New washing machine - cost of living friendly

[Scramblinghealingdreaming]

Hopefully this is on the right subject.

I am looking for a good reliable machine that is economically friendly, 40kg load plus.

Mine is almost dead (spinning noise is awful) so also needs to be in stock.

Any ideas?

---

This thread is a little old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for washing machine recommendations, we’ve recently updated our best budget washing machines page with lots of great options, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users. We hope you find it useful.
MNHQ

A 40kg washing machine?
Thats massive. A large one is usually 8-10kg

Ah sorry for my error

I got an A++ Haier one a couple of months ago, it's great

most important is to actually use the eco cycle and wash generally less if you want to save energy.

check the manuals (should be online) for the energy overview and compare the cycles that you would use most often.

Yes to this! It's not always the shortest cycle that is most energy efficient.

Well we have aeg 8000 series I think. It’s 9kg, and has a high 1600 spin so clothes are spun well and then dry easily on drying rack indoors in winter.

We also have the heat pump tumble dryer. Aeg so a washer/ dryer combo also if you need

What's your budget?

I've got an Indesit that's doing well and has eco modes and stuff A+++

Yes you can check the manuals online for the kwh ratings of the appliance these days.

Be aware energy ratings changed recently because the way they used to be set up was outdated so every appliance was getting A / A+ / A+++ and people couldn't really tell the difference between the different numbers of pluses and just assume that anything over a B is good, even though it wasn't any more.

There is a new scale now and it's future proof (assuming that all appliances will get better and more eco-friendly over time) so the current "good" ratings are lower than you'd assume.

More info:

energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-ratings-everything-you-need-know/

energylabel.org.uk/

The washer/dryer combos are not great for energy efficiency because they have to cram so much into a smaller space. Won't be heat pump for the dryer and tend to have smaller capacity.

If you have the space it's better to have a separate dryer if you need a dryer. Heat pump is 100% worth it.

Cost wise I'm happy with my Beko.

BTW, a banging noise usually means the belts are struggling, this can be a cheapish part to replace, worth getting a quote. Also check that you are not doing unbalanced loads such as only items which get very heavy (Jeans) or suck up loads of water (towels) and if you wash bedding, use laundry balls to prevent it swallowing everything else and becoming a huge ball.

Most machines will have eco modes. Ours has a 5 point scale thing to show how much energy each cycle is using - a standard 40c mixed load cycle is 4 bars, if you hit the "fast wash" option that rises to 5 bars, but if you choose eco mode or reduce the temperature to 30c rather than 40c, it drops to 3 bars.

I got the Beko recycled tub 10kg recently and can't complain, plus it's rated B on the energy efficiency chart

I would rather spend more now to save in the long term. Definitely don't want dryer combo, our last house burned down when we left dryer on and did school run. Apparently not uncommon.

TBH I don't think the savings are really in the washing machine. Wash cycles are pretty low on power consumption. The real place where you save money is the drying. If you have a lot of tumble drying a heat pump one can save you a lot.

Spin speed is something to consider, debates such as this :

www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buying-advice/washing-machine/2632-buying-help-the-great-spin-speed-debate

I have a 1600 rpm spin speed and it is great for getting clothes out almost dry.

I am not sure from that graph 1800-2000 rpm is worth it, but 1600 rpm I feel is.

I'm looking at an A++ Bosch washer 10kg load & 1600 rpm spin & the matching heat pump dryer 8kg load & A+++ energy rating.

@BertieBotts - the aeg washer/ dryer is a heat pump interestingly.
We have the separate models but I was looking at the combos of other brands for elsewhere and aeg seemed to be the main one that has heat pump in combo.

I have just bought a 9kg Samsung eco bubble. It's a rated so not the most energy efficient but it produces nice clean clothes that are well spun and very easy to dry on a heated airer over night.