Needed: A Degree in Difficult Sums. (Bosch WET 2820)

Member Name: SueMagee

Product:	Bosch WET 2820
Date:	13/01/02 (687 review reads)
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I'm a simple soul and I like things to be uncomplicated. It's not too taxing for my brain that way, you see. You may be wondering now why I've got myself a complicated washing machine, so I'd better explain.

We've lived in this house for more than twenty years and the kitchen has always let it down. Even when we had it refitted in the eighties it was never what you could call a good kitchen. It was 3 metres square and had three doors. Whatever you did never quite worked. What I've always wanted was one of those kitchens that you see on television: all doors and no gaps to collect dust. I quite fancied a TV chef to go in it, but that's another story! Last year my daughter had a brainwave about how the kitchen could be extended by less than a metre but to give twice the effective space. We gritted our teeth (mainly because of all the dirt and dust that the builders produced) and did it.

The kitchen was a long time in the making, mainly because of all the planning permission hoops that had to be jumped through, so when my old washer-dryer went to that great laundry in the sky in September I got my new washer-dryer in advance of the kitchen.

"It won't look elegant" said the kitchen maestro. I thought this a little unnecessary as the central heating boiler had already been moved and the kitchen looked like one of those pictures that you see on television to illustrate inner city poverty. "No matter" I said and the machine was installed. It didn't just look odd; it looked as though we'd economised and bought most, but not quite all, of a machine.

In my innocence I'd always thought that these kitchens where you're spared the disturbing sight of anything that performs a useful task simply had cupboards into which the appliances slid and you closed the door on them. Not so, I'm afraid. The appliance actually fits snugly between two units. There's a m
etal plate where you would expect to find the working surface top (be careful if you ever have to wipe this down - it has sharp edges!) and the front of the machine has hinges fitted at one side and magnetic catches at the other so that the concealing door fits directly onto the appliance and not onto the surrounding woodwork. Reading back through that it sounds relatively simple, but I'm afraid it isn't. All the fitting needs to be done very accurately; even the plinth will need to be cut so that you have access to the filters should the need arise. It's not necessarily a job for a professional, but you need to be a little better than an enthusiastic amateur!

Nearly 450 words and we haven't even got anything wet! Don't worry we'll be there shortly. For three months I ran the machine "loose" in the kitchen. It stood where the old one had stood, only this machine roamed. Sometimes it had a mere jelly-like wobble but at others I wondered if it had taken up line dancing. I even considered possible musical accompaniments. There is an "out of balance spin protection" feature, but this only seems to operate when the machine is properly fitted (i.e. anchored) in the kitchen. Once it was properly fitted into the kitchen all this ceased, which is a relief because the machine actually needs to be mounted onto two blocks of wood to bring it up to the correct height. All four feet are fully adjustable from the front, which is a necessity as you need to get the machine precisely level. You also have the choice of having the same sort of plumbing arrangements as with a normal free-standing machine or a more permanent system with less chance of leaks.

You're beginning to sense my reluctance to talk about how it actually performs aren't you? Well, you'd be right. It's not the end product that concerns me. The clothes all come out beautifully clean and the dryer dries as required. It's
just that the whole thing is so darn complicated that I'm not convinced after using it for four months that I've really mastered it. I've had a washer-dryer for more than twenty years, so it's not the concept that's new to me: it's the same sort of feeling as buying a really expensive computer and only using the word processing functions. There's a sense that if you only knew which buttons to press it would make you a cup of tea as well. Let me explain.

There are eight selector buttons on the front of the machine plus two dials which allow you the choice of 22 different wash programmes and three different drying temperatures. Even the detergent drawer has to be adjusted depending on the form of the detergent that you're using. (By the way, there's a ball valve system fitted to the drawer so you don't lose any of the detergent before you start the wash!) The machine is electronically controlled and there's an LED to display the point in the programme that's been reached. None of my previous machines had this feature: I'm used to setting a dial which then rotated until it reached the end of the programme. On this machine the dial is rotated to select the programme and remains at that point even after the programme has finished. If you're organised this is fine, but I'm afraid I'm usually putting the washing on at the same time as I'm doing half a dozen other things and sometimes I forget to check the dials. Last week I washed the bath mats and set the dial to automatically dry them for 75 minutes, but forgot to unset this for the next load, which was a pile of cotton shirts. The results were entirely predictable.

Yes, I know it's me that's at fault, not the machine. I live in awe of the fact that the water level automatically adjusts according to the size and type of load, although you can over-ride this and have a higher water level. It's a machine that con
siders water. The drum fills from the bottom and there are holes in the back wall so that clothes soak more quickly. The paddles are rounded, "softly rounded" the literature says, but I can't see it myself, so that water showers from above. With a full 5kg load it uses 62 litres of water from the cold tap.

You could delay the start of the programme by between one and nineteen hours. I feel certain that this has the potential to be useful, and I'm sure that it must be some failing on my part that I cannot, for the life of me, think of a single good reason for wanting to do the washing in nineteen hours time rather than now. I'm usually in the position of wishing that I'd done the washing yesterday, not wanting to wait until tomorrow. I can see the usefulness of the rinse and hold option, although the machine does go out of its way to try and defeat this.

At the end of the programme that you select the machine implements an "anti-crease" programme. For about half an hour after the end of the selected programme the machine will turn the drum over every minute or so to prevent the clothes settling and creasing. The trouble is that the door is still locked and the only way of stopping the programme is to turn the programme selector back to "O" and then wait a couple of minutes for the door to unlock. Naturally you do something whilst you're waiting and equally naturally you forget to go back after a couple of minutes. When you take the clothes out they're creased, just as they would be if they didn't have the "anti crease" function and it's taken longer to boot. You can turn this function off but only for certain programmes, by selecting "Increase water level". No, I can't explain it either. This button does all sorts of other things too, like providing an additional rinse cycle and a lower drying temperature.

I can't fault the short wash and
economy wash options and the machine is as quiet as I would think is possible in all its operations. The noise that the machine makes in the drying programme is perhaps a little disquieting as it's a turbo condenser and for those of you old enough to remember it sounds rather like a steam train idling at the platform. The instruction book suggests that an average load will dry in about 75 minutes (you can select from 10 to 95 minutes) but I found this a little on the high side. Even 2.5kg of towels will dry in about 60 minutes.

The machine is classed as Energy Efficiency Class B, with the scale being A - G and A being the best. A full wash, which takes about 100 minutes, consumes 0.6kWh of electricity. I wish I could tell you the price but I got an all-in price for the kitchen. I haven't been able to trace this machine for sale on the Internet and the Bosch site (www.boschappliances.co.uk) cannot, by law, publish details of the recommended price.

My final point is a quibble that probably won't worry the majority of people. I've got a back problem and bending is difficult. If I bend down to pick something up I look round to see if there's anything else to do whilst I'm down there. Now the machine is advertised as having "clear text on the fascia to ensure ease of use" but the control buttons and the indicator lights are at the top of the machine and when this is fitted under a working surface they're obscured from above by the overhang, with the result that I've got to bend to see the controls, or to change them. Not major for most people, I know, but important if you're one of the few.

Now, has anyone worked out how to make that cup of tea yet?

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