Review- Hotpoint Style washing machine

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Our old Whirlpool washing machine was on its last legs, having served us for over 7 years, coping with being overloaded, washing all sorts of children’s toys besides the almost daily load of a family and often extended family. I was overjoyed when I was offered an 8kg capacity brand new Hotpoint Style washing machine (WMYL 8352) to review just after Mini Man was born.
The machine arrived when the baby of the family was just over 2 weeks old, about the time we were switching him to washable nappies. Perfect!

Installation was easy and soon the machine was in full action. It was lovely and quiet when running, even on the spin cycle. However, I was having trouble with it actually getting stains out of clothes… just your day-to-day stains like the dirt on the feet of white socks, etc. After liaising with the vendor and Hotpoint, they agreed this was not normal and I quickly received a new one.

After the initial bad experience I have put the new machine thoroughly to the test, read all the manuals, did everything by the book and even bought different branded and own-brand washing powders and liquid detergents to test the machine with giving it a fair chance to prove itself.

So what do I think of the Hotpoint WMYL 8352 washing machine?

Pros

The machine has a large, wide opening door that makes loading easy. It is fantastic to be able to wash larger loads of up to 8kg in one go. The detergent dispenser swivels out, making it easy to fill, no powder going everywhere.

The machine has a wide array of programs: Besides the standard whites, cotton and synthetic programmes which can be customised by changing the temperature on them, there are special programs like Anti Stain, Anti Allergy, Baby, Bed & Bath, Shirts, Wool (approved by woolmark) and Delicates.

There are 2 quick wash programs– the Fastwash 60′ and the Fastwash 30′ (the later is a 30 minute 30C wash to freshen clothes).

The washing machine has a fantastic 1350rpm cycle, which really does get the clothes dry! And does all this very quietly. The Spin cycle is variable too, so you can choose to reduce this depending on the items being washed.

Generally, this Hotpoint machine works very quietly.

I really like the ability to tweak wash cycles (I’m not the kind of girl who just uses one single function on a machine). There’s a Super Wash, Extra Rinse (fab for baby stuff!), Easy Iron and a Time Saver button.

The other tweaking dial is the ability to vary the wash temperature of the load. Very handy and a key Eco feature in my opinion.

Cons

The thing that became obvious when I loaded my first batch of washing: I really miss a wash timer on it. A simple little LED display would be great, especially when tweaking programs, like making a 40C Cotton wash a Super Wash with Super Rinse. I just don’t know when to expect a wash to finish.

This machine, in my opinion, is missing a pre-wash function, which especially with washing for a baby is essential in my view.

Generally, the programs are very long– the Anti Stain, Whites, Anti Allergy and Cotton (60C and 40C) program all take more than 3 hours to complete!

Unfortunately, even with the second machine I still can’t get the clothes as clean as with my previous machine. This Hotpoint Style washing machine just doesn’t wash well! I have tried the array of programs, different detergents, bleaches, stain removers, only half filling the machine without much luck. Clothes come out with stains and dirt still there all too often. (Is it the hard water in our area? There is nothing else I can think that makes us different.)

I would rate it as a 4/10. If you are looking for a big capacity washing machine, in my opinion, spend a bit more and get a Panasonic, Samsung, Miele or LG.

Sorry Hotpoint in this case I feel this washing machine is Style above function. 🙁

Disclaimer: I was sent the washing machine to review, all opinions and views above are my own.