Is it worth getting my washing machine repaired or should I just buy a new one?

Bungle73

It's started leaking water all over the floor, apparently during the spin cycle. It's a Bosch Exxcel 1400 Express, which some Googling tells me is a 2006 model. I inherited it from my parents (who always had everything covered by maintenance insurance), so I've never had to deal with it before.

Silvertabby

At that age, go for a new one.  Even if you manage to find and fix this problem, other bits will be lining up to fail......

Ayr_Rage

18 years is pretty good for a washing machine.

I had the same model and mine lasted 15 years and that was with a one person household using it.

molerat

Unless you are able to look at it yourself to see if it is an easy fix best replace it, it is not worth getting anyone out.

Bungle73

OK, thanks, looks like a new one it is then. The brings up another problem, I know next to nothing about washing machines (apart from that they wash clothes), as I've never had to buy one before, so I don't know what to look for.

Bungle73

molerat said:

Unless you are able to look at it yourself to see if it is an easy fix best replace it, it is not worth getting anyone out.

I did research that as well, but the one thing I know about washing machines is that they're damn heavy, and it's in a bit of an awkward location, so I'd rather have had someone else do it for me.

Lorian

Drain the sump and check the pump filter is not blocked up before you through it away. Plenty of videos on YouTube. 

If it's leaking from the door it's just a door seal.

Both these can be checked from the front with it inIsitu without any tools other than a bowl and towel.

If it's neither it will be one of the two drain pipes or clips on the pump, or the pump housing split but then I'd expect it to be leaking on the wash cycle

Albermarle

Bungle73 said:

OK, thanks, looks like a new one it is then. The brings up another problem, I know next to nothing about washing machines (apart from that they wash clothes), as I've never had to buy one before, so I don't know what to look for.

Fundamentally they all work the same way, and look similar. There are cheap ones ( around £250? ) and expensive ones ( around a £1000) and everything in between. Normally the more you pay the better the quality, so will hopefully last longer. A cheap one may be ok if you do not use it very much.
Some can take a bigger load than others , say 9Kg instead of 7Kg . The expensive ones tend to have a lot of different washing programs, digital display etc, but you will probably never use most of them.
The provider will usually fit it for you ( for a cost) and remove the old one ( for a cost).
Have a look at Which for comparisons.

CliveOfIndia

Bungle73 said:

The brings up another problem, I know next to nothing about washing machines (apart from that they wash clothes), as I've never had to buy one before, so I don't know what to look for.

You'll get any number of opinions as to which manufacturer is "best" - what makes it more difficult is that very often you'll find one machine is actually made by someone else, then they'll just stick a different company's badge on the front.

For what it's worth, I've always found Bosch to be a decent make, but I'm not for one minute saying they're the "best" - just a reasonable compromise between price and quality.

But aside from that, the things that are probably of more practical importance are:

1)  Capacity.  If you're a household with 2 adults, 3 muddy kids and hairy pets ( not sure if I've got the kids and pets the right way round there! ), a bigger capacity machine means fewer washes per week, so more efficient overall.  Conversely, if there's only one or two of you, a smaller capacity is probably better, as it means you can still wash stuff when you need to without wasting energy by only half-filling it, or having to wait several days until you've got enough for a full load.

2)  Spin speed.  The faster the spin speed the drier the clothes will come out, meaning less time in the tumble dryer (or hanging on the line, if you're being truly MSE, when the weather allows).  But, in reality, this only applies up to a point, and I think probably any new machine will give an adequate spin speed to be honest.  There's little to be gained by paying loads extra for a super-duper spin speed when it actually won't make that much of a difference.

3)  My personal favourite/bugbear, depending on your point of view - the number of programs.  I don't know about you, but in reality I only every use about 3 or 4 programs at the most.  Probably one program for pretty much most stuff, maybe the odd "delicate" or "quick" wash very occasionally.  To my mind, if you've got dozens of programs to choose from, you'll never use most of them and it just makes things unnecessarily complicated.  Not that it probably makes much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, I guess, but I'm just a grumpy old guy

Anyhow, just my thoughts, for what they're worth.

Bungle73

Lorian said:

Drain the sump and check the pump filter is not blocked up before you through it away. Plenty of videos on YouTube. 

If it's leaking from the door it's just a door seal.

Both these can be checked from the front with it inIsitu without any tools other than a bowl and towel.

If it's neither it will be one of the two drain pipes or clips on the pump, or the pump housing split but then I'd expect it to be leaking on the wash cycle

I already cleaned the filter. I don't think it's from the door as there's no sign of water coming from that area, and I examined the seal with a torch and it looks fine to me. I'm assuming it's coming during a spin, as it doesn't seem to appear until then, and it seems to occur less frequently if I reduce the spin speed.

Albermarle

CliveOfIndia said:

Bungle73 said:

The brings up another problem, I know next to nothing about washing machines (apart from that they wash clothes), as I've never had to buy one before, so I don't know what to look for.

You'll get any number of opinions as to which manufacturer is "best" - what makes it more difficult is that very often you'll find one machine is actually made by someone else, then they'll just stick a different company's badge on the front.

For what it's worth, I've always found Bosch to be a decent make, but I'm not for one minute saying they're the "best" - just a reasonable compromise between price and quality.

But aside from that, the things that are probably of more practical importance are:

1)  Capacity.  If you're a household with 2 adults, 3 muddy kids and hairy pets ( not sure if I've got the kids and pets the right way round there! ), a bigger capacity machine means fewer washes per week, so more efficient overall.  Plus it means it should last longer before anything goes wrong .Conversely, if there's only one or two of you, a smaller capacity is probably better, as it means you can still wash stuff when you need to without wasting energy by only half-filling it, or having to wait several days until you've got enough for a full load.
Although normally there is a programme for 'half load' or 'rapid wash' which are quite quick .

2)  Spin speed.  The faster the spin speed the drier the clothes will come out, meaning less time in the tumble dryer (or hanging on the line, if you're being truly MSE, when the weather allows).  But, in reality, this only applies up to a point, and I think probably any new machine will give an adequate spin speed to be honest.  There's little to be gained by paying loads extra for a super-duper spin speed when it actually won't make that much of a difference. With our machine the load is noticeably drier when spun at the full speed of 1400 rpm, even compared to 1200 rpm. Although AFAIK going even faster does not make much difference and will strain the machine I guess.

3)  My personal favourite/bugbear, depending on your point of view - the number of programs.  I don't know about you, but in reality I only every use about 3 or 4 programs at the most.  Probably one program for pretty much most stuff, maybe the odd "delicate" or "quick" wash very occasionally.  To my mind, if you've got dozens of programs to choose from, you'll never use most of them and it just makes things unnecessarily complicated.  Not that it probably makes much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, I guess, but I'm just a grumpy old guy We only use four.

Anyhow, just my thoughts, for what they're worth.

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