What do you look for in a washing machine?

[BelinaTheChicken]

I'ce never bought one before as every place I've rented had one and ours came with the house, but thanks to three power surges, four power cuts and a minor explosion in the lines around my house, my trusty miele has packed in so I need a new one. Claiming on insurance, so plan to get another miele as they are great (it must be true as my DM told me so), but that's as far as it goes...

So what does your ideal washing machine have? Preferably a function to sort , fold and put away, but this is unlikely.

a child lock
a timer so can set it the night before and the washing machine then finishes in the morning so i can hang it out straight away
an extra rinse function (essential if you use cloth nappies)
a super quick program
a hand wash program for handwash only clothes
a spin of at least 1400

The lost sock.

Yes to timer and hand wash function.
I also like to see how many minutes are left on the cycle, so a digital display.

Also the biggest drum possible so you can always fit your washing in.

A rated for energy consumption. 1400 spin. A big door.

Load sensing if you are on a water meter as it will cut down water consumption. I find timer, handwash cycle and rinse hold the most useful features of mine. And yy to a miele if your insurance will fork out!

The things I find most handy on my current washing machine are:

• a decent short cycle (1hr or less)
• timer so I can set it when I go to bed
• digital display
• at least 7kg drum
• able to vary the temp and spin speed of most programmes

I'm not too bothered about everything else (although obv it has to get things clean!). Not too noisy is a bonus.

6kg capacity. I don't like the bigger ones; they may mean you do fewer washes but they are more "mixed" and I am a dedicated laundry separator.

I don't trust machines with fancy electronic gadgetry - more complicated, more chances for things to go wrong, more service call-outs.

Under £400 price tag.

Not Bosch.

Jalopy-
That and anything vital like credit card, car keys, single toddler sized shoe that fell within the grasp of my 2yo.

I have to check it for random items (pink wellies and a cup anyone?) before use.

Money that falls out of people's pockets.

math there is always loads when DH washes his work clothes. If I get there first I take it as my tip for emptying the washer.

Some really good tips here, I like the timer, and definitely a lock.

I want a big one to fit the duvets in.

Does a loading sensor tell you when you've overloaded? Sounds good, am guilty of that, which tbh may have cotributed tothe old ones demise

Ours packed up yesterday and I have a bucket full of pooey nappies. I choose one that can be delivered tommorow!

Thought about a Miele, as family friends have one that is over 30, but don't have £1000 - £3000 to spare!

They said like for like, so will probably get one, but go for cheapest. The ones I looked at yesterday had a 10year warranty, which I like the idea of! Ours packed in ages ago, so have been doing essentials at my DParent's house, and have a mountain of hoer stuff to wash. Took ages to ok the claim as the problem that caused the surge hadn't been fixed, and the electricity company have to write a letter to say it was their fault. Getting a fridge freezer too as that packed in and have been using the one from my parent's garage, which is teeny. Yay, free shopping!

After only ever having cheap washer/dryers, I bought a Miele washing machine at the end of last year. It was £1000 - I couldn't believe at the time that I was spending so much money on an appliance, but its been amazing and I completely understand anyone buying a Miele again!

The things I love about ours:

20 minute express wash at 40 degrees with a 1400 spin included
Really good energy rating
I can do a 40 degree wash at a 1200 spin in 1 hour 12 minutes (not long at all from what I've read)
There is a 2 minute door lock delay on some of the cycles, so if I've dropped socks etc when carrying the washing down, I can open the door within 2 minutes of starting the wash to put the socks etc in - genius
Digital display
Timer
Hand wash and wool cycles that work well

Reliability. Durability. The ability to wash anything beautifully (wool, silk, hot cottons...). Quiet motor. Energy-efficiency.

Having just bought a washer-dryer (but I'll ignore the drying part)...

Big drum
Quick wash option
Flexibility, e.g. ability to spin only, or to open the door again (like Happy I'm always dropping socks!). The one we're getting enables you to save programmes, e.g. pre-wash + wash + extra rimse). Probably won't use this much now but when the kids were little and throwing up etc. it would have been great.
Fits under the worktop (they all do, more all less - but some more so than others)
Half-load (preferably automatically determined)
Good energy rating
You might want fast wash times
Handwash program
Quick delivery
Indicator for time left

Hope this helps!