest we received a replacement for a wedding gift and we use this instead as we found this Argos value one just too basic and full of poorly made features so it has only be used a handful of times. It really is that much of a headache to make something that should be quick and easy to eat.

Summary

At only £6 it is a bargain price but unfortunately this shows in the poor design rather than being a quick snack using this toaster means it turns in to a marathon just to cook a toastie. There is no heat dial meaning there is only one feature and this makes the process long and time consuming. It’s poor design means that you have to trim the bread before using and even when you add butter the outside of the bread I find it still sticks because of the amount of force you have to put in to get the toaster to shut. Overall it is ok for a budget buy to make do but for a family toastie machine that gets a lot of use it is simply useless and for once I would suggest paying the extra for something more reliable.