Washers and Dryers Buying Guide
Washing machines are one of those products that if you get the right machine your life becomes easier but if you have a bad one it can mean endless engineer call outs and flooded kitchens. So it pays to take a little time to see what various styles and designs of machine are on offer.
Type of Machine
The first question to ask is normally what type of washing machine do I need? There are two distinctive categories here, a standard washing machine or a washer dryer. The type of machine you buy will often come down to 3 factors, your washing and drying requirements, the amount of space you have and of course the money you have to spend.
Washer dryers are more expensive than standard washing machines, a washer dryer will cost between £200 and £1500, as with most appliance the more you pay the higher quality a product you get. However, repairing these machines can often be expensive and so purchasing in the mid price range can often be more economical in the long run that purchasing the most expensive machine on the market.
On average a washing machine will cost from around £150 to over £1000 depending on its features. However, a washer dryer will be less expensive and more economical on space than buying a separate dryer. The penalty of this reduced cost is that the drying quality is not always the same and will often take longer to finish, increasing the time you have to spend on washing, this often makes washer dryers unsuitable for large families.
One important thing to look out for in regards to price is cloning. Cloning is where two manufacture merge or one manufacture agrees to produce machines for another company. These co-produced machines can often be less expensive but the brand name on the machine may not be that of the manufacture who produced it and so the quality may not be guaranteed.
Machine type:
Load Capacity
The size of your washing machine depends on the amount you need to wash on a regular basis. The average load capacity of a washing machine is around 6kg but this does vary from as low as 3kg and up to 10kg on very large top loading machines. Most washing machines in the UK will be front loading but it is possible to get American style top loading machines, which often hold larger weights of clothing. It is worth noting that the drying function of a washer dryer will only hold around half the load capacity of its washing function, again this is a big reason why washer dryers are not always suitable if you need to regularly wash and dry large volumes of washing.
Washing capacity:
Drying capacity:
Size and Loading Type
The standard width for a front loading washing machine or washer dryer is 60cm, however, smaller compact dryers can go down to 50cm. The drawback of these machines is they will take a reduced load of around 3kg to 4kg and they will have less washing programmes often making them unsuitable for washing delicate items. The larger American style machines, which will take increased loads can be beneficial to large families.
Width:
Loading type:
Spin Speed
As a general guideline spin speeds of a washing machine will start at around 800rpm and go up to about 1600rpm. The most popular spin speed is in the region of 1000rpm to 1200rpm. As a rule, the faster the spin on a machine, the more expensive it is and the quicker it will wear out. This is simply because the machine has to rotate an increased amount of times compared to a slower machine. The faster the spin speed the more moisture it removes from the clothes, however, you should also bare in mind that some machine will peak at a very high speed, but will not maintain it for a long period, so there overall performance for getting water out may not be as good as the spin speed suggests. It is also worth considering that the faster the spin speed the more creased your clothes will get. Generally speaking anything over 1200rpm is not really worth it, and 1000rpm should usually be enough.
Spin Speed:
Energy Rating
All washing machines and washer dryers’ carry an energy rating graded from A to G for energy, with A being the best and G the worst. All ratings are based on standard test results for a 60 C cotton wash cycle. Machines with energy saving devices are more expensive and have more parts to go wrong, so there is always a trade off between the increased price, also meaning more wear and tear, which results in increased maintenance costs against the savings made on water and electricity. If you are not going to use the machine much then this will not affect you much. If you are a regular user, then consider the energy and water consumption, but balance it against the extra initial cost and the greater likelihood of maintenance costs.
Energy Rating:
Noise Level
Most machines will be given a noise level rating which is measured in decibels (db). Again, normally the more expensive machines are quieter but this is only a general rule. The faster a machine spins, the more noise it will tend to generate and considering the faster spin machines are normally more expensive the theory that cheaper machines are noisier can fall down. As a general rule to noise levels, a machine creating around 70 db on the spin programme is a quiet one.
Noise Level:
Programmes
The number of programmes a washing machine has will vary and again quite often the more programmes the higher the cost. Featured programmes might include separate controls to allow you to select the water temperature to suit the load and the type of detergent you are using rather than pre-set programmes. Time saver option allowing reduced washing times, variable spin can change the spin speed to stop creasing of delicate materials, delicate wash programmes or long wash and a host of others. It is important to be careful here and consider what your requirements are, there is little point in paying hundreds of pounds for 24 different programmes if you will only ever use 8 of them.
Number of Programmes:
Tumble Dryers
If you have the money and you require the washing and drying of large amounts of clothes on a regular basic you might consider buying a separate tumble dryers. Tumble dryers have larger drums than washing machines, this allows better efficiency of hot air flow through the machine resulting in faster drying. This also means clothes are less likely to experience heavy creasing.
Most machines have two heat settings, for cottons or synthetics and occasionally a setting for delicates. They use a timer or sensor to control the length of the drying cycle. During the section of the cycle, the machine stops heating the fabrics and cool air is feed in to reduce the materials temperature, this helps reduces the effects of creasing. The majority of machines have a reverse tumble feature, meaning the drum rotates both ways, pausing in between. This keeps items separated and dries them more evenly and quickly.
Many fabrics will withstand tumble-drying, but you can check wash care labels for the relevant symbol; this is a square with a circle in it, and may also contain one dot (dry at low heat) or two dots (dry at higher heat) so you choose the right setting
Tumble driers come in two types, vented and condenser; with a vented machine the hot air is extracted from the building using a plastic hose to prevent condensation. These machines a generally cheaper and most machines will be vented from the back, but some are from the side. For an extra cost a condenser dryer separates water from the moist air into a container which is emptied after drying, or can be pumped away via the drains if the machine is positioned near a sink and can be plumbed in. Drying is slightly slower compared with vented machines. You can install a condenser dryer in any well-ventilated room, they are more expensive but can be more convenient that a system that requires a hose.