Thread Number: 7853
New UK Hotpoint WD640 Personal Review
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Post# 151679   8/31/2006 at 06:29 (6,419 days old) by robm (Buxted)        

robm's profile picture
About 4 months ago I bought a UK Hotpoint WD640 super silent and thought I would review it. Please note, that this is just based on my experience and I am not a qualified repairman. You may find this interesting if you are interested in any of the Hotpoint/Merloni machines.

Design
I like the look of this machine. As with all Hotpoints it’s nicely styled and comes in various colours. The fascia is clear and the controls easy to use. It’s early days yet but I hope that the door and fascia do not turn a fag ash yellow that happened with previous polar white machines.

Build Quality
Hmmm! I bought this machine because it’s at my flat in London and wouldn’t get used much. Build quality wasn’t as important as features. I have to say it does not shake when spinning or rattle about. However, I do believe that the very sensitive out of balance sensor does compensate for a lot (please see Spinning below). I noted that it distributed badly once and the drum rocked violently. Of course it didn’t spin, but I wouldn’t reckon its chances if it had. I think this machine is ideal for average use but for a family I think it would wear out. Powder drawer is sturdy, door average but nothing like older machines.

Programmes
I really like these. This machine has a delay timer and countdown which is great in seeing how long programmes will take. The cottons washes come in 3 wash times 1hr, 1.30hr and 2.20hrs which is ideal as in most cases a shorter program will suffice. The synthetics have 2 main wash times a 1.09hr and a quick wash of 30 mins. There is of course a wool program and spin and rinse programmes. The buttons include a delay timer up to hours , a time saver switch, which gives even more time flexibility. A reduce creases button (covered in spinning) and a rinse hold button, which works on all programmes except some but not all cotton washes. The wash and rinse times also seem well balanced.

Spinning
There are 2 main spins. The cottons do a 1400 spin which oddly enough is done in 3 stages but at top speed. Rather than one final burst it does 3 at 1400 for about a minute or two each. The synthetics spin is about a 2min 800. This actually dries the clothes well and is my preference for my main washing. The Reduce Creases button reduces the cottons spin to 800 for just a few seconds (gentler than the synthetics) and reduces the synthetics spin to 400. On the 800 spin the clothes are left lovely and crease free, I find the results highly satisfactory. The only annoyance is the constant redistribution which can increase wash times. The spin is smooth though.

Washing and Rinsing
I am very pleased with this. This machine uses a decent amount of water and clothes are agitated well. The Reduce Creases button also slows down washing action which is useful. I have no complaints with rinse ability or wash results.

Super Silent??
Well the answer is yes and no. Washing is very quiet. The noise does increase with the spin speed, however, anything up to 800 is relatively quiet. After this, the noise does increase and at 1400 it’s just as noisy as any other automatic, although, it doesn’t make a high pitched noise that I know brush motors make. I understand the Aqualtis has improved this.

A big no, no!!
There is something this machine does which I absolutely hate. During high heat tumble drying it commences a spin. This increases to 1400 and lasts for a few minutes. I can understand this might improve drying times but the clothes are left butchered. The high heat sets the creases. My clothes and underwear were left absolutely creased and shiny. The synthetics drying is much better but I wouldn’t even trust towels on the cottons setting. It took few washes for my clothes to look normal.

On the whole I am very happy with this machine but wouldn’t recommend it for heavy use.





Post# 151683 , Reply# 1   8/31/2006 at 06:47 (6,419 days old) by aquarius1984 (Planet earth)        
congratulations on your machine

aquarius1984's profile picture
Rob great machine they do wash well and i hope yours is reliable as the hotpoint i gained today. However the spin in the tumble dry mode is there as a precautionary measure. My old indesit washer dryer did the spin for people daft enough to put handwashed stuff into dry without a spin. Its daft the machine cant realise straigt after commencing a wash cycle that is has already spun! You can blame merloni for that. Enjoy! nick

Post# 151729 , Reply# 2   8/31/2006 at 12:33 (6,419 days old) by newwave1 (Lincoln, United Kingdom)        

newwave1's profile picture
Ahh thx for that rob!
a nice review of a machine i'd been wondering about for ages! does the machine have any high level rinsing at all?

do you think you could get any pics or a video!?

Darren


Post# 151737 , Reply# 3   8/31/2006 at 13:26 (6,419 days old) by lavamat_jon (UK)        

Hi Rob, nice to hear your Hotpoint is working well! I'm liking these more and more as I hear more positive reviews on here... only experience I have of them is through my nana's WF340; she uses 40*C cottons all the time and I have to say the rinsing is abysmal - you can still even smell Persil Non Bio at the end of the wash; which is a detergent that has probably the least fragrance. But then she doesn't use any other options or cycles - I'm actually keen to get a cheap Aquarius model myself to try out; even if I only keep it for a couple of weeks!

I'm glad to hear positive reviews anyway of these machines;

Jon


Post# 151817 , Reply# 4   9/1/2006 at 04:28 (6,418 days old) by robm (Buxted)        

robm's profile picture
Thanks for your comments.

One of the things I especially like about this machine is the level of water it uses. The synthetics rinse is particulary deep, coming right up the glass. I used to try and overcome this in the past by filling up on a Woollens wash but no need with this machine.

I have found no problems with rinsing but there isn't a deep rinse button.

I've got a Miele in Sussex and it doesn't compare but the Hotpoint's been great for occasional use as I only stay in my flat a couple of nights a week. It's quiet, stable and looks good.

I am going to try and do a few films but only have a tape type camcorder, not sure if I can connect it to my computer - any ideas?

Will see if I can get some photos soon. I am setting up a photo album on yahoo that I hope to share various pics soon.



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