Wash N Dry - Update (Indesit WD10 Washer Dryer)

Member Name:

Product:	Indesit WD10 Washer Dryer
Date:	19/12/01 (3239 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does its stuff with no fuss

Disadvantages: Only one slight one.

=====+++++ UPDATE +++++=====
So what does it cost to run? I did a full 11 lbs wash at 50° C and split the clothes into three bundles to dry. Each bundle went through the drying process for 40 minutes. The electricity meter told me that SEVEN (7) units of electricity had been used which would cost less than 50p. Now that is economy.
=====+++++ END OF UPDATE +++++=====

Armed with very accurate measurements of where the new washing machine would live, I sauntered into Comet Blackburn to view what they had on offer. I was particularly looking for Indesit as I had complete confidence in that make, as my past experience had been excellent.

I found the perfect machine for my needs in the Indesit WD10 UK (made by Merloni Elettrodomestici, Fabriano, Italy) priced at £289.93 with a delivery charge of £14.95 and delivery was arranged for the Sunday afternoon between noon and 6.00pm. The young sales lady was very pleasant and efficient and only mentioned the extended warranty ONCE. She did suggest that I might like to buy a frame on a set of wheels for the washing machine to stand on to make it easy to move the machine into place and out for cleaning etc and got me a set to inspect. Unfortunately the total height of washing machine and wheels was just one centimetre more than the space that I had for it. But it is a nice idea. I think!

The frame with a set of wheels at each corner, costing £30, measured four and a half centimetres in height and it could be expanded in width and depth to fit ANY machine. Worth thirty quid? Not really and I did wonder about the whole thing dancing around the kitchen when the machine was in use, as there was no mechanism to lock the wheels to prevent this happening. Back to the drawing board I guess.

The washer/dryer arrived encased in expanded polystyrene, covered in strong cardboard and bound by two of those strong, nylon straps that cut into your hand if you’re not careful. However the cardboard
did not cover the base thus ensuring that it would be easy to remove once the straps had been cut away. Getting the 70 kg machine off the polystyrene base was a struggle for one person or even for two but if you want transit protection then you have to put up with these little things.

The Indesit WD10 UK is a washer/dryer and stands 85 cms tall with a footprint of 59.5 cms wide and 53.5 cms deep. There are rubber feet at each of the four corners with the front two being adjustable to ensure that the machine is level to within 2° of the horizontal. To ensure the longevity of the machine this point is IMPORTANT so it would be worth borrowing a spirit level or even buying one. I bought one at the local market for £1.20 so it may be well worth buying one. (For the sake of £1.20 the machine was not level and shook itself to pieces whilst trying to wash clothes.) However I discovered one flaw in that when the machine was in position it was tilting slightly BACKWARDS and thus the two front adjustable feet were useless as they were designed to only LIFT the front. But that situation was peculiar to my flat.

The local authority, to whom the flat belongs, had only tiled the floor part way into the cubby hole where a washer would sit and thus the back where the rear feet of the washer would be, was lower than the front. Not by much but enough to make the machine level to be outside the parameters laid down. With the rear feet being non-adjustable, somehow I had to put something under them to lift them a fraction higher than the rest of the floor, which would then allow me to adjust the front feet to ensure that the machine was as near perfectly level as I could. There was no way that I could get to the back to do so as even a mouse would have a struggle to get their, let alone me. In any case I had no mice handy and even if they were strong enough to lift a corner of the machine to insert the spacer, they would probably squabble amongst themselves as to who
does the lifting and who does the inserting and who is going to supervise and they would probably go on strike for more cheese and the work would never get done. No! I had a plan “B”.

I considered buying some tiles and completing the job but being scrunched up in a small space was outside the parameters of my back’s working condition. But I had a plan “C”.

In pondering the problem I discovered that the rear feet ARE adjustable for height (so the manual lied) but that didn’t help at all because once the machine was installed there was no way of getting at the feet to adjust them. OK! Smart Alec! Adjust them first then push the machine into place. Nope! Won’t work because first you need to know how much to adjust them and the adjustment cannot be locked so whilst pushing or walking the machine into position the movement turns the feet and mucks up all your adjustments.

The simplest solution to my particular problem would be for the makers to make the two rear feet a few millimetres taller and this gave me a clue how to proceed. I have e-mailed Merloni Elettrodomestici from their web site at www.merloni.com to suggest increasing the height of the rear feet by two or three millimetres.

The answer was glaring simple. I would increase the height of the rear feet by cutting two squares of hardboard about 3 cms square and drilling a hole in the middle. Unscrewing the rear feet I could slip the hardboard (now called a spacer) over the bolt protruding from each foot and screw it back in place with the spacer between machine and foot. Rear feet now about 3 millimetres taller and firmly fixed in place.

Pushing the machine into place was relatively easy but easing it out again was a tricky and lengthy process. With only an inch of room on either side there was nothing to grip and I had to “walk” it out bit by bit. At the end of the exercise it left my heart banging away like a stea
m hammer and a desperate need for a rest, a brew and a fag. Suitably refreshed and rested with the washer out of the cubby hole, I inserted the spacers and walked the machine back into place. I adjusted the two front feet to bring the machine level and all was well. The ambulance arrived and the jolly green giants re-started my heart, sewed on my severed fingers and left. That last sentence is not true. I just threw it in for dramatic effect.

The reader may wonder how, with the machine in place and less than one inch of clearance between the top of the washer and the underside of the worktop, I was able to determine whether the machine was level or not. Even if I could get a spirit level into the gap there was no way that I could see the bubble.

I inserted a thick piece of board that was long enough to reach right to the back and protrude about a foot at the front and wide enough to straddle the washer top, between the top of the washer and worktop underside. In effect I was extending the washer top and now I had a surface on which to put the spirit level. Thus I could adjust the two front feet to bring the machine perfectly level. Then I removed the board, turned it over and put it back and checked the level. I removed the board again, turned it around and put it back and checked the level and finally took it out once more, turned it over and put it back and did a final check and adjustment. Why all this palaver you may ask? It was to eliminate any slight bend that the board may have had that was not noticeable to the naked eye.

I know that the last few hundred words don’t have much to do with the machine itself and how it fares but I’m not going to spend nigh on three hundred quid to have the machine tear itself to pieces after a few weeks just because I didn’t make sure that it was level. I’m sure the information could be invaluable for someone in a similar position.

The inlet hoses came coiled up inside
the drum, as did the plastic package containing the instruction booklet and a few bits and pieces like rubber hose washers etc. Lightly adhered to the top was an A3 sized instruction sheet that detailed the instructions for “Easy Installation”. The first being to remove and store safely the four bolts and spacers that held the drum securely in place for transit. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT RUNNING THE MACHINE BEFORE THESE BOLTS ARE REMOVED. The spacers should come out with the rubber bung but if they don’t they should drop to the floor. Two of mine did not come out with the rubber bung and they did not drop to the floor but, as I discovered after removing the back panel, they had lodged in the bottom of the frame. They were out of harms way but I didn’t know that until I had a look so it is always best to check and make sure that you have ALL the spacers to put away. One could have lodged in the works and that could turn out to be an expensive omission. All you need is a decent pozidrive screwdriver. The rest of the instruction sheet was about the hose connections. A nice touch was four plastic plugs to insert into the bolt holes, as was another plastic plug to fit into the holes that the mains plug was secured in.

This machine will take 11 lbs of dry clothes for washing and 5.5 lbs for drying. One rotary switch on the front enables the user to set any one of 10 different washing programmes plus extra rinsing, extra spin and the drying cycle, the duration of which was controlled by an adjacent rotary switch and limited to either; 40, 60, 100 or 150 minutes. There is further control to dry the clothes to “Iron Dry”, “Wardrobe Dry” or “Extra Dry”. I assume that the set drying time is reduced for the first two choices or it could be the drying temperature. Naturally no washing machine would be without the three-partition drawer for pre-wash detergent, main wash detergent and fabric conditioner and the I
ndesit WD10 UK is no exception. One push button is for an “anti crease” operation, one for the spin speed of either 500 rpm or 1,000 rpm and one for an economy wash. The on-off button completes the controls that even I could understand. But then with a clear and concise manual to follow anyone who could read English would be able to do so. One word of caution! The rotary dials must only be turned in a CLOCKWISE direction. Attempting to turn them the other way will mean an expensive repair bill. But they click positively into place EXACTLY opposite the required mark, which is more than can be said for some other machines so the chances of missing your selection are minimal, if at all.

This machine is hot and cold fill but Indesit thoughtfully provide a “Y” junction pipe for anyone who only has a cold water supply for a machine. This MUST be used if only a cold water supply is available as to leave the hot water input without a hose is inviting a flood of biblical proportions. Also thoughtfully supplied is a “bendy” thing through which the outlet hose can be passed to hook over a sink or into the domestic outflow pipe. Some people don’t use this and in not doing so the outlet pipe can kink and stop the water from leaving the washing machine. One other point that people should be aware of. Although the machine is hot and cold fill, it only takes in HOT WATER from the domestic hot water supply when doing a wash of over 60° C. Any wash at 60° C or less the machine only takes in cold water and heats it up to the required temperature as set by the controls. The reason is that most domestic hot water is at above 60° C and it wouldn’t be practical to take in hot and cold water and mix it to a temperature of 60° C or less. Actually it could be done but it would probably stick at least an extra fifty quid on the cost.

If the machine is stopped part way through the set cycle, on restarting it, it will continue fr
om where it left off but there is a routine to bypass this if the need arises.

So far I have only done one wash and the clothes came out clean and fresh. The manual instructed that the full wash load should be divided into two to go through the drying cycle and I found that the 40 minutes drying time was enough to dry clothes that included a fluffy towel and heavy cotton shirt to a very dry state. Time will help me tune things to the minimum power usage.

The maker recommends that upon completing a wash and dry cycle, after removing the clothes the door should be left AJAR to allow the inside to dry out/cool off and to avoid it getting musty. If you have pets or small children ALWAYS inspect the inside before loading clothes in to be washed or dried. The picture of a budgie desperately tapping away at the window from the inside as it goes round and round may seem to be a funny site but I can assure you that the budgie will not be amused.

During the drying cycle the door window gets very hot. Hot enough in fact to damage delicate fingers and hands and wet noses. SO KEEP TODDLERS AND ANIMALS AWAY!!!

One final word of caution! If you use a container for your detergent that goes in with the clothes, TAKE IT OUT BEFORE THE DRYING CYCLE. It gets mighty hot in there and it could soften or even melt the plastic.

The absolutely very last point. Once the machine has been installed and you have done a wash or two without any problems, fill in the Product Registration Form and send it away in the provided envelope. (No stamp necessary) They will send you, as quoted on the form, ”a selection of discount vouchers that will allow you to enjoy savings at selected restaurants and Video/DVD rental outlets.” Anybody want mine when I get them?

Summary: