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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Washing machine recommendations

2 replies

AldeandOre · 25/03/2018 22:25

My washing machine has just broken and I need a new one. I use it a lot as I have 4 teenagers at home, so I need something robust with a large capacity. Does anyone have any recommendations of machines they love or hate? Thank you!

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perfectstorm · 30/03/2018 14:55

@AldeanOre Miele are built to last. We've had 2 kids, both in cloth nappies/wipes, and it's going strong 9 years on. They offered a 20 year guarantee when we got ours, which shows the sort of build quality. Great machine. No complaints. They are expensive, no question, but it's paid for itself by now as we haven't had to replace it.

Apparently they're the only company who do not manufacture machines designed to break so you have to replace. We bought it because I didn't want to be held hostage to a massive bill. It's unbelievably heavy, because the components are all solid steel.

Oh, and the best advice I was given by an engineer is to always to buy the most basic model of any brand, because the build quality will be identical across the range, so all you pay for is extra programmes you'll probably never use. It's all just gimmicky ways to part you from your cash, apparently. He also said not to pay attention to advice on people with older machines, because in the 80s and even 90s they were not so price-conscious in manufacture, so most machines back then would have been made to a really good standard. Now, there's been a race to the bottom as people want a bargain - a lot of them are stabilised with concrete instead of steel, for example, which degrades with age and ends up attacking the innards as it works loose. Others are closed systems so they can't even be repaired if anything goes wrong.

I suppose the bottom line is: either buy a Beko and accept it will go after a couple of years, but it's so cheap it doesn't matter as much, or go for a Miele, which is wince-inducing even at entry level, but will last.

AldeandOre · 30/03/2018 23:13

perfectstorm thank you, you’ve confirmed my thoughts exactly! I’ve already ordered a Miele. It’s arriving next week and I’m not thinking at all about the upfront cost, just reassuring myself that it will pay for itself in the long run. I can’t wait for it to arrive, not least because I’ve been without a washing machine for a week already and the laundry piles are threatening to take over the house. I’ve 4 teenagers at home — that’s a lot of laundry!

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