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?

15 mins? That really does nothing more than a quick swirl in soap and not much of a rinse. It’s meant for 2-3 items that are practically clean and just need a quick freshen.

That’s right, I think a lot of clothes only need a quick freshen. We probably tend to over wash things.

Does it actually take that long? I only ask because my older Bosch shows the cotton cycle as 2 hours 35, but the countdown display does a jump.about 10 minutes in, so.it only actually takes about 1 hour 45.

Our machine takes 3+ hours, never been a problem. I set the timer for it to end when I want to take it out so it doesn't really matter how long it takes. I don't believe the quick washes are properly thorough.

Inspired by this thread Ive been looking up washing machines and its true what other posters have said, when you're looking on John Lewis or Currys or whatever theres no information about the actual cycles, just a load of guff about how there are 12 programmes to choose from and so you're bound to find one that suits your needs. They do set out longest wash, eco wash which are all well over 3 hours and many have a short quick wash of 20 mins but like other posters thats too short.

Agree with PP completely about the bullshit around manufacturers caring so much about climate change, items are made to last 5 minutes and then be dumped beccause they cannot be fixed. There is absolutely no committment to sustainability at all. Talk about gaslighting.

The programme I use most - 30 or 40 degree wash and 1400 spin takes 2 hours 39 minutes.

Absolutely. If the cycles are not practical for family living then they are not going to be used. Waste of fucking time developing them.

dc was really unwell this week and came home as I’d prefer to keep an eye out.

When they left I washed all bedding, towels and clothes.

If I’d have to wait for the usual 2 & half hours and then dry everything it would have been like a laundry! Luckily I have a speed perfect button. Otherwise no thanks.

The manufacturers need to listen to their customers.

I just bung everything on the "mixed" cycle, which is 1 hour 20 minutes. Like yours, my cotton cycle is something bonkers. I think it's over 3 hours!

I also tend to give everything an extra 12 minute spin cycle at the end, which gives a good head-start on drying.

I feel your pain. We’ve got new Bosch a year ago (ours is max 9kg) - all programmes are much longer even with speed perfect button. It was carefully chosen but to be honest the online info was quite limited.
Our previous one was Hotpoint with a big load as well. It had quick light silk cycle which was absolutely perfect for some of my and DD’s items, an option to add extra rinse, much better options for 60 degrees wash and a handwash programme as well.

I mostly use mixed and quick wash on everyday basis and cottons on a timer. I haven’t dared yet to use ECO circle 🙂

@pizzaHeart

I've noticed that on my machine's dial the Eco and Cotton washes appear to be linked. The line from Cotton continues around the dial and back to Eco.

I'm not sure if that's Bosch's way of telling us that the water/energy regulations now apply to both cotton and eco washes. They both display 3:50 when selected, so there doesn't appear to be a difference between the two.

I often use the eco cycle when working from home. Put it on before starting work then its ready by lunchtime.

And what does the super quick wash like? Most of my washing can get clean in a short wash like that. Most of our clothes dont get really muddy etc

I just chuck most things into a proper grammar on my machine called ‘jeans’ 1 hour, 40c and 1700 spin. Towels, u see wear and bedding all go on a longer cycle.

my favourite setting is the timer. I set it so that it starts when we wake up but means I don’t have to run downstairs to press the button.

My Bosch machine is weird. I mostly use 40c easy car for 55 mins. But had something yesterday that I wasn’t sure of( a rubberised Mac) so went to select easy care 30c and it flashed up 2hrs 50!! So I just stuck with 40 and it was fine . Just do t see why it’s so much longer on some programs .

Last night my youngest son did a poo after going to bed and his nappy leaked.

I threw his pyjamas and a few items of kids clothes in the machine and used the Hygiene Plus wash. To be fair to the machine it certainly got hot enough to kill bacteria (the glass door was painfully hot to the touch). The bad news is that this water efficiency bullshit meant that the clothes weren't adequately washed/rinsed and now all the items smell of shit.

I'm going to have to wash them again to try and get rid of the smell.

How is washing things twice going to save energy or water?

If you are not happy with it, are you in a position to return it?

When I wash stuff like that I tend to add a prewash but do a normal cycle at 60C.

The prewash gets rid of any actual remnants of the soil and then the 60C cycle kills bacteria.

But I have just used your image to find the approx model and the manual does say if you use the speed perfect button to reduce the cycle time, it also reduces capacity to 5kg (from a 9kg machine) which is a bit shit TBH. Still, may be worth a try.

Maybe, but what's the point? They all have to obey the same water and energy regulations.

The speed perfect button does seem to bring a bit of sanity to the situation. It's just a shame so many programs are hobbled by inadequate water usage.

I didn't think about using pre-wash, but that's a good tip.

Thanks.

How does this capacity reduction work in practice? Does a hand appear out of the drum holding a sign reading, "Kein Waschen mehr, Dummkopf!"

Well no of course not. I would guess what they mean when they say a cycle is suitable for 9kg vs 5kg worth of clothing is that if you try to put 9kg through the speedier cycle, it won't get as clean. As long as you're not cramming the drum so full nothing can move though, it will probably be fine.

@ThisOldThang have you ever weighed your washing? The weight limit is for dry clothing and I have never come anywhere close to 9kg of washing that would actually fit the drum so I just fill it and leave a gap for movement but I doubt it’s ever weighed more than 5 or 6 kg at most

I presume there is a maximum water dosage per cycle, so adding too much laundry will result in barely damp clothes.

Eco washes spend a considerable amount of time allowing the items to soak, reducing power consumption and wear and tear on the machine. Hence it takes longer.

Most modern washing machines weigh and add a measured amount of water according to the size of the load. The less diluted the detergent is the more effective it is.

Surely it’s not difficult for someone to choose a programme time and temperature to suit them? For day to day washing l prefer to use the delicates programme because its kinder to the clothes.