Lucky it lasted so long

“Lucky it lasted so long”

Written on: 14/07/2012

I would l like to state that this is the first time I have ever written, or felt compelled to write, a review of any sort. If I'd read this review forum I'd never have bought a Hotpoint WD860 washer/dryer in the first place; having always looked for combined value for money and quality in the past, one should feel safe when purchasing what is seen as a 'Flagship' product. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, I feel lucky my machine has lasted so long, although being a single middle aged man and working away a lot may explain this. Given some of the bad experiences I've read, I've been fortunate that my machine performed well for the first year or two, in fact this would appear to be exceptional. Using the machine once or twice a week for some shirts and bed sheets is hardly hard use, and to be honest many machines are expected to be used every day. So, after approximately 150-200 wash cycles, often quick washes, the problems began. Bearings began to hum, quickly turned to a whine, and finally rumbling so loud I could not hear the T.V. in the living room with the machine in the kitchen, I'm not open plan! The machine finally stopped, oh, it was kind enough to do this whilst full of water and clothes. I think it appropriate Hotpoint have called this machine 'Ultima super silent' as it demonstrates perfectly their sense of irony; 'super' it is not, 'silent' not for very long, and as for 'Ultima' usually associated with 'ultimate' or 'the end', well, it's the "ultimate" disaster as a machine and the "end" of my purchasing Hotpoint ever again. If my machine had been used every day, I would be writing this after just six months of use. Hotpoint should be ashamed to have released this product onto the market, and given some of the other very dangerous problems I've read, lucky to have not been responsible for the death of an individual or family. I'm sure many of the issues within these reviews would have come to light during product developement and testing, but I'm sure many a director has found a scape goat to fire lower in the food chain at Hotpoint. Do not buy this machine and research very carefully any purchase involving Hotpoint.