All washed up (Ariston A 1635 UK)

Member Name: fjpickett

Product:	Ariston A 1635 UK
Date:	09/03/04 (2291 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent performance, quiet, smooth

Disadvantages: Doesn't do the dishes

Ah, washing machines. Well, they all do the same thing, and most of them more or less the same way, so what's to choose between them? Not a lot, really, which is perhaps why it is so difficult to reach a sensible decision, especially as they all look pretty similar, but they can cost anything from not very much to an arm and a leg.

There is a school of thought that says you should always buy the very best that you can afford, and I have some sympathy with this, but it does assume that you know, or can find out, what the best is. Unfortunately, that is becoming increasingly difficult in this age of globalisation, especially where technical stuff is concerned, and even if you know where it's assembled, you probably have no idea where the components come from.

Perhaps it's better to stick with a brand you know, but even that can be misleading, as any old-timer who thought that Bush was a British maker of wireless sets will discover. As it happens, one of the reasons that this Ariston machine is currently available well below list price is the fact that the (Italian) parent company is finishing with the Ariston name and will in future be labelling the same things as Hotpoint! It doesn't matter to me, especially if it means there's a bargain to be had, although I have to say that our previous machine was an Ariston, and it gave very good service, so perhaps subliminally I did consider the brand, however meaningless it may now be.

To return to the machine in question, I have to say that price was a major factor, as our old machine contrived to develop its death-rattle over Christmas, and January is not exactly the best time for capital purchases in this household. However, I had decided that whatever we chose, it must have a better spin than the old one, as that was really its weakest point. To be fair, it was reasonably well specified when it was new 12 years ago, but that just shows the rate of progress since. I had narrowe
d the choice down to three machines, the most expensive of which (a Bosch) had the slowest spin, but had the largest drum and was probably the best made. A Zanussi was also on the shortlist, but my partner made the final choice on the basis of something I hadn't even considered - alone of the three, the Ariston had a program dial with standard wash numbers on it! It was also the cheapest and, to our eyes at least, the nicest looking, although I should have been happy to have had either of the others.

Indeed, I suspect that the performance of almost all washing machines is pretty similar these days. They are all energy efficient (much more so than a few years ago) and use exactly the same method of agitating the contents of the drum (even Mr Dyson's contra-rotator still tumbles the stuff in hot soapy water), so about the only points of difference are the method of programming and how fast they can spin. Oh, and in the case of the Ariston, whether the powder dispenser pulls out or pivots - the Ariston's swivels out and is very cool :-)

Other details that may or may not matter to you are a separate temperature dial, so you can set the temperature independently of the main program, the Golden Woolmark for washing woollies without making them four sizes smaller, and a door that hinges all the way back for better access. I like being able to set the temperature, as it means you can give synthetics a longer wash if they're really smelly, or cotton stuff a short, hot blast if you're in a hurry, but of course it's one other thing to think about (although you can always leave it on 40deg and still get reasonable results). The knobs also push in flush (you click them out to turn them) but I realise that's anorakdom for most of you...

Making a machine that spins fast (and 1600 rpm is blindingly fast for a big drum of wet washing) is no mean feat, as it not only requires a fair amount of power, but the washing needs to be e
venly distributed and the main bearings need to withstand the strain of a load that is experiencing over 600g of lateral acceleration (sad, I know, but I did do the maths). No wonder the clothes come out practically dry - in fact, I put my hand in through the door tonight, not quite sure whether the contents had been washed or were about to be, and I had to take a shirt out to look at, because it wasn't wet enough for me to be sure that it had already been washed (it had).

There's not a lot more to tell you, really. The machine just works. It makes that usual grumbly noise that big electric motors that are being electronically reined in make during normal washing, and it is surprisingly quiet when spinning, possibly because the motor spins so fast that it becomes audible only to dogs! The spin cycle is a wonder to behold, in fact - it starts off normally enough, with a few bursts to settle the washing, and then it sets off at a reasonable lick to get rid of the bulk of the rinse water, then it gets into gear and gives it a bit of welly for a minute or two, and then, when you think it's about to finish, someone switches the afterburners on and it really moves - I could swear I've seen little white flags being waved inside the window...

The only other comment I can make is that the instructions very sensibly point out that the water consumption is deliberately minimal. If you didn't know (and were used to an older machine) you would think that it was getting it all wrong, but the fact is that it uses, and needs, very little. The final rinse is a bit deeper, but the wash is accomplished with far less water than you might expect. This is not a criticism - it does the job brilliantly - but just shows how things have moved on.

Indeed, all this becomes an argument for not buying the best that you can afford, perhaps, but for buying something adequate that you can afford to replace a bit sooner, when something even better beco
mes available. In the meantime, we are very happy with our Ariston, and have eschewed the dreaded Curry's extended warranty on the grounds that if it lasts 12 months, it will probably last another ten years...

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