14 May 2019

REVIEW: Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine

Review of Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine

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.



Review of 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.

Review of Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine

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.

Review of Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine

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.

Review of Hotpoint ActiveCare 10kg Washing Machine

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.



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