New washing machine takes 4-5 hours to wash a full load, is this normal?

[Shopaholic100]

My old Bosch washing machine died after 15 years, so I bought a new Samsung 9 kg add wash one, after lots of positive reviews both on line and from family and friends. I tried my friends one which was 9kg and had a daily wash cycle and was really impressed. So we bought the latest model thinking thinking they would just have improved on the older model. How wrong we were. After it finally arrived (a whole other story), it has lots of different cycles but only 2 where you can use it for a 9kg load and they take 4-5+ hours and it doesn’t have the daily wash function. It does have a 15 minute one but you can only put in 2kg and it does a cold wash.

I’m not sure how it has a A+++ rating it takes hours to wash a normal family load. I’m not sure why they have a 9kg drum when most of the settings have a maximum of 4kg load. My old machine washed a load in about one hour. Is this normal in new machines?

I’m so disappointed it was quite expensive so I can’t even replace it. I only wanted a machine which would wash my clothes in a reasonable amount of time. I’ve only had it just over a week and wish I’d gone for the older model with less options but a one hour daily wash.

To top it off the new Bosch dryer has decided it only want to dry shirts etc and anything like T-shirt’s come out damp no matter how many times you put them back in😬.

I want my old appliances back at least they washed everything in an hour and dried everything you put in there. Are new appliances just not as good?

I think it’s quite common - by pure luck mine has a 1 hour 40 degree wash and a quick 15/20 mins wash where I can increase the temperature to 40 degrees - the standard wash though is 2.5 hours . I saw lots like yours in the shops

What?! A 9kg machine only takes 9kgs on SOME cycles?! I am definitely using mine wrong (missing point of thread, I know)

I bung loads in a quick wash and it cleans it just fine.

There might be a button to press to shorten a load? Mine washes on eco mode as standard but you can shorten the time.

@SoupDragon

I have a different machine - I only ever use the "coloured and synthetics" Cycle which takes about 2 hours (usually under) - the white/cotton one is ridiculously long.

What annoys me is that I chose it for the high spin speed but you can only get this as a separate spin cycle, not as part of a wash cycle. This means I have to put it oN for another spin at the end of the wash.

I have the opposite problem with my Bosch- no separate spin cycle, only a 'rinse and spin'. As I dont have a tumble dryer this is really annoying as a second spin used to be handy before hanging it out to dry.

@RincewindsHat

What?! A 9kg machine only takes 9kgs on SOME cycles?! I am definitely using mine wrong (missing point of thread, I know)

Yes, it can be as low as 1.5 kg for something like the handwash or 'quickwash, why bother, it's not really even dirty but you know what some Mumsnetters are like' 15 minutes setting.

We have a basic Miele. None of the cycles take that long. I usually use the small load quick wash for most clothing. It'd technically 20 mins and can change from 30 to 40 degrees and take away some of the "shortness" to increase wash to half hour.

It's generally quicker to do 2 or 3 of these short washes than to do one large load.

Can you maybe do the same OP? can you change the temp of your quick wash cycle?

when we bought ours, one question I asked was how long was the wash cycle.

pretty much 100% of salespeople didn't know.
So I aksed to see the machine booklet, and about 50% of machines I couldn't see the booklet. The rest we had to search really hard to find the length of the wash cycle and even then it didn't always say.

salespeople were really surprised at us wanting to know. I think it is an unexpected shock for most people buying a new machine.

I would also try complaining to Samsung. They may be able to tell you how to get the features you want from your expensive machine or they may offer to swap it for a different model. After sales service is part of what you pay so much money for, so don't be afraid to use it!

What's the model number?

I still use the eco wash but I set it to start at 4am, then it finishes at about 8:30am and I can hang it up or put it away, depending on whether I’ve used the dryer or not.

My Samsung washing machine is the worst I have ever had. Have to do everything on a prewash and ‘extra dirty’ option just to get it vaguely clean.

Oh and it takes over 4 hours. Unless it decides I have lied and things aren’t really dirty when it reduces the time. But then it doesn’t wash properly.

What?! A 9kg machine only takes 9kgs on SOME cycles?! I am definitely using mine wrong (missing point of thread, I know)

helpwiththewashing.co.uk/uk-washing-machine-buying-guide/
Fast Wash
...

Many of the latest washing machines have a 15-minute Fast-Wash feature. Some however only have a 30-minute fast wash and a small number don't have this feature at all!

When comparing different models, you should also look at the weight restrictions as you can usually “Fast Wash” less than 50% of the stated maximum capacity.

It's not usually an issue for us - I think towels on sunday when entire household want to bath/shower and possibly duvets - we have a duvet cycle- are only times I think we may come close to weight limits being a problem. Fast and quick wash are usually for small number of needed quick or not really dirty items for us.

I just ignore the load limits in the manual.

We have a 9kg Samsung ecobubble, we use the 30deg or 40deg synthetic wash most of the time with full loads, always comes out clean, no issues 2 years in.

Are the programmes supposed to be 4 hours? Sometimes a blocked inlet or outlet can slow things down.

@Shopaholic100

What model number is it?

If you let me know, I will have a look at mine then tell you how to shorten the programme, hopefully.

As I always shorten mine

I love my candy machine, lots of different cycles, options to change times, temp and spin. Plus it loads cheaper than most machines.

We've got one of these. It depends on the weight of the load. We use a 40 degree cotton wash for pretty much everything with an extra rinse.
It shows 3+ hours to begin with then adjusts itself and is usually about 2 hours

Sorry but research it vital when buying somehing like a washing machine.

I like quick washes too- young adult children will throw things in the wash when only been work for a couple of hours, so a range if short washes it vital to me.

I always do my research before purchase.

I have a whirlpool 12kg as it uses the least water and the wash and spin is so quiet you can barely hear it. I put it on the night before and it does its thing for up to 6(!!!!!) hours if I fill the drum with the full 12kg capacity and use the eco setting. It also weighs the washing and reduces the time and water use if the drum is only half full.

I should say it also has 1 hour, 30 min and 15 min wash options! but the eco setting is clearly designed for an overnight wash.

@speakout

Sorry but research it vital when buying somehing like a washing machine.

I like quick washes too- young adult children will throw things in the wash when only been work for a couple of hours, so a range if short washes it vital to me.

I always do my research before purchase.

But it's increasingly difficult to find this stuff out in advance. We went to a dept store to look at the machines and they don't plug them in anymore so you can't see the temp/spin/time combinations as you used to. I've been googling manuals for models I'm interested in but they don't always tell you either. I suspect this is because they know noone wants 4hr washes!

I've just got a new machine too, it's a Bosch one which takes 9kg as standard. The "mixed load 40c" setting which I use all the time, takes 1 hour and 3 minutes. The same load on a "quick" setting takes 45 minutes, on the eco setting 1 hour and 25 minutes.

4 or 5 hours is bloody ridiculous, however eco it is. In Scotland it's very much "quick, it's not raining, get the washing on and hang it out to dry". If I had to wait 5 hours the weather would probably change entirely.

I have the 9kg eco bubble and mine washes fine with a full load on a daily wash.

The first question I would ask when getting a new machine is does it have a fast wash cycle? Mine has a 45 minute cycle (called somewhat confusingly Sport) and you can adjust the temperature and spin speed. It’s pretty much the only cycle I use. I never really understand why machines need so many options - I’d be happy with one cycle where you can adjust those two variables. I very occasionally use a longer cycle for very dirty clothes and sometimes the 15 minute cold cycle. I think it can be very difficult to see the wood for the trees when looking for a new model. You need to focus of what you want it to do for you. I actually apply a similar principle buying an iron where my most important consideration is does it have a nice long flex - if it doesn’t (and you’d be surprised how many don’t) then I won’t even look at it.

I put mine on a 30min cycle, 40 temp, 1400 spin. It has other settings for temp and diff materials too.
My clothes come out clean and I get a lot done in a day (family of 6).
Mine is Hotpoint and about 3yrs old

@RaisinGhost

How annoying! Is it a front loader? I've found they take an unusually long time to do a load, so I stick with top loaders these days.

Where do you get toploaders @RaisinGhost? I love them (used to live in the US, where everyone has one), but have never found one here.