Washing machines.....

[smudge]

Our washing machine has finally expired, so we're having to buy a new one.

Our old one was a Hotpoint hot & cold fill, which served us well for 12 years. However, a lot of them seem to be cold fill only these days.

If you have gone from a hot/cold fill, to just cold fill, have you experienced any problems please?

Thanks in advance.

[sddsddean]

They are effectively all cold fill now (to be environmentally friendly). The only real difference you will find is that a hot wash for eaxample, takes about 2hrs 30 mins instead of just over an hour. All washes take longer, so you can have more cups of tea in between washes!

[barry1010]

My cold fill machine has a 30 minute quick wash, and even a hot wash at 70 degrees takes just over an hour.
I am very pleased with my machine, having gone from a dual fill to cold fill only some 2 years ago.

[smudge]

Thank you very much for your helpful replies dean & barry, much appreciated.

I'm sure I'll soon get used to the new machine & will look forward to all those cups of tea dean! ;o}

[madmaggot]

I used to have a hot/cold fill machine and I kept the hot water tank heated all day.
I now have cold fill washing m/c and dishwasher and have changed to a combi condensing boiler which I only have on when I actually need hot water (about 1/2 hour in the morning and again at night on timer, switched on in between times if necessary).
At this house I am on oil as opposed to gas previously so cannot compare costs but feel that it must be better not to keep a tank full of water hot all day.

[smudge]

Thank you for that madmaggot. We have also looked into having a combi boiler installed. It does seem to make sense.

In some ways, it reminds me of the 'old' days when Mum & Dad had an Ascot in the scullery! Hot water on tap, if & when you needed it. Mind you, that was before they had central heating!

[BertiWooster]

Having a combination boiler will save you money , because it heats the water only ' on demand ' - i.e when you turn the tap on .

This eliminates the need to heat / reheat and storing a tank of water -losing the heat energy of the water , even when lagged .

[smudge]

Thank you Berti.

Yes, that certainly seems the way forward for us now. Every little helps - well after the initial outlay of course!

Nite, nite.

[Whoever]

A few months ago we replaced our Hotpoint hot fill with a Hotpoint cold fill and have had no problems at all. The reason why they're all coldfill these days is that many fabrics can be suitably washed at much lower temperatures than the hot water previously provided, especially silks and woolens and it makes the wash more economical. If you haven't bought your new machine yet, lookout for the Hotpoint model No WMD60 which has a larger drum which takes a king size duvet and has several spin speeds including a really fast 1600 spin which is brilliant for making clothes dry more quickly. This is the model we have bought and although it was a little more expensive than other models I'm delighted with its performance.

[ChuckFickens]

just to add, hot fill machines can be incredibly wasteful.

you start by filling the machine with water from the hot pipes that will have been heated once but cooled in the pipes so needs to be heated again. the cold water in your pipes is then replaced by more hot water that will just sit in the pipes to cool again.

Depending on the length of the pipes to your machine you might be filling the washing machine with almost entirely cooled down hot water that needs heating a second time, just costing more money.

[smudge]

Thank you for your helpful advice Whoever & Chuck.

You just caught me, as we're off out to buy a Hotpoint WML520p 1200 Spin.

There is a Comet near us & when I popped in there yesterday, they said they'd match their online price, a saving of �55. My husband will also be able to fit it into his Landy, so no delivery charge either - every little helps! ;o}

This model seems to have lots of positive reviews, but we will also look at the one you've suggested Whoever.

Thanks again all.