You Spin Me Right Round Baby..... (Ariston A1637)

Member Name: carcraig

Product:	Ariston A1637
Date:	03/09/08 (633 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Energy Efficient, 7kg Capacity, 1600 rpm

Disadvantages: None so far

Our washing machine is, without a doubt, the second hardest working thing in our house (after me, obviously..lol) so when our previous, and somewhat geriatric machine suddenly died on us without warning, a replacement was sought without delay.

My research as far as choosing a new machine was unscientific - I drove to our nearest Curry's and asked them to show me what they had in stock that I could take away there and then. I had a few to choose from and after deliberating for all of five minutes on the comparative features and prices, I ended up with the Ariston A1637 in the boot of the Passat.

Installing it was easy as the plumbing was all there from the previous machine. It was simply a matter of connecting the cold water feed, routing the waste water pipe, plug it in and away you go. At that point I thought I had better read the instructions...oops, pull it back out and remove the transit fixings. Run an empty cycle....ok, now I'm definitely ready to go!
Nearly one year on and I feel I have sufficient experience with this washing machine to write a review and share my opinions on it with you.

The two main features which drew me to this machine (price and availability aside) were the 7kg capacity drum and the 1600rpm maximum spin. The larger drum capacity has proved invaluable with the ever increasing washing generated as our girls grow and is also more energy efficient. The 1600rpm spin is very helpful in speeding up drying times when line drying is not viable.

Reasonably simple to operate, there are three basic selections to be made for each wash - temperature, spin speed and programme. The knobs for these controls push in flush to the machine once the correct setting has been selected, hopefully preventing any "adjustment" by little fingers, accidental or otherwise!


There are 16 programmes to choose from, with temperatures varying from 30-90 degrees. There are also options for rinse and spin only cycles.

A great feature of this machine is that there is a chart of the various programmes available on a pull-out tab just over the detergent dispenser so that you don't have to keep referring to the instruction booklet.

Other useful functions on this model include the delay timer setting (a choice of 2, 4, 6 or 9 hours), the Super Wash (for an "impeccable wash" allegedly), Easy Iron (is there really such a thing?) and the Rapid wash which reduces the duration of the wash by 30%.

This machine uses environmentally-friendly technology - using less water and allowing you to select lower temperatures for your wash.

I mainly use Programme 5 for slightly soiled whites and delicate colours (I pre-soak in stain remover if required to reduce the energy used), a 30 degree wash coupled with the 1600rpm spin. This takes 95 minutes, which can be reduced to just over an hour using the Rapid wash function. Pretty efficient, I think.

I have only used the Super Wash a couple of times and, I'll be honest, I couldn't really see the difference. I do use the Rapid Wash on occasions, but the Easy Iron option means the laundry is left soaking until you go back and conclude the cycle and I find it all a bit of a faff to be honest so I don't really use it. (My hubby does the ironing anyway....)

The washing machine comes with a refreshingly lightweight 12 page Instruction Booklet which also includes a troubleshooting guide and tips on how to save energy.

So far I have had no problems with this machine. It is not overly noisy and I am not aware of excess vibration during the spin cycle (apart from one isolated incident when I accidentally, ahem, overloaded the machine).

My machine came with a free five year parts guarantee (labour and call-out included for the first twelve months) and I have the option currently to upgrade to a full guarantee for all costs for the next four years for the one-off sum of £119.

I paid £279.95 for this washing machine in April 2007 which I felt was good value. It is currently available on QED-uk.com for £239.43 plus £19.99 delivery.

Would I recommend it? Certainly - and if you shop around, you will definitely get a better buy than I did!

Technical Information (from Instruction booklet and http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pi/14-625413/Washing- Machines/Ariston-A1637-Wh ite-Product-Info)

Type - Front loading
Dimensions - 59.5cm wide, 85cm nigh, 60cm deep
Capacity - from 1 to 7kg Wash
Spin speed - up to 1600 rpm
Energy Consumption/Wash - 1.33 kWh/wash
Water Consumption/Wash - 60 litres
Washing Efficiency Class - A
Energy Class - A
Centrifugal Efficiency Class - A
Number of Programmes - 16


(Review originally posted on Ciao under the same username carcraig)

Summary: Efficient and Reliable at a reasonable price

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