Starter washing machine and fridge.

[Finallygrowingup]

Hello

We are soon (hopefully if we ever complete) to move into our first house. We would need to purchase a washing machine and fridge. Our budget is limited, maybe not the cheapest but certainly not high end.

1. Please could you reccomend washing machines (lower end of washing machine price range ideally though if good product will consider mid range).

2. please could you reccomend a single fridge/freezer (less than £500).

3. there is cupboard space for an integrated fridge freezer that is currently being used as a larder cupboard - is it easy/cheap to instal a fridge into this space (labour cost not fridge cost)

4. thanks in advance everybody :)

I would buy a freestanding fridge freezer from local selling site or appliance clearance place. Not much to go wrong with them, they just sit there.

Washing machines on the other hand get a hammering, look for a Bosch and not the lowest model, the second level range.

Congratulations on buying your first home. After 40 years of marriage and several house moves with husbands job I am still only on my second washing machine. They have both been Hoover. A couple of repairs have been done over the years but minor i.e.door seal.
I would suggest that you look for one with a variable spin speed that has a decent spin for normal wash but a low one for delicates. Mine has a daily quickwash. That programme does most of my laundry apart from a one hour 60deg wash I use for towels and bedding.
Most people do not use all the fancy settings and programmes and I personally think the more complicated they are the more there is to go wrong .
With regards to a fridge freezer. I have had them in larder cupboards no problem. My one bit of advice is do get frost free. It is a pain defrosting freezers. Also go for the best storage capacity you can fit in. You can never have to much fridge freezer space.
Hope your move goes well.

This is the current equivalent of my washer. It's been hammered constantly for over 3 yeas, now. And I mean hammered as I have a teen with LD and continence issues so that's several loads a day. www.johnlewis.com/siemens-iq500-wm14t488gb-freestanding-washing-machine-8kg-a-energy-rating-white/p4325403

These are best buys from Which. Leibherr are German and ultra reliable. Bosch best buys are more expensive. Samsung and Leibherr are more competitively priced. Our Leibherr fridges are 18 years old! Just getting a new seal for one of them. Leibherr are specialist refrigeration manufacturers (as well as cranes!). Well made solid German engineering.

These might also interest you. The Bosch best buys rated higher than these machines are all more expensive. The cheaper Miele would last very well.

Ps Don’t buy Beko or Hotpoint. There are better made appliances out there.

I’m in a rental house with a John Lewis washing machine (which I think is a rebadged AEG rather than Electrolux) and hate it. Doesn’t have much flexibility eg can’t set extra rinse on a wool wash and it’s very sensitive on load balancing gets errors and needs manually draining. Never had this issue with Bosch, Indesit, Samsung or Miele or 2 Blomberg machines.

I personally wouldn’t get a too cheap machine because I like different functions and I am sensituve to noise.

I dont like the hassle of changing machines (especially in my London flat where it can be a palaver) so tend to go for a good machine with a long warranty for parts and labour so I don’t have to think about it for at least 3 years.

Someone just starting out probably won’t hammer a washing machine. 3 years isn’t long under any circumstances.

Yes, Jarstastic You are right - AEG is owned by Electrolux.

Bosch washers are amazing! However, I've been through so many washers in my time and I think when I buy more I will go for Beko. I always thought they were cheap and cheerful but honestly, the Beko oven and washer/dryer here are excellent!

We just bought an Indesit washer dryer from AO.com and I wouldn’t recommend it. I think it cost around £350 so pretty cheap but it’s so so loud and the washer/dryer cycle is about 6 hours long!!

However, AO were very good, delivered the next day and for £50 will take out your old one and take it away and plumb in the new one.

Everyone seems to have bought many Hines that didn’t last. Mine did. Family use. If is far better to get makes with a proven track record. I’ve owned 3 washing machines in 40 years of marriage. I left out my Colston washer dryer from the late 70s DH and I bought before we were married. Even that dinosaur lasted 8 years with me and 3 with dsis! Buy the best German machine you can afford!

Hines!!! Aaaagh. Machines

@PresentingPercy

Hines!!! Aaaagh. Machines

@PresentingPercy was Hines meant to be machines? I was wondering what brand that was 🤣🤣🤣

@Finallygrowingup Fridge/Freezer, washing machine and drier all Bosch here. Will def go for freestanding. Congrats on the house.

We have a Hotpoint 11kg machine and a Samsung fridge freezer. The FF is almost-8 and the washer is 6. Both are absolutely fine .

Yes. Machines! But well buy once!

Check bluelight discount if you get it. Currently 20% off hotpoint,Samsung, indesit and 25% beko

Get the cheapest brand you can because in the UK most of the cheaper stuff is the same. You could save money by just getting the washing machine and drying clothes on one of those heated drying racks.

We are just buying a house, and we’re considering spending extra on ‘decent’ brand white goods having always bought Beko. This thread has been really useful and potentially saved us £££.

We bought a Baumatic as a cheap stop gap until we could do our kitchen after moving into a house with a broken Bosch. We have 5 children so it gets an absolute hammering but we've had no issues with it over two years so far. We had an Indesit in our old house and that was good too.

Why buy cheap though? Quite often it won’t have useful features, uses more electricity and generally won’t last as long. Let alone often doesn’t wash as well.

Thank you all for your advice! Ive made a list of things to consider and brands. I do get blue light discount (always forget to use it) so thanks for pointing that out.

As for the plumbing of washing machine, hadn't even considered that! (Really am domestically clueless). I think someone mentioned that AO do installations so will put them top of my list.

I am surprised that most advised freestanding fridge rather than integrated - I thought that was all the rage right now.

Given how helpful you have all been I am sure I'll be posting lots of questions over the next few months. Thanks