top loading washing machine

[mint]

Can someone please recommend a top-loading washing machine that is good value and where best to buy it?  Thank you.

[idun]

I had a phillips and it was wonderful. Fast spin, great.

I then bought a, sorry I have no idea what make it was now, but a real catastrophe! It was one of the big makes in France, but it wasn't a fagor, which is a good make or the german makes or an ariston or phillips.

The problem was where the products went in the lid. My phillips had the product going in in a separate lid next to the drum then another lid, whereas on the 'bad' one I bought had one fancy looking lid to put the products in and that was it.

Within a fairly short amount of time, ie only a few months, the product 'stuck' in the lid started to stink, an amonia smell and of rot. I complained, to no avail. I tried all sorts and after swilling bleach in all the product bits managed to improve it. And the day after it was a year old it conked out, so no guarantee either.

I would never have another top loader with just 'one' lid.

So careful what you buy.

[mint]

Thanks, idun.  I will now look at the phillips model.  I have a Fagor and it does only have one lid but it's worked a treat for over 3 years now.  I'd take it with me to the new house just that OH said that the way it's all been plumbed including the waste, he'd have to get someone in to un-plumb it, then the transport to the new place, then someone else to plumb it in the other end, it might be cheaper just to buy another!

I'm just doing my sums at the moment so your advice has come in very handy.

[Cendrillon]

Sweets, we have a Brand(t? sp?) top loader in France which is easy to use and I like it very much, this machine replaced another of the same make that died (killed by locataires![:@]) after 7 years.

[Chezstevens]

We have a whirlpool oversized toploader - american product and built like a brick outhouse. SWMBO very pleased with results.

[Clarkkent]

I hope that this does not come as a surprise, but there appears to be confusion about “makes” and “brands”. There are now only a few manufacturers of domestic appliances in Europe who sell under a wide range of brand names.

One is the Spanish company Mondragon which sells using the Fagor, Brandt and De Dietricht brands.

 

Electrolux, of Sweden, sell using AEG, Arthur Martin, Atlas, Electrolux, Faure, Frigidaire, Kelvinator, Philco, Westinghouse and Zanussi as brand names.

 

It is reasonable to assume that many of the differences between brands are cosmetic and are employed to capitalise on perceptions of brand values that have been built up in different markets over the years. It is also possible that some companies may not have the right to use particular brand names in some countries – so it may be that a particular brand being sold in one country may be from a different manufacturer than the same brand being sold in another country.

 

[mint]

Good point about the manufacturers, Clarkkent.

Indeed, I have looked at Whirlpool which I understand is now Philips Whirlpool as I had a Whirlpool front-loader in the UK and a Whirlpool fridge-freezer that lasted so many years that I didn't bother bringing them with me and left them for our purchasers.

The price of a Proline on the Darty site interested me as I have bought Proline products on many occasions (on account of being strapped for cash) and, although aesthetically they have the looks of goods made in a communist country, they have all been reliable and the lack of gimmicks does mean that there is less to go wrong.

So, who makes Proline and does anyone have any experience of a Proline top-loader?

Please don't be offended if I am not back to thank you for your replies as we are about to leave for "chateau 24" and it might be a few days before I am back here to use the puter!

[Clarkkent]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

So, who makes Proline and does anyone have any experience of a Proline top-loader?

[/quote]

Good question.

Proline is an "own brand" belonging to Comet and Darty (Kingfisher as was). These products could be made by anyone, and different products could be made by different manufacturers.

[cooperlola]

My Laden one is still going strong after 7 years.  Having said that, it will now pack up....

I think they belong to Firrips?

[nomoss]

[quote user="Chezstevens"]We have a whirlpool oversized toploader - american product and built like a brick outhouse. SWMBO very pleased with results.
[/quote]

I'll second that. Ours came from Currys and is now 7 years old. It does a Normal wash in 10 minutes, a Super wash in 18 minutes, and best of all, it has just 3 simple control knobs, with none of the ridiculous programmes, flashing lights, bells and whistles found on European machines.

 

[Keni]

If you can get to Nontron, up the road by the big Poste sorting office there is a place called Remi Duchesne. He specialises in bankrupt or flood damaged stock etc.. I saw a couple of top loaders in there on Friday - usually really good value - we bought our fridge/freezer there amongst other items. They even offer guarantees!

[Iceni]

We could be talking about 2 different things. I would give my right arm for a US style top loader and spinner. The washer is a large machine with a central paddle and handles huge washes in super quick time. The front loaders with the drum encased where you open a flap and put in the wash are just more effective than UK style front loaders that spin against gravity (well that was how it was explained to me).

My greatest memory was of a chello player who had a plane to catch. She cleaned up and suddenly stripped off her dirty clothes - washed in about 18 mins and dried in less while she packed. My electricity eating versions would have taken 2 hours  at least to do the same.

I now wash with washing balls most of the time, 45 min wash with one rinse but as the balls contain no soap or products I have no traces left in the clean washing. If the washing needs sterilising, I do a full wash with Vanish as bleach kills bacteria/virus/parasites and anything else the dog might bring in - not to mention our happy band of mice who I will get to the very very last one.

We have various makes & models bought in France but following the names back all come from the same factory except the huge Whirlpool US fridge/freezer which like everything else came from a seconds shop in Biars Nr the Andros Factories. It has a scratch all along the top and as I am 5 foot 1 inch I only discovered it last year [:$].

 

[Chezstevens]

"I would give my right arm for a US style top loader and spinner."

That is what we have :) huge beast by Whirlpool that SWMBO is very happy with. 3 dials and no fuss.

[mint]

Hi, everybody! Many, many thanks for the replies.

I must say I like the sound of the American beast that does a wash in the blink of an eye.  However, there are just the 2 of us and the bathroom where the machine is destined to live is not overly big.

I do now, however, thanks to all your replies, have a better idea what to look for.  I was in our local Leclerc and there were several different brands there but I still didn't see any with TWO lids like idun has recommended.  There were a couple where the dispensing unit isn't inside the lid but inside the top of the machine so maybe that will be OK?

Still, I think I will first of all check out the dimensions of the American Whirlpool and, if I have to eliminate that, I will look at some of the others.

How I hate shopping and, more pertinently, how I hate spending money![:(]

[just john]

Whirlpool AWE6517 Top Load Washer
Dimensions 900 x 400 x 600 mm
Price  £299.00 Pixmania.com

Tracie / Chatham - United Kingdom

Ive had my machine for 3 years, great for flats or on boats as are very slim. Can never fault mine, I wash everything on quick wash and comes out fab also saving money. Will buy another if mine ever gives up. Highly recommend.

The WHIRLPOOL AWE6517 slim-line washing machine offers a 5Kg drum capacity,
1000 rpm spin and electronic programme selector.
The machine has 15 Programmes including half load, hand wash and pre wash

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1976112/art/whirlpool/awe6517-washing-machine-w.html?srcid=37&Partenaire=dealtime&CodePromo=oui

 

[pachapapa]

lave linge top/front currently on offer in prospectus.

http://www.promo-conso.net/recherche.php?keyword=lave-linge

[Clair]

I bought a rare Philips top-loader second-hand in the UK in 1997 and brought to France in 2003. It died a quiet death in 2008.

[mint]

Bonjour, everybody

JJ, I'll get back to you later when I have considered, cogitated, digested (or whatever the catchphrase of that dreadful-sounding Loyd Grossman was)!

Pacha, nice site, thanks.

Clair, I hope I am not speaking out of turn and upsetting shedloads of people by saying that I wouldn't even consider a front-loader because (sigh) they just look so ugly!  Now, if you have a frontloader in your immaculately fitted kitchen and it takes pride of place there, I am NOT picking an argument, OK?  Each to their own is what I say....

I like my washing apparatus to be discreet and stand in corner without drawing attention to itself.  I am lucky in that the machine will be plumbed in in a bathroom where it will sit unobtrusively and it can make as much noise as it wants once I have shut the door on it.

Mon dieu, why have a one-eyed beast glaring balefully at you whenever you are working in your kitchen and stopping your conversation in mid-phrase when you are having a chat with your OH?  Bad enough that the OH wouldn't be listening anyway but why furnish him with the excuse that he couldn't hear you as the washing-machine was making such a racket?

[Gardengirl]

I hope you find your dream washer, Sweet! Apart from our very first washing machine, we've always had front loaders. In UK they go in the utility room, so away from sight and sound. Here in France we have a tiny kitchen, and the washer-dryer (sigh - yes, I know, not very efficient, but needs must!) is hidden behind a door and looks like all the cupboards. Ditto the fridge and dishwasher - I had an awful job telling them apart at first!  [:)]

[mint]

Hi, GG, yes, I get the impression that front loaders are more common in the UK.  Don't know why!

Fitted kitchens, I won't even go there!  But, in the new pad, the kitchen is titchy and fitted so that's one decision I don't have to make.

Talking about cupboard fronts and so on, I don't really like making lists of the contents and pasting them on the doors but I might have to resort to that as I don't for the life of me know where I have put things or, indeed, which things are in which house.

One thing I am determined on:  I will NOT double up on everything because then, when this house is sold, I'd have 2 lots of everything.  Been there, done that and not about to repeat the experience!

[pachapapa]

One eyed monsters are cheaper in france, my french neighbours say when the seals go they flood the kitchen, etc,etc and are expensive to replace.

Now funnily enough I dont usually spend much time checking them in the promo prospectus but this morning in the Hyper U promo starting tomorrow tuesday I noticed a remarkably cheap one eyed duvet muncher; € 159 with a two year guarantee is the cheapest I've seen for a long time. Details available in the Us promo-alert at

http://www.promoalert.com/detail-promotions-lave-linge-frontal-technical-wtl842cb1-138310.html

[Gardengirl]

I've never had a seal go on any of my front-loaders - the machines have gone before that happened, and mine usually last a long time!

[just john]

[quote user="sweet 17"] I get the impression that front loaders are more common in the UK.  Don't know why! [/quote]

I've got both, in the UK front loader because the utility room is just big enough for someone to walk by, and the tumble drier is stacked above the Washing Machine (difficult to keep lifting it off to fill a top loader![Www]), In France because there is a lot more space there is a front loader, but it is smaller and not the full blown US style which I'd rather have; Both are where they can be shut away, because it is against humanity to ever be in the same room while the infernal things making the damn racket![:-))]

I guess now everyone will say how quiet there's is, but my ears can detect spinning motors at cinquante pas and makes me borderline manic!

[Gardengirl]

I think I'll have to try putting fewer towels in when I do a wash with them - a couple of times there's been a big booming noise, which I assume means the load isn't right - nasty noise, and I don't want it to happen when the downstairs neighbours come down.

[pachapapa]

[quote user="gardengirl "]I think I'll have to try putting fewer towels in when I do a wash with them - a couple of times there's been a big booming noise, which I assume means the load isn't right - nasty noise, and I don't want it to happen when the downstairs neighbours come down.[/quote]

Stick another couple of breeze blocks in it to keep it quiet.