Buying a new washing machine - filter or no filter?

poppystar

The time has come to replace my trusty washing machine.

I have always had Zanussi and found them very good, however, the new Zanussi machines do not have a filter to clean - or at least not one accessible to the user. Other brands in the shop have these.

I have always cleaned the filter regularly and it has seemed to need it - mainly fluff rather than lost items!

Has anyone had a machine without filter and has this led to problems down the line?

I would rather not change brands but equally would rather not have to call out engineers for blocked pipes.


Any advice and experience appreciated.

EssexExile

No Hotpoint machines had filters until Indesit took them over. Well they had filters but they were not easily accessible. They had big holes so they only caught things that shouldn't be there, like coins & hair grips.

If all you ever got out of your filter was fluff you'll be alright without one. If you often retrieved money, hair grips, scissors, pen knives, bra wires, coat hangers, nails, drills & screws - then best get one with a filter.

CKdesigner

Hi

Simple rule when looking to purchase a new washing machine.

Do all that you can to afford a Miele (they have filters accessible from the front ) , they are worth every penny and have the lowest whole life costs by far of any brand.

CK

werlynne

I second the Miele advice, they are really expensive but are made to last on average 20 years of family use, you can even get a 10 year factory guarantee if you feel you need it.

YouKwoteMe

I wasn't aware of any machines not having a filter...

Well lets take a look at the hoovers, dyson, very well known make, do not have filters and it works...

I personally don't like Zanussi but it is a well known make, I would be very surprised if they haven't tested machines before going to market even more with a new technology that does not require filters... They probably have developed a water pump that does not require filtering the water...

I would say, if you really want to go to Zanussi... just go for it

Hope this helps

Mojisola

YouKwoteMe wrote: »

Well lets take a look at the hoovers, dyson, very well known make, do not have filters and it works...

???

https://www.dyson.co.uk/support/filterwash.asp

poppystar

The Miele advice is taken on board but I shall be having building work done over the next few years and I think I'd be acting very precious around the workmen if I'd spent so much on a machine and they were having to move it or work around it!

I hope, however, that any machine I buy will last quite a few years as have my previous ones which is why the no filter is a bit of a worry. I've still not talked to anyone who has had a no filter machine for any number of years so am still dubious and may look around other makes before gong ahead and purchasing.

If not Miele, are there cheaper makes that you would recommend from experience (or warn to steer clear of!)?

Thanks again

macman

Zanussi is just a brand name, nothing more. It was bought by Electrolux in the mid 80's and therefore it's machines are essentially the same as any others in the sprawling Electrolux group.
I'd be more concerned about the proliferation of sealed tubs on most modern machines than the lack of a user-serviceable pump filter. As above, to avoid sealed tubs you need to go for Miele, or possibly a high end Bosch or Siemens machine. All depends on your budget. If you want to spend less than £300 and change every 3-5 years, you might as well get a Beko.

CKdesigner

Let's say the above posters scenario and be generous with £300 every 5 years, so without any allowance for inflation in 20 years that's £1,200. Which is £60 per year.

Where as a basic Miele is around £800 today which will last you 20 years, that's 2 thirds the cost of the Beko example. And that's forgetting the myriad of other benefits that the Miele machine will give you! Will wash your laundry far better, be more economical, quieter, faster at washing, easier to use and understand, be more controllable and not to mention 75% less of a drain on the planet's precious resources!

Don't worry about your building works, Miele machines are just as robust on the outside! Remember they are made in Germany for German people, so this means they don't normally go in people's nice kitchens, they are normally located in laundry rooms or garages and the like.

If you can possibly afford the upfront cost then only buy a Miele, anything else you will regret.

CK

Mr_Singleton

werlynne wrote: »

are made to last on average 20 years of family use, you can even get a 10 year factory guarantee if you feel you need it.

Firstly, my place looks like a Miele showroom so I'm not ant-miele in anyway BUT I do dislike the way people blindly recommend things without understanding the difference between a benefit and marketing bumpf.

So, anyone care to explain the the benefit of having a 15 year old washing machine let alone a 20 year one? I'll give you a clue.... how energy and water efficient would a machine from 1999 be? let alone 1995.

You mention "family use" which makes me pretty sure that you haven't read Miele's small print term & conditions surrounding the 10 year warranty. Not surprisingly Miele's marketing dept. aren't as happy to scream them from the roof tops unlike the "designed to last" NOT and I'll say it again NOT "guaranteed to last". 99.9% of people say the latter (much to Miele's delight no doubt) rather than the factually correct and pretty meaningless former.

Also, if a Miele breaks down out of warranty then it'll be eye-wateringly expensive to repair to the point where its almost certainly better to buy a new item rather than have a Miele repaired.

I could go on but you get the point....

macman

Miele is a well built product, no doubt about that. However the downside is the very high cost of parts, should they go wrong out of warranty, and the difficulty of getting independents to repair them, since Miele have the service network locked down pretty tight. For example, if there is an error code that requires clearing, you'll need a Miele engineer with the appropriate software to do it, and such software is not available outside their own service network.