Zanussi Washing Machine (Zanussi ZWF14070)

Member Name: a_m_y

Product:	Zanussi ZWF14070
Date:	18/07/09 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything

Disadvantages: Might be a bit small if you have a big family

I've had this washing machine for a year and a half. At first I was especially pleased because it has an A energy rating, which is obviously a good thing for the environment and for running costs.

Installing it was really easy. Not hard at all, and the instruction manual tells you exactly what to do.

It takes a maximum load weight of 6kg for cotton, down to 2 for wool and handwash - yes, it has a handwash setting, very useful if you're too lazy to wash your clothes in the sink. I find this to be just right for the two of us. I dry our clothes on an airer in the kitchen and a full load (and I mean crammed) fills the airer perfectly.

It also has a maximum spin speed of 1400rpm, with two other options available -which I've never used. I like fast. As well as this, there is a rinse hold option, and a night cycle. This is so you can use it at night when power is cheaper, if you have time of use rates. I don't so have never used this, but apparently it doesn't drain the water at the last rinse so your clothes won't crease.

The other options are prewash, intensive and super quick. Intensive is to be used for especially mucky laundry, and I've only used it once. I did find it quite effective though on my husbands muddy trousers. I use the super quick option all the time. It takes 50 minutes, so really good if you're not going to be in for long but really need your washing done. When I first got this I used the eco setting and it took about 2 and a half hours, which I wasn't impressed with - although the clothes were drier at the end than they are with the super quick setting.

There are lots of settings on the dial - they are divided into easy to find sections. Cottons, synthetics, Delicates and Special - which includes things like sport shoes, handwash and wool, as well as the usual drain, spin and rinse. To use the washing machine, you just select your temperature on the relevant section of the dial, and wether you want it to be eco or not, then choose your speed by pushing a button, pick your option (prewash, intensive, super quick) if you want to, and if you want an extra rinse or not, and press start. Which is a 'play button' which can also be used to pause it.

The other useful thing is that it has a timer delay. So say you're off to work and you want the machine to be done by 6pm so you can come in and empty it, you can set it at 8.00 to come on in nine hours and it will. This means you don't have to rely on asking someone else to do it when they might forget! It has a 3hr, 6hr and 9 hr timer option. I've found this really useful in the past, although it's easy to forget you can do that!

The other good thing about this is that it's really easy to clean. The drawer comes right out so you wash any goo out of it (not that there's much there...) and the tray comes out of the drawer too. I haven't yet had to clean the pump, but the instructions make it look very easy, and I can't imagine it would be too tricky.

The cost of this seems to be around £300, which I think is really reasonable, as this has never let me down. I've accidently washed pens, money, paper, paper clips etc... and it's never been a problem. It also does a great job of actually cleaning the stuff. It's removed cat sick, mud, food stains, orange juice stains etc...(all with a bit of help from Vanish) no problem at all!

Only thing I would say is that if you have a big family, it's probably a bit on the small size capacity wise. Other than that, it's easy to use and does a great job.

Summary: cleans fast and well

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