Getting in a Spin (Whirlpool AWO/D 4505)

Member Name: rune_tune

Product:	Whirlpool AWO/D 4505
Date:	22/04/08 (436 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent value machine for the price

Disadvantages: Not good for larger families.

~ Whirlpool ~

Whirlpool as a company began in its own right around 1950, and quickly established itself as one of the leading manufactures of Washing machines and later other household products. In this review, I am looking at the AWOD 4505 Front loading washing machine.
I had a Servis machine, and nothing but trouble from the moment we bought it. I have eventually relented and bought this Whirlpool as a direct replacement, costing £185-00 on offer from Co-op direct.

~ First thoughts ~

Well, this is a budget end machine, yet despite having paid less than the Servis it replaced overall the quality of this machine is second to none. I did know a little about the overall machine since my parents and sister both have Whirlpool machines that are also from the budget end of the range, both now 5 and 7 years old respectively, and both machines still going strong.
It was this longevity of their machines as well as their own comments about them that made me look at this as a direct replacement.

It sits nicely under the countertop, although a little higher than the Servis, it doesn't cause any problems and if anything it seemed more 'solid' already just sitting on the floor before it was even levelled off properly. We could never get the Servis to sit on the floor without some slight movement, and again the difference was immediately apparent.

One thing I didn't know when buying was the warranty you can get with it, and normally I wouldn't take out a policy on any extended warranty, but Whirlpool offered an *8* year (yes, eight year) warranty for parts for just £25-00! Okay you still would have to pay for labour, but its pretty impressive to find a budget machine with such good warranty on its parts.

~ Controls, dials and use ~

Dials and controls are all very easy to use, and firm under touch. It doesn't feel at all flimsy, especially when you consider the cost of the machine. Your really do feel its far more expensive than it actually was. When comparing to the previous machine we had, you really do notice a difference in quality. Whereas the dial on the old machine never felt quite solid, this one does and turns smoothly.
All numbers and programs are easy to read from the front fascia, and again it was only a matter of minutes working out what wash programs you have available to you.

The machine does get quite heavily used, and so far its been nice and quiet in operation, again compared to the old Servis it replaced the noise levels are dramatically reduced.
It has an anti-crease spin facility that the Servis didn't have, and the clothes certainly do seem to come out much less creased when using a program that triggers this particular aspect of the wash.

There is also a warning light which will come on if the machine needs servicing, or if the filter needs cleaning out. It also has a warning light if you turn it on and the water doesn't begin to fill. This happened to me on one occasion where we had to turn the tap off under the sink where the water hose was connected, and had the light not come on, we might not have realized what the problem was immediately.
Another area that has a warning light is if the door isn't quite shut. Again the previous machine had no warning lights of any kind, so this has been an added bonus.
The only downside I can find is that when you use the quick wash, the clothes aren't quite as dry as other wash options, but that is all I can say that is remotely negative.

I suspect you would be hard pressed to find a better machine not just at this price, but in some of the price ranges above it!
So far we've now had this machine for just over 12 months and I'm as happy with it now as I was.

~ Final thoughts ~

Its not the best rated machine out there, but overall it isn't too bad. Its not got too many features, but to be honest we find it has just enough for us. After all, how many of us tend to use more than one or two different washing programs? If you've got a small family perhaps with a lot of washing, this machine wouldn't really be good enough because of the 5kg load, but for one or two people households this is an ideal machine, not only in terms of cost, but ease of use, reliability and features it has.

I only wish I had bought this first and not the Servis! 5 out of 5 stars from me, even though its not a machine with anything more than basic features.

~ Now for the boring bit - its specifications. Skip if you wish ~

· Loading type: Front loading
· Washing capacity: 5kg
· Spin speed: 1200 rpm
· Energy rating: A+
· Wash energy rating: A
· Spin energy rating: B
· Design type: Freestanding
· Width : 59.8cm
· Depth: 58cm
· Height : 85cm

Summary: About as good as any machine out there in its class.

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