Indesit proposal (Indesit Washing Machine Evolution WE 14)

Member Name: offy

Product:	Indesit Washing Machine Evolution WE 14
Date:	03/03/02 (3967 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reasonable price for the functions available, A rating energy efficiency, cleans clothes well

Disadvantages: Noisy, long wash cycles

This is the third Indesit washing machine I have owned which may be considered stupid – why have I needed three and why did I even consider a third?

It’s not all doom and gloom. The first one, I sold to a friend, as the second one was on offer and had more functions and a faster spin speed. Nine years later the second one started to play up, not always spinning properly. I couldn’t complain – it had given me nine long years of good service.

•• THE HUNT FOR THE WASHING MACHINE ••
So, you need a new washing machine then. The shops are full of them - how do you choose?

Make a list of the functions and features that are important to you, such as spin speed, energy efficiency, delay timer, hand wash, half load, modern design, colour to fit your décor and load size. Speak to a sales assistant who will hopefully guide you towards the ones you will be interested in. Remember that you will pay more for better known brand names, which will not always give you a better machine. It’s a jungle out there, and you have to decide for yourself which brand to trust.

I wanted at least a 1300 spin speed, energy efficiency, a half load and a hand wash function. Despite telling the sales people my requirements, it was amazing how many slower spin speed models I was shown. Generally to fulfil my requirements I was looking in the region of £430-£500. At the top end of the price range were the Zanussis, Boschs and Hotpoints. I couldn’t find the Hoover washing machine that PhilRoots recommended and I needed one urgently. I asked Currys if they had any Indesit washing machines and they had. For only £299 I could have a WE16, which had all the features I desired and the bonus of a 1600 spin speed.

I jumped at it, only to be told that they were out of stock as they were on special offer (normal price £399) and would not be in for up to 28 days. The WE14 (1400 spin speed) was in sto
ck but it was the same price. Not being happy at paying the same price for a lower specification machine, I went to John Lewis. Their WE16 were also sold out (which was annoying as they would have price matched), but they could offer free delivery in 2 days of the WE14 for £299 and with a 2 year guarantee. Yes!

•• THE MANUFACTURER ••
Indesit is made by Merloni in Italy and they also make Ariston and Scholtes products. In 1930 Aristide Merloni founded Industrie Merloni which concentrated on weighing scales, liquid gas cylinders and hot water heaters. In 1960 the Ariston brand was created, manufacturing consumer goods. In 1987 Merloni acquired Indesit and in 1989 it acquired Scholtes (a French brand). More details about Merloni can be found at: www.merloni.com.

•• THE DELIVERY & SET UP ••
John Lewis delivered on time. The machine came wrapped in cardboard with polystyrene base and lid. Once you cut off the plastic strips holding it all together, it was easy to remove the packaging. The instructions for fitting were on top of the machine with the operating instructions and gadgets inside the drum. You are instructed to remove the fixing screws, which is quite easy as they are no longer inside the machine as they used to be. You then connect the hot and cold water hoses. They even supply washers for the connectors, which I managed not to fit properly initially and suffered another flood! They very kindly enclose a pipe to use if you only have a cold water supply to your washing machine which splits into two. Please note that if this is the case, the wash times will increase due to the extra heating required on some programmes.

Then connect the waste pipe - they supply an up and over guide if required. Adjust the front feet to ensure that the machine is standing evenly (you don’t want it hopping across the floor when spinning). Remove the plug from its handy storage place on the
back (what a great idea for moving!) and unclip as much wire as needed to plug it in. Push back into place and let the fun begin. Actually go and read the instructions. Basically, I was very impressed with the set up instructions and the gadgets supplied.

•• THE LOOK ••
It only comes in white and is of a very standard design, not like some of the snazzy curvy (expensive) designs I saw. It is a standard size: height = 850mm, width = 595mm and depth = 535mm. The door is bigger than my old one, which makes it easier to load and unload washing. It has a dial to choose the washing programme you desire and the usual printed guide on the front so you know which to use for a 40 degree or a 60 degree wash. Then there is a grey LED display window that shows the features you have chosen as you programme the wash, and when washing it nicely shows the remaining time. Two buttons either side of this are used to programme the wash and there are another two buttons to start the machine and turn it on and off.

•• THE MANUAL ••
I was not impressed. I read the whole thing from start to finish and still didn’t quite gather how to programme the machine beyond the simple programmes. I played with the dial and read the manual again, and eventually worked out what to do. I also found the manual patronising, with lots of cartoon pictures explaining what to do, for example a cartoon woman with a short dress on holding a pair of trousers upside down with money falling out of the pockets with the caption ‘do not forget to empty all pockets small objects can cause damage to your washer.’ It covers many basics like how to sort your washing, how to wire a plug, safety measures and how to eliminate common stains. There is a useful section regarding troubleshooting and the economic use of the appliance. It also gives details of the telephone numbers for spare parts (0870 558 5850) and customer services
(0870 607 0805)

•• THE FEATURES ••
* 1400 spin speed – I have noticed a marked difference between the dryness of the clothes out of this machine and my previous 1300 spin speed. This will save money if you are tumble drying.
* Wash load 5.5kg/11lb – this is the average load size of modern machines. Shame it is still not big enough for a quilt.
* ‘A’ rated for wash energy & spin – saves me money on electricity
* Auto variable loads - meaning it automatically works out how much water to use depending upon the amount of washing in the machine (the modern equivalent of half load).

•• THE FUNCTIONS ••
My favourite bit! There are 11 different wash programmes, ranging from a 90 degree white cotton wash with pre-wash to a 30 degree 30 minute quick wash. It caters for hand washing, woollens (it has a ‘Woolmark Company Recognition’), synthetics, and part cycles like spin, rinse and drain. Once you have decided on the main wash type, you can either simply press start or chose from a multitude of functions to enhance your wash if required.

* Temperature – you can reduce the temperature of any wash
* Spin variation – you can reduce the spin speed of any wash
* Delay timer – this is excellent as it means you can delay the start of the wash for up to24 hours and therefore use Economy 7 electricity if you have it.
* Easy ironing – only available for certain programmes, it allows washing to come out of the machine with no creases, by leaving the load soaking in water. To drain simply press select, but this will leave the clothes very wet.
* Rinsing level – you can increase the efficiency of the rinse, useful for full loads with a lot of detergent. Three levels are available and hopefully this will remove more detergent thereby reducing skin irritation for people who aresensitive to detergent
s.
* Stain erase – a more intensive wash that optimises the effectiveness of the liquid additives.
* Wash intensity – three levels to choose from depending upon how soiled the washing is.

•• SO HOW IS IT? ••
I have now tried many but not all of the functions, and I particularly like the delay timer to save money and the rinsing level function as I have very hard water and have to use a lot of detergent. The clothes are certainly clean (not that I often wash very dirty clothes). They come out of the spin very dry and less creased than with my old machine as it obviously turns them round a bit at the end to loosen them from the drum. The 30 minutes quick wash is excellent for clothes that you just want to freshen up. You cannot change the programme during the wash by moving the dial like every other machine I have used. If you want to change the programme, you have to cancel the whole thing, by resetting the wash.

•• THE GOOD ••
* It uses much less water, which is obvious when you watch it (as I did a few times). There is even a warning about this in the manual, in case people think it is not working properly when it doesn’t fill up.
* The clothes are less creased.
* Good variety of programmes and functions
* You can change the functions required throughout the wash cycle.
* Class A energy efficiency
* The detergent drawer can be removed easily for cleaning
* The LED shows the remaining wash time and END when it has finished
* The door has a safety lock

•• THE BAD ••
* The machine is noisier than my previous one. It sort of hums whilst washing, but the spinning is reasonably quiet.
* Many of the wash cycles seem very long, for example the fast coloured cycle is 2 hours and 10 minutes long, with even the delicates being 1 hour and 9 minutes long.
* As you cannot alter the programme
once started I cannot just do a quick spin when I have washed something on the quick cycle but want a thorough spin. The spin cycle takes 14 minutes, where as before I could just move the dial and give it a 3 minute spin.

•• SO WILL I HAVE A FOURTH INDESIT? ••
Based on the performance so far, yes, but it will really depend on how long this one keeps going and how reliable it is in the long term. The noise is a bit irritating, but the excellent performance outweighs this disadvantage, particularly as my machine is in a utility room and not in the main house. I was impressed by the functions I obtained for up to £200 less than other well known makes. Only time will tell whether I should have paid the extra money and gone for a Hoover, Zanussi, Bosch or Hotpoint.

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