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COPYRIGHT 2003 Australian Consumers' Association
IN A NUTSHELL
* Nine of the 13 machines in the What to buy list are also Best Buys--good performers at a good price.
* Some of the machines tested are less than gentle on your clothes--see Not so gentle, right.
* We've got some great tips to save you money in the laundry--see page 44.
Twelve new models were tested for this report. The remaining models are those tested over the past 12 months or so that are still available and have had no major changes that would affect performance.
Nothing's changed overall either--while front and top loaders have a similar range of dirt removal and spin efficiency scores, the front loaders still outperform the top loaders for water and energy efficiency and how gentle they are on your clothes.
NOT SO GENTLE
A gentle wash makes a real difference to the wear and tear on your clothes. They may well be clean, but you won't be happy if they're becoming flayed or stretched because the action of the machine is too severe.
To test this, we attach swatches of an easily frayed material to a garment in each load, and measure the area of the swatch before and after washing. The gentleness score is calculated based on the extent to which it's frayed.
Top-loading machines are generally more severe on clothes than front loaders, so while they're often cheaper upfront, you might want to take into account the cost of replacing clothes that wear out faster. Machines that scored particularly poorly for gentleness were the following:
* Worst were the SIMPSON Encore 605 36S605K, which scored just 40%, closely followed by the FISHER & PAYKEL Intuitive Eco IW711 with 42%.
* The FISHER & PAYKEL Pride, HOOVER 500MD, HOOVER 600MD, HOOVER 750LD and SIMPSON Esprit 550 36S550K all scored less than 50%.
On the flipside, the front-loading ARISTON Margherita 2000 AB95 was by far the gentlest on clothes of all the machines tested with a score of 82%.
We test gentleness on the 'normal' wash cycle, so if you have clothes that are more delicate and you have a machine that didn't score well for gentleness, try choosing the 'delicates' program.
DOING THE DIRTY
This group of 46 machines has some surprisingly low scores for the basic performance indicator: dirt removal. Five top loaders scored less than 65%: the FISHER & PAYKEL Excellence GW511, NEC NW-452, SIMPSON Esprit 750 and the two KLEENMAIDs.
In fact the two newly tested KLEENMAIDs stood out as disappointing overall, scoring just 56% for dirt removal, 51% for spin efficiency (the lowest score for this) and 52% for water efficiency. However, they did have the highest score for gentleness of all the top loaders: 65%.
CHOICE SHOPPER
If you know the machine you want, CHOICE Shopper can help you find it at a good price. Just phone 1300 360 655 (9 am-5 pm, Monday to Friday) with the model details, a price you want to beat and your eight-digit subscriber number (it's above your name on the mailing label with the magazine).
What to look for
* Anti-crease: Some models have a permanent press or creasables cycle designed for easily creased or pleated fabrics. Others may have a feature that either won't drain the last rinse water or won't spin after the water is drained. Out-of-balance correction: Automatically detects and redistributes an out-of-balance load, either by spinning slowly before the full spin cycle or, as many top loaders do, by taking in extra water to wet and move the clothes before spinning again. If you're trying to save water, you might not want this latter feature.
* Selectable spin speed: You can set the spin speed to whatever you like on some programs. A higher spin speed will result in drier clothes, or you may want a slower speed for delicates.
* Heater: All the front loaders have a heater; all the top loaders don't.
WHAT TO BUY A Best Buy indicates that a model is a reasonable performer in its size bracket and its combined purchase and running costs are comparatively low. The other models in the What to Buy list are the overall top performers in their size bracket out of all the models in the table, but they'll cost more to buy and/or run than the Best Buys. We've included top and front loaders in each size range where possible. Small (up to 5.5 kg) MIELE Novotronic W 828 (fr) $1799 NEW SIMPSON Esprit 45S551D (fr) (BEST BUY) $849 WHIRLPOOL AWM 5100 (fr) (BEST BUY) $999 SIMPSON Esprit 550 36S550K * (tp) (BEST BUY) $649 Large (7.5 kg or more) FISHER & PAYKEL Intuitive Eco IW811 (tp) (BEST BUY) $1362 Medium (6 to 7 kg) NEW ARISTON Margherita 2000 AL 129X (fr) $1599 WHIRLPOOL 6th Sense AWM 8121 (fr) (BEST BUY) $1249 LG Intellowasher WD 8074FHB (fr) (BEST BUY) $1099 WESTINGHOUSE Mastermind LF711C (fr) (BEST BUY) $1199 WESTINGHOUSE Mastermind LF708C (fr) (BEST BUY) $999 FISHER & PAYKEL Intuitive Eco IW711 * (tp) $1228 FISHER & PAYKEL Excellence GW611 (tp) $1007 HOOVER 600MD (tp) * (BEST BUY) $699 The ASKO, BOSCH and the other two LG Intellowasher models that scored 76% overall (see the table, page 46) would also be worth considering in this size range if you find them for a good price. Their overall performance is as good as that of the LG and WESTINGHOUSEs in the What to buy list, but they're more expensive and so don't qualify as a Best Buy. fr--front loader, tp--top loader * We've included the Simpson Esprit 550 36S550K, Fisher & Paykel Intuitive Eco IW711 and...
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