There's Nothing Wishy Washy About This Machine (Matsui MWM145W)

Member Name: wigglylittleworm

Product:	Matsui MWM145W
Date:	04/06/09 (194 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cleans clothes, lots of washes to select from

Disadvantages: small load size, difficulty cleaning filter

Appliances always seem to die when you are flat broke, or mine do anyway. My washing machine had been on its last legs for a while and when it finally decided to die I needed to replace it quickly and on a tight budget. To be honest I didn't really research my new machine before buying, I wanted a machine for under £200 and the only feature I really cared about was the quick wash and the Matsui MWM145W fitted those specifications. I was a little worried about buying a brand which I had never heard of but the sweet talk of the saleswoman persuaded me that this was a good machine.

The machine looks much like any other machine and sits inoffensively under my counter. The front of the machine is fairly simple and unfussy which makes cleaning it easy. I would have preferred a nice stainless steel fronted machine to fit in with the rest of my kitchen but on my budget this was not possible. The only thing that I don't like about the front of the machine is the cover for the filter which is a piece of plastic which sat at the bottom of the machine and was taped on when it was delivered. After removing the tape and cleaning the filter out the cover would not stay put. I got fed up of it falling off all the time so gave up and chucked it in the back of a cupboard.

The machine is cold fill only so you only need one stream of water going into the machine as well as a place for the outlet hose and a plug nearby. It was easy enough to install, don't pay an installer from the electrical shops £20 for something you can do yourself in less than half an hour.

The machine has a capacity of 5kg of dry clothes which is fairly small. I was advised when buying that this was not big enough for a double duvet however since I have an all seasons quilt (one of the ones where you clip the 11 tog and 4.5 tog together to make a thick winter duvet) my quilts are smaller than average. My 11 tog double bed sized quilt fits inside the machine at a push but you would struggle to fit a king size quilt into the machine which could mean trips to the laundrette to wash it. The load size suits my household needs but those with larger loads of washing might prefer a bigger drum.

The range of programmes on the machine is good with 20 wash programmes for cottons, synthetics, delicates and woollens. The programmes are easy to select on the dial with pictures of the type of material and temperature by each programme setting. As well as the standard programmes the machine also has a cold wash and special programmes for baby clothes, sports clothes and curtains. I've not got around to using all of the programmes and I am sure I never will but I have been happy with the performance of the programmes I have used so far. The machine is reasonably quiet in use and the standard programmes seem to run for around an hour and a half. The quick wash programme is my personal favourite and takes only 40 minutes, it's really handy when you know that you need a pair of trousers ready for the next morning or for rinsing out swimming suits and towels quickly. It is not a good programme to use on heavily stained items as it has left the smell of BO on some sports clothes but great if you are in a hurry.

I also like the fact that you can select the speed of the spin cycle for each wash with spin speeds from 400 to 1400 and the option not to spin at all. This is a really handy feature and you also have the option of extra rinse, a spin cycle alone, draining the machine, an easy iron button and an extra rinse button.

I have owned my machine for around 15 months now and have had one problem with it. When I had owned it for around 10 months I noticed a bad smell coming from the machine but a boil wash sorted it out temporarily. One day I put them machine on as normal and came back to find the machine still full of water and some lights flashing on the front of the machine. I had no idea what these lights meant so decided to consult the manual and discovered that if the machine has a fault then each sequence of flashing lights signifies a different type of failure. My particular error code meant that the pump had failed or was obstructed so I removed it to clean it. The fact that the filter is on the front of the machine is a bonus but it's position so close to the ground means that despite trying to collect the flow of water with towels and basins and pans the kitchen is guaranteed to flood if you empty the machine this way. After removing all the coins and debris from the filter the fault still persisted so it was time to call out the engineer. After finally turning up and on his second visit he pulled a rather smelly sock out from hoses in the machine which was the cause of the problem. I think this is a fairly common fault and not due to a design flaw with the machine but to be on the safe side I took out an extra four years cover when the guarantee ran out for the cost of £77.


I'm happy with my MWM154W, it might not be the trendiest or highest spec machine on the market but it is easy to use, performs well and has a good variety of features which will help you to get your washing clean. The only downsides of the machine are the relatively low load size and the niggly annoyances about the filter and filter cover. If you are on the look out for a washing machine on a budget then this machine might be the one for you.

Summary: A good reliable budget washing machine

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