I looked at "Which?" but no reviews on latest models; I particularly wanted a machine that can do a 15 minute cycle including proper wash, rinse and spin. This machine does this totally adequately for refreshing clothes which are worn and sweaty (sorry) but not really grubby.
The machine looks smart and is compact. There is no child lock facility as such although you cant open the door during the wash cycle without using the pause button, see below*. It is a cold fill only machine, heating exactly what it needs and not using your householdhot water.
It is not disturbingly noisy, just the normal level of noise you should expect from a high spin washer, certainly not super silent, but not irritating.
I have tried the 59 minute cycle - it took 75 minutes. I think this may be because it is recommended for a small 3kg wash load, and I actually almost filled the machine.
As the machine automatically adjusts to the load in how much water it uses etc, it probably took longer because my load was larger, which is actually quite reassuring, as it means it does adjust according to load.
The drum size of 8 kg, I thought would be enormous but doesn't seem to me like it would take a double duvet, but I have yet to try this. The drum shape is different; I thought a bigger drum would be deeper, but the shape is rather like a tyre, sort of stretched sideways and top to bottom, but not deeper. This is why the machines outer dimensions are so modest and it fits neatly into the workspace.
It doesn't have a special duvet programme which I would have liked. It has a wide range of wash programmes but a lot of them are 800 spin or very long programmes, and the quicker programmes tend to be for smaller loads. If I do have to wash a duvet I will select the SENSITIVE CARE button F, which can be used in the cotton and mixed fabrics programs. Increased volumes of water are used in washing and rinsing to remove all soap residue thoroughly, so is suitable for childrens clothes too.
The STAIN BLASTER button G can only be used in Cotton cycles. It maintains the selected water temperature throughout the wash and also speeds up the drum rotations to maximise cleaning without lengthening the program. On some of the cotton programs you can select STAIN BLASTER and SENSITIVE CARE together.
The 15 minute programme is for a small 1.5 kg clothes and only gives 800 spin. This is fine if you have all day to line dry but for a very quick wash and high spin, I do the following. Set the 15min wash and select no spin, (which still took 15 mins but again, my machine had a bit more than the recommended load size.) When it finished I then switched to "off" and then selected spin only which gave a fast 1600 spin (with lower spins options) and this took 12 minutes. So in half an hour I had a small load finished and spun almost dry.
On the point of tumble dryers, my washing used to take at least 120 minutes to tumble dry after an 1000 spin in my old machine. Now, after a 1600 spin the same load takes only 60 - 70 minutes- a great saving on electricity.
The machine is very neat and easy to use, the dial has clear wording, you don't have to decipher symbols. It is smaller in dimension than my old 5.5 kg washer. On some washers you can accidentally restart the programme on washed clothes just by pressing the wrong button but with this one you have to switch to "Off" before it will do anything else so you cant accidentally re-wash the load.
There is no half wash load but it automatically adjusts water level to the load which is much better as it copes with the exact load, rather than an estimated half load.
It does not have a rinse and hold facility. But you can select the spin speed or select no spin at all, and then spin just before you want to hang out or tumble so clothes don't sit after a fast spinl
There is a timesaver button which saves 50 minutes and can be used on many programmes. You can reduce (but not increase) the spin speed on most programmes. The temperature is set on each program to default at the lowest temperature for a good wash, so automatically saves on electricity and reduces carbon footprint. However you can increase the temperature on most washes if you feel it is necessary. (Each program is different - a cotton wash could go up to 90 but obviously not on a wool program). This option can save a lot of energy as it's the heating of the water that uses most power, compared to using high spin speeds.
The spin speed and temperature lights stay illuminated thru the programme. Any programme can be paused* or cancelled at any point during the cycle by pressing and holding down the start/pause button for a few seconds. If you get a power cut, the memory holds the program and when power resumes, so does the wash cycle.
If the door is open and you try to pull out the soap tray, it tends to catch against the door, so you have to watch that, but it's a small thing.
It seems to me to be a good sturdy reliable machine which could be operated by most people, it is straight forward, my young teen took to it easily, always a good thing!!
It has one year guarantee, with an extra 4 years on parts, but you pay labour (has to be repaired by Hoover at Hoover prices). They also offer you 4 years labour insurance at about £180, to be arranged within 30 days.
What I like best is the big drum size, quick 15 minute wash, very high spin, and fact that the drum is quite high so loading isn't such a strain on the back. The porthole is very wide and the door opens wide, although not to a full 180. All in all I think it was a sound buy. I paid £359 from a local dealer including delivery and installation and taking away all packing. I could have probably got it cheaper from a big online store but I like to support local firms and knew they would give a trustworthy service as I have bought from them before. The small neat manual is well set out and very easy to read and make sense of.
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