When you move into a house as a first time buyer there are things you will always need to buy - a bed - sofa - and kitchen appliances. I'm no different from you and quickly realised that it's a minefield out there when it comes to buying a washing machine with every major electrical manufacturer pleading that they are the best. Sadly my finances meant that I couldn't opt for a Dyson £1000+ beast of a machine so I scanned a number of websites and ended up with the Zanussi ZWF1421W for £229 from Sainsbury's online kitchen appliance store.
Price was the major factor in my purchase - as was the fact that it was white and would blend in nicely with the existing kitchen without the need for any changes.
When it arrived it was plumbed in for me thankfully and at 85cm high, 60 wide and 59 cm deep it slotted into the existing hole in the work surfaces. The machine is front loading by which I mean the transparent door is on the front rather than the top and according to the instruction manual with operate with a load of up to 6kg - experience (not that I weigh my laundry) leads me to believe that this is a bit of an overestimate and in reality it probably relates to the weight of the laundry when wet.
I have managed to get 10 shirts - pants - socks into the machine. If you overload it the machine will not start. If you are washing heavy items likes jumpers or jeans the amount you can wash is reduced dramatically.
Sitting in the Category A for power efficiency they machine isn't the most efficient and will cost more than expensive models to run - the actual published energy consumption is 1.14 kWh per wash - using the machine though is still cheaper than driving my washing to my parents house!
There are several pre-set washes that cover every eventuality and I was surprised by how quiet the actual washes were - my parents machine sounds like a battle tank coming through the kitchen wall whilst this gentle hums with little to no visible sound from outside the kitchen - good news if like me your walls are paper thin!
In short the machines does what it is there for - washes my clothes. Cheap to buy - easy to use - quiet - sums up the Zanussi ZWF1421W nicely.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Thanks for the review - Our current machine (which is over 10 years old) has just started to make some very loud banging noises when entering its spin cycle.
This machine is on our shortlist.
ciaomeister1 04.06.2006 20:52
Oh no, this would never start for me, I always overload my washing machine!
Holiam 04.06.2006 18:24
Sounds like a good machine, considering the price. x
Jun 2nd, 2006
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