If your wash machine capacity was 7 kg & you went to one with 9 kg or 11 kg...-

[Mum5net]

... did it change your life?
Moving home and need a new washing machine. Budget is £450. Two of us and the dog. Also expecting lots of visitors so frequent bed linen changes. What did you notice when you went XL? Is it just that you get a bigger door?

I have a 9kg washing machine and would say that bigger washes increase your hanging time and space! A full load takes up 1.5 airers and takes longer to hang, so aside from bedding I tend to run smaller loads. I still don’t fit in a super king size duvet cover, 4 x pillow cases and sheet. So I wouldn’t say it’s life changing, more annoying. I also have a 9kg dryer and when used together it’s life changing.

Mine is 12kg, I bought it so I could wash duvets and pillows and 10kg weighted blankets

There are different weight limits on different cycles, I think the only one that can do 12kg is the cotton cycle which is 3.5 hours long!

In general I'd rather use the 1hr 50 synthetic cycle which I think is 9kg.

Physically it sticks out further than a standard washer which is fine for me because its in the utility but might annoy you in the kitchen.

My old normal washing machine packed in, so I hastily bought a massive one. I only realised when it had been installed that a normal wash cycle takes over 3 hours. Some of the cycles are 4 hours !! Ridiculous. So my advice is to research and check you’re comfortable with how long the cycles take.

Moving to a warmer part of the UK so I can’t justify a dryer. Interesting about you not fitting super king set into one wash. Maybe I need the 10kg or 11 kg as my beds are all on the large side

Mine is 9kg and I like that I can fit in our king sized bedding easily, and the dog’s bed occasionally too. Also have done the sleeping bags in it.
We are two adults and two children though so do have big loads of washing, for two adults I would say 7kg is plenty for normal use.

I had a 7kg I was so happy when it broke so I could replace it with a bigger one , couldn’t justify replacing it just because I hadn’t done my research. And yes it made a massive difference

We have 11kg. I do all laundry in 2 loads. Family of 4.

Oh. I’m so glad I posted . @ChristmasHugand @Massivescreen. I can’t bear long cycles. This is eye opening.

I live in one of the warmer places in the UK & love my tumbledrier! You definitely will still get enough use out of it to justify buying one!

I was going to get a 10kg washing machine but the long wash times put me off.

Mine is 9kg & I pretty much always use a cotton cycle & without fiddling with it the normal length is 1 hour 22 minutes which is perfect for us (family of 5, 4 are adults)

I use a 39 min cycle all the time with 7 kg . I’ve got this so wrong.

Mine is a 9kg and still have to wash super king size bedding in 2 lots. It does a full set of double bedding no issues though.
as @Lifeisabeach1 I tend to do smaller loads and mainly use the quick wash 45min cycle.
mine has an app and only the longer cycles can do the full load. And the quickest full 9kg load is wash is 90mins.
i chose mine because of the amount of quick wash functions it has, I live on my own so don’t need to do massive washes but do use quick washes fairly
often. It’s a candy machine and I really can’t fault it.

We went for a 10kg. It makes a difference.

I have a 10 kg but it has a range of cycles from 15 minutes to 2.30 for the eco cycle. I can easily fit in a super king duvet cover with other items as well.

Washer dryer combine os life chngimg

I’ve got a 8kg machine, 2 adults
we do 2 loads of bedding a week, 3 loads of towels a week as we both have fresh every night and 2 loads of clothes each a week 🤣 he does his washing I do mine!

I am on my second 9kg. My first was a Siemens, with cycle times from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

We have a Superking bed and it swallowed that easily; could also fit a dog bed (for a Labrador) in there.

My second machine is a Bosch, also a 9 kg, which is slower, but also has a better power rating. It does everything I need , just a bit slower. ( Siemens was not available hence the switch to Bosch)

We’ve always had combined washer tumble driers. Can’t imagine life without one. Nor can I imagine a singular part of the U.K. that is warm enough for it to be an unjustifiable purchase it’s not like the US where you’ve got a vastly different climate between NYC and Texas

I had a 10kg beko that did a wash in 38 mins.

This one apparently has a 28 min cycle (not sure if that’s a full load)

https://www.beko.co.uk/appliances/laundry/washing-machines/product/freestanding-10kg-1400rpm-washing-machine-energyspin-b3w31041-anthracite-white

I was advised by an engineer thought that the quicker wash cycles when used all the time, shorten the life of your machine. Can’t remember the logic to that though…

I had a 10kg washer and 10kg dryer…. It was good.

My Hoover 9kg machine can do a full load in an hour. I also went from a 7kg and my washing builds up just as quick unfortunately 😁

I have a Bosch 9 Kg. It replaced a 20 yr old Bosch 7kg. I rarely fill it but I find the wash gets a lot less tangled. It’s less energy efficient than the older machine was and the eco programmes are ridiculously long but I use the 30 min quick wash for a lot of things and when I want to do a longer wash I load the machine at night and set the finish time for first thing in the morning.

i’m in the SW and most of the year I can dry things on the line but in the autumn/winter it’s just too damp outside.

We had to replace ours recently and I spent a long time reading all the manuals before buying one. It seems to me that almost universally they only have one (or possibly two) programmes which can actually take the listed weight, and that programme will take hours. The short washes seem to take only 2-4kg. So, I suggest you read the manual carefully! I went for a Bosch in the end, partly because it has the button to let you shorten most washes, and also because it lets me open the door and add something I'd forgotten, and I didn't realise until studying details that a lot of modern machines don't let you do that! What I don't like is the stupid eco 40-60 wash, Which, even if I decide I can bear to wait three or four hours, doesn't let me choose just 40 degrees, and as I barely have anything that washes at 60 I have only ever used it once for towels.

I wanted to be able to wash duvet and dog beds regularly so it was great

Ours is 9kg but never run it full this time of year as smaller load dries quicker as really space it out on airer

When I previously upgraded many years ago from a woefully shite washer/dryer, the biggest difference I noticed was the spin speed and how much drier clothes were coming out.

We recently upgraded from (I think 7.5kg) Bosch to 9kg Miele. Its also just DH, myself and a dog. I can fit the dog bed in, single quilts and I think doubles. Can't fit a king quilt in though. I mean the quilt, not the sheets.

Modern machines often have longer cycles which are more eco friendly. I know it seems counter intuitive, but both my washing machine and dishwasher use less water and electric on a longer, 3hr+cycle. Both Miele machines. It still seems bonkers that its more economic, but who knows 🤷‍♀️

The other issue with my washer, which is something to watch for in general, is that it weighs the load and apparently how dirty it is (no idea how) then reduces the cycle time. I don't want that, sometimes I use machine dye which needs to run for a certain time or I'm trying to get a stain out of something or an item is very smelly and I want it in a full wash.

I hate bloody intelligent machines.