Whirlpool AWO 10761 > Reviews (2)

I received my machine on Friday of last week, having put it through its paces over the weekend I thought I would publish my findings with regards to its performance.

Firstly the price of the machine. I would strongly advice anyone to shop around before buying, and more importantly take a good look at what you are getting for your money. Whilst comparing prices, I came across several on-line prices that looked very good up until the point you arrive at the checkout. Suddenly the cheap price has VAT and delivery charges added and bares no resemblance at all to the price first quoted.

I purchased my machine via Sainsbury's mainly to boost my Nectar points and paid just under £300. Delivery charges are quite steep at £20, but this is a one off charge regardless of how many items are on the order, as I ordered 3 items at the same time the charge was not to bad.

Moving slightly off track from the washing machine, I must point out what a fantastic service Sainsbury's have with regards to delivering domestic appliances. Their service was very quick, easy and the delivery guys were very courteous and efficient during the actual delivery.

FEATURES:
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The machine boasts no less than 11 programmes on it. In order to arrive by this figure the Whirlpool do list things such as rinses and spins in order to make the number of programmes look good.
In practical terms it has all the wash programmes you would need including the usual selection of cotton / synthetics / delicates washes
that feature on virtually every washing machine on the market.

A very useful programme is the hand wash feature. Although the machine already has a woollens programme, the hand wash goes just that little bit further in caring for garments that loose shape easily. Instead of rotating the drum, it simply agitates it back and forth.

The quick wash on machine takes around 40 minutes to complete and produces good results. This wash programme didn't cope very well with mud stains and I would say is more for freshening clothes up rather than heavy washing.

Access to the machine is very good. The door is not massive like some machines but is certainly more than adequate for loading and unloading larger items such as duvets or curtains.

As we are all being constantly reminded of global warming by the "doom and gloom" merchants, the machine has a variable temperature feature. This allows you to turn the temperature down by 10c in order to save energy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that just like the commercials say, the wash results do come out the same.

When buying a new washer, even if you have no interest in saving the planet, the cost savings of this feature are well worth looking into, Another benefit is that the wash programme finishes slightly faster as it doesn't take as long to heat the water up.

Another features are a delay timer. Although personally I haven't used this, it is useful if anyone has a night-time lower electricity tariff.

The machine has an LCD display which shows the progress of the wash cycle.

This I have found to be useful as it displays the time left for the programme to run. When washing several loads, it saves keep running back to the machine to see if it has finished ready to put the next lot in.

PERFORMANCE:
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In a word "BRILLIANT!!"

The end wash results are very very good. I have yet to take anything back out of the machine that requires putting back in for a second time. Although I am still using the same detergent, the results are noticeably better than my old machine without the need for any pre-treaters or additives to the detergent.

The spin speed has a maximum of 1400rpm, however like the temperature this can be adjusted to suit. I have found that particularly with cotton towels the spin is very good and removes most of the water from them.

I only have one criticism's of the machine.
Firstly the noise level. When running at full speed during its spin cycle there does seem to be a lot of vibration noise from the machine. Although it is far from deafening, it is louder than I expected.

GENERAL OPINION:
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The Whirlpool machine I would say is aimed towards the lower price end of the market. However with this particular model you do get plenty for your money. Considering the price, its over-all performance and results are superb. I would most definatly recommend the machine to anyone looking for a good quality machine on a tight budget.

SPECIFICATIONS:
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Size: H850 x W600 x D595mm
Energy Rating: A+
Wash Performance rating: A
Spin Rating: B
Programmes: 11
Wool Programme, Delicate Wash, Quick Wash, Hand Wash, Pre Wash, Intensive Wash, Anti Bacterial Programme, Anti Crease Programme.
Rinse Hold
Max Spin: 1400rpm Variable Spin
Half Load Function: Automatic
Delay Timer
Wash Load: 7Kg
Energy Consumption: 1.02Kwh
Water Consumption: 49Litres