Washing Machine Woes

SticksDweller

Hi,

I recently bought a Hotpoint WMUD 962 washing machine from Currys online and it is ruining my clothes.

I had a Hotpoint WM12 for 16 years and would shove most things in on the 40 degree “double bar” cycle with super rinse. Everything came out fine, including a wool scarf with sentimental value. Back in March the bearings failed and I decided to buy a new machine.

The WMUD 962 arrived on 13 March. I read the manual and selected the wash cycle that most closely matched 40 degree “double bar”, but I reduced the temperature to 30 degrees (the old machine would not go below 40 other than cold). I was horrified when some of my t-shirts came out shrunk. My fiance thought it must be the cycle and suggested I try reducing the temperature.

Then one week later my world exploded when my fiance was diagnosed with a brain tumour. For the next ten weeks my mind was on him, his operation and his recovery. During this time the new washing machine was still shrinking some clothes and stretching others, but that was the least of my worries.

When he was back in action we tried all sorts of different cycles. You can select the wash action, temperature and spin speed separately, so I started off with cotton or acrylic to suit the load and then reduced the action to delicate, the temperature to cold, and the spin to 400 RPM. And clothes still came out stretched and shrunk.

I even tried the delicate silk cycle on cold with a small load (the manual say 1kg max). That doesn’t even spin so I had to run a manual spin (no rinse) at 400 RPM. No difference.

The clothes in question are not new. Some are 3 or 4 years old and had been washed in my old machine dozens of times with no problem.

The machine is cold fill only and is definitely connected to the cold tap. We have tried running different cycles and the glass door feels cold on a cold wash and warm on a 40 degree wash, so it’s not the temperature.

Some people (including someone on the Hotpoint help line) suggested it might be the size of the drum. The new machine is rated at 9kg while the old one was only 5kg. There are only two of us and the loads tend to be small. But it doesn’t say anywhere in the manual that you can’t wash small loads. And for some cycles the maximum load is much lower than 9kg. For one cycle it’s only 1kg.

I asked Currys to replace it with another model, but they said it was too old (at 4 months) and referred me to Hotpoint. Hotpoint said they would need to send an engineer first to see if the machine was faulty. He came today and could find no fault. I went back to Currys and they are refusing to do anything unless Hotpoint say there is a problem. I went back to Hotpoint and they are sending a senior engineer next week, but what can he do?

I have not tried washing a large load of clothes or bulking out a load with towels or sheets because quite frankly that’s not how I wash, and why should I change? If the new machine is incapable of washing a small load without ruining some of the clothes then surely it is not fit for purpose.

The wool scarf I mentioned was washed on a cold wool cycle and came out half the length, which is heartbreaking. For the past few weeks I’ve been washing all but towels, bedding and the smalls by hand. I have lost faith in the new machine and just want to see the back of it. I’ve been a housewife for 35 years using a variety of washing machines and I’ve never had a problem like this. I’m convinced Hotpoint has produced a lemon and just won’t admit it.

It’s not as if I’m trying to have it replaced just because I don’t like it. The opposite is true. The large drum / door makes it much easier to load and unload. It’s very easy to use. It looks good. It does a much better job of balancing the load (my old machine would sometimes dance across the floor during a spin). And it’s whisper quiet even when spinning at 1600 RPM (not that I use that speed anymore). It just can’t be relied upon to return my clothes in the same shape as when they went in.

I’ve offered both Hotpoint and Currys the chance to witness it stretching / shrinking clothes, but neither wants to spend the time (the shortest wash is over an hour).

I’m at my whit’s end and feel piggy in the middle in a bun fight between Currys and Hotpoint. What can I do?

Thanks in advance.
SD