New Bosch washing machine | 3 hours and 50 minutes cotton cycle | WTF?

[ThisOldThang]

Our old Bosch washing machine gave up the ghost. The cotton cycle took around 90 minutes with extra rinse selected.

The new one has a 3 hour and 50 minute cycle.

How is that acceptable to anybody?

From what I've read it's all due to water efficiency. I live in Britain. We've got shit loads of water falling from the sky. This isn't an arid Greek island.

Am I unreasonable to think this is total bullshit and not what any family needs? Which morons allowed this to happen?

My Bosch is about 2 months old. I mostly use the Eco cycle, which starts at 3h24, but it rarely is thst long in reality. I also have the option of a Super quick 25' or 30' cycle - plus delicates and woollens and so on (because I detest handfasting, so I need those cycle sometimes.)

I just put a load on when I get home from work and hang it up in the back room before bed.

Hit the speed perfect button. It halves the cycle length. The standard cycles are madly long. Speed perfect is your friend.

My Bosch is the same. I do use the cotton cycle for bedding and towels because that is the only full size wash that I can do at 60 degrees. I set it to come on overnight (at this time of year) to make use of Economy 7 electricity. In the summer we make use of solar.
The allergy wash (also 60) is for a much smaller load.

I got a new Beko recently, but I was looking at Bosh machines as well. I think @ThisOldThang that you'll find that programmes on different makes are all very similar to each other. The trick is to work out what works for you. Our new machine is good with water use etc - and the full programmes are similar long times to yours depending on which programme you choose - but we have a 'intensive' button, which cuts the time in half. Plus quick programmes and other options.

It's just a matter of working out which combinations of programmes and the other buttons are what you want to do until you get used to them?. We've had our machine now for 3 weeks and I've got used to it now and the washing comes out just fine and well cleaned.

Always when you're about to head out the door and then oh, there's only a minute left to go, I'll just wait and hang this out before I go...

Press "Speed Perfect" and it goes down to 1hr and 17 minutes.

We might have the same machine. I use the easy care cycle for most things. Says 4kg but I wash more than that on it. 2.5 hours. I do use the cottons 50 setting for towels though

I have Miele, it has a button to press which shortens the cycke. I also have a dishwasher with a short cycle

30 minute, 30°, bish bash Bosch 👍

Yes, my Bosch has a mixed load cycle that takes around an hour. I use that for practically everything. I do the towels at 60 degrees, everything else at the default 40, except when I’m washing woollens on 30.

Give the ECO setting a try for sports kit.

I use Eco cycle all the time now. My teenagers clothes come out with no sweaty smell at all. With shorter washes the armpits always retained a little ‘whiff’.

It weighs at the start so never takes the full time but yes it is longer.

Yep totally agree

OH does the washing here and insists on using the proper cycle which takes an age. I use the xpress which takes 32 mins, it doesnt spin properly and doesnt take all the soap out which infuriates him but Im not using the longer cycle

We shove everything on the 1h 'mixed load' cycle. And push the temperature up if we want more of a cottons wash.
Tbf, that 1 hr cycle can take anything from about 40 to 90 mins. The times aren't acurate!!

These long cycles, added to the 'don't run overnight or while asleep" messages make life pretty impossible!

What’s ridiculous about it? Do you sit watching the machine for the whole time? I put mine on a long cycle when I don’t need to do several loads at once. So for example before I leave for work - then it’s harming no one. 😂

That is long, but I know in the case of an Eco setting it can do that. And that Cotton cycles can be like that.
I have a Hoover washing machine, the Synthetics cycle is good, which I still put some cottons in. It measures at the beginning, and it will cut down quite a bit once it has done its thing, and knows how much is in the drum, so that can be used for so many clothes, and I go between that and where I can, I use the rapid wash, but will usually go with 30 mins or 45, because I don’t feel 14/15 as most offer, is enough.

One of the great things about an automatic washing machine is that you don't have to sit and watch it throughout the whole cycle.

I haven't timed it, but I don't think the eco cycle (which I use all the time as it's environmentally friendly...) on my Bosch actually takes as long as the duration that initially flashes up.

What is your first sentence meant to mean?

No one is watching it, its about the time taken to finish all the washing every week. We do ours over the weekend and usually have around 4 or 5 loads, if it was 3 hours a cycle thats 15 hours in total, takes forever.

When I use my little 32 minute cycle, even if I had an extra spin of 8 mins, thats just over 3 hours give or take.

I love the 3hr cycle on mine.

Load it before bed, set the timer to come on at 4am and it’s ready to hang out when I get up. Housework whilst I’m asleep? Yes please!

Does it have the ‘speed perfect’ button to take the time right down?

Have you checked all the options? My bosch manine offers 75. 45 and 20 mins as well as the long cycles.

I understand the frustration with washing machine cycle lengths, but it blows my mind how few people seem to know how perilous our water availability it in the UK. Yes, it rains a lot (not as much as it used to!) but huge swathes of the country get drinking water from groundwater aquifers, not collected rainwater. Climate change has meant more rain is coming in shorter but heavier events, which run off rather than soak in, meaning those aquifers are running dangerously low in multiple regions (there are other reasons, but that is a big one).

Quite simply, we've done what we've done for things like fishing - "oh but there's loads of fish, so why do we need any control on fishing", and now we have significantly depleted fish stocks. We culturally think water is so abundant that it has no value, so we don't value it, and are now starting to reap the results.

There's a lot the industry needs to do (and are slowing now being forced to, but it is slow), but if every end user in the UK was more conscious of usage - be that not watering the lawn in summer, not washing clothes after one use, getting leaks fixed promptly, not running the shower for ages, or choosing the eco cycle for washing - it would make a difference.

Our new Bosch is around the same. But I can shorten the cycle to 1.5 hours if it’s 5kg or less. The long cycle is for up to 10kg. You can possibly do the same if your load isint too big.

My washing machine has some crazy long cycles...I never use them

Most stuff gets put on the 30 minute wash option...

Yes I have a Bosch too. I just use the 55 min 40c cycle . Everything is very clean. I occasionally use the 60c but it’s 2hrs so try to avoid .