You spin me right round.
We really love it when everyday, essential bits of
technology get better. Fridges, cookers, beds... these are things we all need
to lead normal, modern lives. When these things get better and more efficient,
our lives improve. So, although a washing machine might not excite your
interest quite as much as a new drone or phone,
clothes washing is something that always needs to be improved. And Hotpoint
have done just that. We check out the Hotpoint
ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine.
This pretty bog-standard looking appliance (product code,
NM11 1045 WC A UK) has a few tricks up its sleeves. From the outside it appears
just like any other washing machine, with a front-loading door, a central dial,
a LCD settings screen, and pull-out detergent drawer. Not so interesting so
far, we hear you chime.
But... the Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine has more
settings and internal cleverness than we're used to from a white box that
washes our dirty pants, and we've enjoyed testing these to their full limits.
First up, the machine employs Hotpoint's 'Active Mousse'
technique, which has nothing to do with desserts. The machine essentially mixes
the water and detergent before they both touch the clothes, resulting in a
foamier solution of bubbles penetrating the fabrics. Hotpoint
says this is a better way to attack stains, and means that the machine can
perform more efficiently at a lower temperature – as low as 20 degrees Celsius,
to be precise.
This it seemed to do excellently, and the
environmentally-concerned parts of our brains could rest easy knowing the
machine was drawing less energy to do so. Across the board, the Hotpoint
ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine scored very well in terms of energy efficiency,
winning an A+++ rating. It also wastes less water, as it can detect how much to
use based on the weight of the load. It'll work out how much water gets
absorbed by the clothes, and amend the amount accordingly. It's very clever.
It doesn't just spin, either. The drum of the Hotpoint
ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine can change directions as part of the wash
cycle, forcing the clothes to shift about more inside. This seems to mean that
items get a more thorough clean and nothing can get wedged behind other
garments and miss out on a proper wash.
But possibly our favourite ability the machine possesses is
the Steam Pack. This is just as you might expect from a name like that; it
steams your clothing. The Steam Refresh programme means you can throw in a few
shirts or whatever, hit the dial, and the 20 minute dedicated steam cycle will
freshen up your clothes. The Steam Hygiene feature injects steam directly into
the drum at the end of a wash cycle to kill a tonne of bacteria; up to 99.9%,
so Hotpoint claim. We'd never realised before just how handy a steam cycle
could be, resulting it garments that felt softer and didn't need to be ironed
(quite so much).
Oh, no... wait! Our favourite feature was 'Stop & Add'.
This means that, in the first few minutes after the Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg
Washing Machine has started the cycle, you can stop it and open the door. This
allows you to chuck in that annoying sock that you've just noticed you dropped
on the stairs on the way to the machine. Now that is a life improvement.
It's also very quiet. Hotpoint say the spin cycle reaches a noise level of 76 decibels. We're not too sure, however, and definitely thought it was quieter than that. Certainly 76 is lower than the average washing machine, but we still felt it was quieter still. Ours was installed into a fully enclosed kitchen unit, however, so that might have helped.
On a side note, should you be considering this washing machine to keep your clothing fresh clean for years to come, check out First American Home Warranty online, for all appliance coverage issues.
So... the Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine achieves
just what we want from a new version of a classic household appliance. You get
a greater choice of options for cleaning cycles, a few truly innovative and
stand-out features, and a user interface that is intuitive and easy to master.
All that, in a package that looks fine and weighs in at a very competitive
price. We approve.
Around £400
Available from www.amazon.co.uk
Hotpoint very kindly supplied us with the washing machine
free of charge, in return for an honest review.