Hi everyone. I’ve been an appliance tech now for 23 years and although i love Choice and what they are doing to keep us informed about the reliability of most washing machines dishwashers dryers and fridges i have to let you know that alot of the problems say for washing machines are not mentioned. I recondition all washing machine trade ins from Harvey Norman Bing Lee Good Guys in the area that i live and i can honestly say that the problems occur a few months out of warranty which is not covered. Example; Fisher and Paykel frontloader. Out of 11 units traded in 10 of them had blown back bearings. Cost of repair $350 +. These machines were under 4 years old. Also the suspension rods on some of Fisher and Paykel top loaders fail almost in the same time period. I could go on about the same problems on the same machines on different brands but i would be here for awhile. I have a few things that i would like to share about Simpson and Asko but that hopefully will be later
Welcome to the Community @Callmesnake,
Very interesting data points, worthy of appending to this thread about the review(s). We look forward to your future instalments.
Thanks Phil. Unfortunately there are alot of washing machines dishwashers fridges etc that have The same common fault. These faults happen sometimes under warranty and also out of warranty. Because of the high number of machines of the same model with the same fault i would be very surprised if the manufacturers weren’t aware of the problems. Just yesterday a customer rang me with a problem on a 3year old top loader. It was leaking while filling. Because of the brand and model number i knew exactly what was faulty and made sure i had the part on board. I’ve changed this part too many times to remember under warranty. Anyway I’ll post a few more examples with brands and models and common fault. All the best
I for one have absolutely no issue with you relating your experiences with any brands that you know from experience may not have the best design or manufacturing standards!!
Share away!
To be even more blunt… better to boil these up in a separate pot on the stove before putting them in the wash…
Here are 10 common mistakes people make when doing their washing.
Have you made any of these?
My wife insists on this one.
10. Closing the door between washes
This may go against your instincts, but Ash recommends leaving the door or lid open between washes to give the washer some much-needed air. Otherwise you run the risk of letting mould build up – and a stinky, musty washing machine will hardly leave you with the freshest load of laundry.
It can also damage your washer. “Rubber seals may deteriorate over time and not seal as well,” says Ash, “and it can lead to bad smells, discolouration and mould spores spreading throughout your house.”
This idea is not always practical. In my case the door would intrude halfway across a passage so that you can kneecap yourself on it or have the door to the room open unexpectedly and erase the washer’s door.
The household laundry is often a small room and a passageway so I don’t think I am the only one with this limitation.
Hi
When will a review of the Fisher & Paykel 8.5kg Front Load Washing Machine with Steam Refresh WH8560P3 be available. I understand it is superseding the WH8560P3 WashSmart (which will no longer be available)
Hi @Sneela, no promises, but I’m working on the list of models for our next test right now - I’ll see if I can get it in there for you. Assuming I can, results will be available in June. Yes, that really is how long it takes for us to test washing machines and verify the results - you can’t say we’re not thorough…
Fantastic! Thanks so much. I know the WashSmart was super popular and was the model I was going to go with based on Choice review so I’m sure there will be high demand for a review now that it’s being replaced w this model. There’s also zero reviews online at the moment. It’s the thoroughness of Choice that I rely on for every single purchase 
definitely getting good use of my subscription. Keep up the good work!
Choice… i don’t think many people care as much as you think about water usage or electricity usage v’s actual cleaning. I would love a new category in the search results. Pet fur removal. I think we should have in the drop down filters “running time” and “lint filter” with a large family and pets the only thing I care about is how quick it can do a wash and will it get my dog’s fur off it. I’m trying to find a new washing machine and it’s impossible. I almost don’t care about the price now as I have had so many bad experiences. I just want it to work. Read the “real” customer reviews online for your LG top loader winner in your latest choice reviews. Every second review is massive issues with lint. It’s because we seem to source machines from countries where it’s common to use a clothes dryer after the wash that catches the lint and pet fur. Instead of a clothes line. Anyone know a washing washing machine that has good lint filters, doesn’t take 2 hours to do a load and has a big capacity?
I am researching a new front load washing machine. Features I want is that the machine turns itself off at the end of the cycle (one of my does, the other doesn’t). It would be great if CHOICE could include this on the results. I dislike my machine that doesn’t switch itself off, leaves the lights on, the power on.
Also - cycle times. My current machines have preset cycle times, plus I can add to them, or dial down time. I can’t find cycle times on the specification sheets - is this because the machine “figures” it out, based on load, water, etc? I’d hate to buy a machine then find out I have to wait 3 hours for my sheets to be washed.
Welcome to the Community @Josh1,
I like many of your priorities, and they might get input to future Choice reports.
My LG ‘figures it out’ to a certain extent based on the weight of a load and the cycle characteristics. My sheets can take from about 1:10 to 3:15 depending on how many rinses, water temperature, spin speed, and whether I set ‘intensive’ or ‘time saving’. A meaningful matrix would be more confusing than helpful so Choice had to pick a default for reporting.
Manufacturers seem focused on energy efficiency at the sacrifice of time for their default and that is what they feature on specs and marketing literature.
Other related topics include
I always leave the lid of top loader up to prevent musty smell developing in the empty machine.
And as I have mould allergies I will never buy a front loader due to how mould grows on their door seals. Multiple washing machine repairers (and some plumbers) have warned me about this one.
Small washing machines, any recommendations?
Hi @Liz4silver, welcome to the community.
Choice has looked at washing machines as part of the regular product reviews. They have information on their website available to read such as:
and ones to avoid:
They also regularly review popular makes and models which can be found here (paid member content):
Just in relation to a small washing machine, what sort of size (capacity) were you looking at and also what type (front or top loader)? This might assist community members providing information about their own experiences with washing machines they have purchased.
Welcome @Liz4silver
In the CHOICE review you can set the filters for the capacity you want and from the current one I can find 6 between 4 and 6 kilo capacity. Hopefully that may be helpful for you.
My washing machine is on the way out so I looked at the latest Choice review. One of the candidate machines is the LG WV5-1275W. It looks OK from my perspective but I was a little concerned about the warning that cycle times were long. Under Cycle Time in the review we have:
The amount of time the program cycle we selected took. This can range from under an hour to over three hours.
In this case the time is 153 minutes.
I also checked the LG web site and the user manual, neither specify the cycle time of all the programs. As well there is review from a member saying the cycle time is very long.
Looking at some other reviews of similar products this comment is common, there seems to be a trade off here, that good performance and low water consumption take time.
So my questions are:
-
Where do I find out which cycle Choice selected that takes 153 minutes? I may be going blind but I can’t see it in the review.
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There are two user reviews under this model.
One says “We purchased a similar LG model based on a CHOICE recommendation that it is quieter than other machines, but that has NOT been our experience”
The other says "We have the older model with the same 7.5kg capacity. "
To me this says neither review is certain to be about the model that they are listed under. Given that these user reviews are moderated how is it that the moderators do not verify that the review is actually relevant to the specific product?
