What this review is about
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We got this washer in around Febuary 2005, it's the model listed but says its 5KG + 5KG (some of them now are saying 6+6). The "P" at the end of the model is for Polar White - they also do a silver one. I can't really remember ... Read review
Advantages: electronic control, time till end of wash Disadvantages: door closer, dread any faults
What this review is about
-----------------------------------
We got this washer in around Febuary 2005, it's the model listed but says its 5KG + 5KG (some of them now are saying 6+6). The "P" at the end of the model is for Polar White - they also do a silver one. I can't really remember how much we paid but I got a really good deal online. The chances are though, as you're reading this review there's an advert somewhere on ... ...best) price.
I see an earlier reviewer had a few problems with this machine - I've got to say that when we first got this it had a small leak. The leak seemed to happen part way through a way cycle. Yes it was agro getting it warranty repaired but after a while the engineer found a missing hose clip on an outlet hose. He replaced the clip and I've had no problems with the machine at all since. Perhaps there's a quality control issue ... more
What this review is about ----------------------------------- We got this washer in around Febuary 2005, it's the model listed but says its 5KG + 5KG (some of them now are saying 6+6). The "P" at the end of the model is for Polar White - they also do a silver one. I can't really remember how much we paid but I got a really good deal online. The chances are though, as you're reading this review there's an advert somewhere on your screen showing you a current (although maybe not the best) price.
I see an earlier reviewer had a few problems with this machine - I've got to say that when we first got this it had a small leak. The leak seemed to happen part way through a way cycle. Yes it was agro getting it warranty repaired but after a while the engineer found a missing hose clip on an outlet hose. He replaced the clip and I've had no problems with the machine at all since. Perhaps there's a quality control issue at the factory but maybe these were one-offs.
This is a washer dryer, the first one I'd seen that could actually dry as much as it could wash. Normally you seem to have to wash, take half the stuff out and then run a dry cycle. I was very impressed with this ability, although when you read the small print it's only on the right type of material, otherwise the dryer capacity is reduced. There are two temperatures of dry: low and high, the type of wash you select chooses the dry cycle but you can change to the other temp.
The machine is all electronically controlled with no mechanical dials to turn. I was really quite nervous about this - can an electronic controller actually do it or will it fail after six months. Well here we are nearly 12 months later and I've had no faults occur with the washer dryer at all. The electronics seem to work faultlessly - I consider us a fairly intensive washer user, up to 7 washes some weeks. I remember the engineer who visited stating that you could actually connect a computer to a little port inside somewhere and control it that way.
Well what do these electronics do for you? ------------------------------------------------------- There is a delayed start timer - great if you're on economy seven and want the machine to run on cheap electricity, of if you just want it to start after you've gone to bed.
There is a large LCD display that tells you where in the cycle the machine is and how many hours/minutes the cycle has left. Its generally an estimate as it'll have water to heat and can only predict how long that will take, it's very good at it though. This feature is terrific, I know how long a wash is going to take so I can get on with something else and arrive back when the machines finished. A cotton 40 degree wash is 1hour, 24 mins, if you press the mini load button this drops to 1hour 11 mins. If you press the time saver button it will take some more minutes off (but not clean so well). Perhaps I'm just really sad but I love this time remaining display.
The dryer has a dryness sensor so you can set it to: cupboard dry, ironing dry or wear dry. I played with this when we first got it watching how this affected the time till finish display but never really tested it. I tend to just put the dryer on timed for 1 and half hours, but don't often use it as I'd rather not pay for the electricity.
Press the child lock button and all the other buttons will lock out. You need to hold the child lock button in for three seconds to release it. A little light on the display tells you child lock is on so you know what you've don/ Although it doesn't sound like much, it is enough to prevent a happy three year old starting the machine off.
Washes Available --------------------- The machine does a plethora of different wash/rinse/dry cycles but is relatively simple to get the program that you want. I normally press the on button, press the cotton wash button once (for a standard 40 degree wash) slow the dryer speed down a bit and press start. If you press the cotton wash button again it will do a 60 and then 95 degree wash. There is also a button for Synthetics (40 degrees and then 50 degrees), Superwash (60 degrees) for when stuffs really dirty, wool and silks hand wash. You can also press the temperature button to fine tune the temperature of a wash (but can not go above what the cycle's maximum is)
The machine will spin at 1600rpm but I don't normally run machines at their fastest so I'll generally press the spin button four times to reduce this to 1200rpm. I was worried that I'd start to wear this button pressing it so much but so far there is no noticeable wear or play. The synthetic wash gets an 800rpm spin, which again you can control. I find spinning cottons at 800 still leaves them soaking but 1200 does well, I'll generally do towels at 1400 as this gets enough water out for drying.
You can stop the washer part way through a cycle (for instance to put the sock in that you dropped on the stairs). Turn it off, wait two minutes for the door lock to release, put the sock in and turn it back on. The machine carries on from where it was. You can also cancel a wash that's part way through, press and hold stop/cancel for a few seconds, you get a beep and then it starts pumping the water out and ends the cycle. So you still get all the things that you might worry you're missing with an electronic control.
Fluff filter ------------- Before this machine we had a Zanussi, which was fine but we put it in a second property we were selling. The Zanussi has a little door on the front behind which you can access the "fluff filter" to clean it out. We have a dog and two cats, who between them seem to shed a lot of hair. Every three or four weeks I'd have to take the filter out and remove all the hair, fur and gunk. If I didn't clean it then the washer would not be able to pump water out and remain full. When we got the new one, I spent ages looking at the front for the little door, I even asked the engineer who came. Doesn't need cleaning he said, flushes the filter through itself regularly - yeah right I though, that'll break down then. 18 months on - not one problem from it, I don't know how but yes it does flush itself clean somehow.
Does it wash clean? --------------------------- We only use a non-bio powder (used to be Persil Original but now on Ecover). I put clothes in, do the wash thing and they generally come out clean The machine is rated A for washing efficiency which must mean something. It certainly cleans just as well as the Zanussi we had before. The dryer seems more effective than ones I had in the past. I think people generally have failry low expectations out of the dryer in a washer dryer but it seems to get the job done, although the times it estimates for some of the sensor drys can be several hours.
Safety -------- One of the ratings here is on safety - please don't take my opinion for this. I'm not a safety professional and not qualified to rate on it. However the door is double skinned - I think they have to do this now. The door lock won't release for two minutes after any activity stops. So I guess its got what it needs to have.
Overall --------- I know I haven't reviewed anything that I don't like yet but I am a bit of a Dame Washalot and I get on very well with this machine. So yes, I'd give it my recommendation.
20/1/06 edit - got reminder about warranty in the post and realised that I hadn't had this quite as long as I though. I've edited the age in the review (think I got them all) - still can't find how much I paid though
Advantages: Virtually Silent, ecconomic, Superb wash Performance, Uses almost NO water, Powerful Gentle spin. Disadvantages: Control panel can look a bit daunting (but isn't really)
...been a bit wary of Hotpoint ever since my best friend had one of the fiasco models which ripped peoples clothes but when I opened the door it became apparent that the whole interior of the drum had been skilfully re-designed by Hotpoint to eliminate any potential sharp edges.
A further refinement is the use of a brushless induction motor which together with a well designed belt drive system all adds up to virtually silent vibration free operation. ... ...really don't know how the Hotpoint engineers have managed to make a spin drier which is so good.
It is a big drum taking up to a whopping 5.5Kg of laundry. Ideal if you have a personal football team living with you. I don't but we are keen gardeners - so we do have plenty of mud! Spin speed is selectable from 400 to 1600 Rpm and even at the top speed this has got to be the gentlest machine you will ever find. The wash programs come with all the ...
jennyd60 15.12.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hotpoint WD860G
Advantages: Looks nice, lengthy parts guarantee, good spin speed, good load capacity Disadvantages: Drying function broken down twice, high water consumption, clothes either not completely dry or come out too crispy!, suspect clothes being damaged..
...due to loose fan blades. Hotpoint came out in two days and fixed it in 30 minutes. Disappointing that such a new machine should break so early on but past expreience shows that hotpoints tend to be reliable after the first repair.
If you have the space for a seperate washer and dryer then I would definitely recommend that you go that instead - that way you don't have to wait for one load to dry before washing another load and you won't have to suffer ... ...and one dryer) made by hotpoint and the two washers have required repair. I'm afraid that I've now rather lost faith in this brand and would you caution you to avoid buying Hotpoint or at least purhcase from a place which offers you an extended guarantee as part of the selling price.
I've also started noticing that the collars on a lot of my shirts are becoming more and more frayed but can't confirm whether this is due to the machine or because ...
ucjtckc 29.08.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hotpoint WD860G
Advantages: Fairly easy to use, large wash and dry capacity, Good warranty back-up Disadvantages: High Water consumption for drying function?
...to loose fan blades. Hotpoint came out in two days and fixed it in 30 minutes. Disappointing that such a new machine should break so early on but past expreience shows that hotpoints tend to be reliable after the first repair.
All in all, a good machine especially as you can wash 5kg and dry 5kg at the same time. If you have space, go for a separate washer and dryer, otherwise this is a good compromise. ...
ucjtckc 22.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hotpoint WD860G
Advantages: Good Load for Washing, Big Drum, Hi Speed Spin, Very quiet Disadvantages: None yet
Why I got my Hotpoint WD860 Graphite Washer Dryer.
I live in a flat that is pushed for space due to the bad layout of the rooms (A 60's building) So a Washer & Dryer as 2 units would not fit in the same room. So went for a all in one.
First thing I Found with this Hotpoint WD860 Graphite Washer Dryer is that it's Easy to Setup - Remove the 2x Transport Bolts and Put them safe in case you move at a later date - It only uses The Cold Water Supply. ... ...in the manual or on Hotpoint website - Is the rubber Seal - It has a small 2 cracks at the bottom of the rim that attaches to the drum housing - I did call Hotpoint About them but apparently there meant to be there to prevent water building up behind the rubber seal and going bad and making a bad smell. Apparently this is true on all new washers now. So nothing to worry about.
The Washer part:
Very Quiet running, Uses Very little water for the ...
hitechguy18 24.09.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hotpoint WD860G
Advantages: Easy to program - flexible cycles Disadvantages: Noisy and occasional rinse problems
Summary
This is a pretty good washer dryer for the money. It has a wide range of programs and the electronic function is easy and clear to operate. It washes and dries effeciently however it is not keen on very large loads. It is prone to being very noisy and occasionally needs a 2nd rinse to remove excess suds. Generally, this is a good machine and an improvement on previous washer driers.
Washing
There is a wide range of programmes to choose ... ...them. I have used most of the specialist programmes (Delicates, Wool etc) with success - even hand wash woolens have come out fine. The spin cycle is louder than I expected but it's 1600 rpm is very efficient - a noticable difference on my previous 1200 machine.
I have experienced problems when washing very large loads. On roughly 1 in 5 large loads the suds do not seem to rinse away properly resulting in white marks on dark clothes. Another rinse ...
mrsmcculloch 05.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Hotpoint WD860G
