TESTER: Softwater washer: L9FEC946R
OK here’s my first impressions review – apologies for delay!
- What were your first impressions of the AEG product you tested?
Delivery and installation
The delivery company AEG use were very swift in contacting me to arrange delivery but seemed to want me to accept delivery around their schedule (ie when they were in my area). I explained that due to work commitments I could only accept delivery on a Monday or a Friday, and they said they would get back to me but didn’t, I had to phone them a few days later to get a confirmed date. When the date was arranged they contacted me to confirm a time and said we would be their first delivery at about 8-8.30. I think they turned up about 7.15! I am sure for some people this would be a good time to deliver but too early for my house, and if they are going to be that early, I think they should tell you this beforehand. I am just grateful for the machine, I didn’t mind but I may have been cross had I paid for it!
When they turned up, they were very helpful and installed the machine fully and I have not had any issues with the way it is was installed. They offered to help with any questions I had, but then couldn’t answer any of them! Not an issue really, I am sure they install many, many machines, and I can read a manual, but perhaps they shouldn’t offer and just stick with the basics. He didn’t pour 2 litres of water into the detergent drawer or set the correct first ”before use” cycle as detailed in the user manual so we had to cancel that and start again.
He also didn’t seem to know about setting the hardness of the water which he should have done really as this is probably quite essential to the machine – the machine comes with a test kit so you can test your water, I didn’t realise this and used the water company’s website like I did for my dishwasher which said I only have slightly hard water; interestingly, I have just found and done the kit and it says my water is two levels harder! I was surprised at the water company’s result as IMO my water is hard, so I think using the kit is probably a good idea (and I may have to change my dishwasher setting now!).
The delivery man was very friendly, and took care of the machine when unwrapping and installing. A box of salt for the softwater came with the machine which was a nice touch.
Appearance/quality
The machine looks v swish, and looks very good quality and well-made. There are a few too many different colours on the front of the machine for me, I tend to go for all-white, or all-silver appliances, especially if in a kitchen as this is less likely to not match cupboards, not match the look of kitchen or look too cluttered. As this machine is in my garage it doesn’t matter that much to me. In terms of the hardware, it all looks sturdy and the only issue I’ve noticed is that the drawer is quite stiff to open and close, and will tilt to one side when you open it, so it doesn’t feel a solid as it should. The stiffness does seem to be getting a bit better with use.
The machine has an aluminium fronted drawer and touchscreen which unfortunately seems to attract fingerprints. I also worry about too much technology on an item you want to be reliable, as there are more things to go wrong.
Use/functions
It has a lovely big drum (although too big for my washing basket to sit under it when opening and closing which is mildly annoying), and can wash up to 9kg of clothes, which is great. It has a nice big button for setting the functions, which is clear and easy to use. You use the touchscreen to set the additional settings such as when you are using stain remover and for adding a steam cycle at the end. Seems all to work well and is easy to use without having to refer back to the instructions.
I like the fact that the machine weighs your washing so you can never overload the machine (and you don’t have to do that thing where you stand on a scale with your basket while you shout for someone to come and look at the dial as you can’t see it!!!), but it would be good if it told you what the weight was so, if you are under, you know you can add more in future washes, and if you are over, you have an idea how much you need to take out.
There seem to be a lot of useful functions, including a quick wash (20 mins) and an OKOpower wash which is meant to wash your clothes in 59 mins with a good washing performance. Strangely however, when I select this cycle it tells me it will take 1hr 21mins. I have tried to contact AEG Customer Services about this and to also request more information on how this function works, but I haven’t received a response yet (my email was sent on Tuesday 7th November). I tried to look online about the function, but I can’t find anything useful. The User Manual says the detergent and fabric conditioner are premixed, but I thought the machine did that anyway? I would like more information about what functions do and how they work so I can better know how to use them.
Similarly, there is a Colourpro function which says that it is a low temperature cycle for coloured items to give them greater colour protection with good cleaning results thanks to softened water. How this differs to using a low temp on any old cycle in an already softwater washing machine I have no idea! Lots of “marketing blurb” in my opinion and not a lot of real information that would help you better use the functions of the machine.
It is disappointing on such an expensive machine for the highest spin to be only 1400 and not 1600 and clothes are noticeably damper when coming out of the machine than out of my Miele and previous cheap Hotpoint which had a 1600 spin. On this note, on two occasions (when washing a throw and load of towels) the machine couldn’t cope with spinning them the first time and obviously didn’t get up to speed because of a heavy load and the items were soaking wet – I had to respin them, which it then did. My Miele has not had the same issues with similar loads.
The machine is SUPER quiet, and there is also a quiet function which you can set, which I haven’t needed to use. The User Manual says that it suppresses the rinse cycles and the cycle ends with water in the drum. But it only drains when you need to take it out, not spins which is odd, as I can only assume you’d have dripping wet washing? Presumably you could set it on a spin cycle, but I am not sure why it doesn’t do this automatically. On the subject of quietness, it beeps in a helpful but unobtrusive way when it finishes the cycle; anyone who owns a Miele will know why I am commenting on this – NO ANNOYING MIELE BEEPS, hurrah!
There is no soak function which is disappointing as this something I use a lot for things like tea-towels in my Miele and it works great. Not sure whether AEG think the stains option negates the need for that, but it doesn’t seem to so far. Looks like I may be back to soaking and washing but will confirm that and report back! Again, not really sure what the stains option does exactly, the User Manual says it premixes and heats the stain remover and detergent but the machine is always meant to pre-mix so assume it’s the heating that’s different (??) but it’s not that clear. More information please AEG!
- Did you notice a marked difference in the look and feel of your clothing, after washing with softwater?
One of the main reasons I wanted to test a softwater washer is because I have been having a BIG issue with hard towels and clothes, and clothes going bobbly. I paid a lot of money for my Miele machine and this has happened (my towels and then my clothes going hard) since buying the machine. I have had a number of other issues with the machine and have found Miele Customer Services to be terrible, which is unacceptable when they are operating in the high price point market IMHO. On both a practical and emotional level I have gone right off Miele and my washing machine!!!! ☺
In the interests of full disclosure, prior to trying the softwater machine, I have tried changing my detergent three times, washing at different settings/temps and drying the items differently, adding vinegar and bicarb (and done a hell of a lot of internet research), all to no avail. I use a “non-toxic” washing powder generally as we have allergies (but have used this for a very long time prior to this issue) but have even tried “normal” powder and liquids to no avail. I don’t use fabric conditioner again because of allergies.
So I had big hopes for this machine resolving all my issues. At the moment however, there is only a marginal difference – I have noticed that some items are definitely coming out softer (eg sportswear is definitely softer), but it has had no effect on my rock hard towels! However, as mentioned above, I am not sure the water hardness has been set correctly so will reset and report back. I may also buy a new towel as I suspect two things – one that there may be no going back for my towels – there is only so much soft water can do! – and I would guess that the softwater has more of a preventative effect than being able to turn round already hardened items. So it will be interesting to see what will happen to a new towel when the water hardness is set correctly.
Softwater is supposed to mean needing less powder but am still experimenting with that and will report back. This will be great as it should mean less residue on clothes in our allergic household.
- Have you noticed a difference in the distribution of softener/ conditioner?
Not particularly, but I haven’t had any white streaks on the items either when they come out. This wasn’t a particular issue with my previous machines for me to be able to compare.
- What other options did you use when washing with the SoftWater machine?
I have used the following cycles:
• Cottons at 40, 60 and 95 – clothes come out clean
• Wool – seems good and gentle – no shrinking or bobbling so far but only used once – will test again
• Steam – love the steam cycle! Used already on my dry-clean only coat that really needs dry cleaning – it’s obviously not as good as actual dry cleaning but it definitely freshened it up, particularly the smell.
• OKOPower – see above
• 20min cycle – only used once – will test again
• Outdoor – this is great as you can clean and reproof your clothes in one cycle (usually you have to do two) – fab this will save us so much time as we have lots of outdoor clothes – AEG should make more of this as this would be a big selling point for me. You can also use this cycle for sportswear – again not sure why this is as the manual doesn’t explain it.
I've used the following additional settings:
• Stains – on a pair of jogging bottoms with grass stains, the stains came out.
• Plus steam – on my husband’s shirts – no difference noted in creases between this function and the steam function on our Miele, but my husband did notice that the shirts came out wetter and not as hot. Not sure whether this is good, bad or doesn’t matter! Tried this on my towels as it is said to "relax" fibres but didn't notice much difference.
I have also used the rinse hold function. No easier or harder to set than the Miele and seems to work the same. I use this to soak my woollens in Eucalan after the wash.
- Do you feel more confident about washing your wardrobe in an AEG Softwater washer as compared to a washer from another brand?
AEG have a good name and many people swear by them particularly for washing machines. I still have hopes for the water softening capacity for keeping clothes softer, less colour loss, and being able to use less powder with the benefits that brings for our allergies and our pockets! Some of this we will only be able to tell with time but will report back on what I can in a week’s time.