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What actually matters, in the order it matters, for a home in Ireland.
You will dry indoors for a good part of the year. Between 199 and 273 days a year see measurable rain, depending where in the country you are. That makes spin speed one of the most valuable features on the machine, because every extra bit of water it removes is water your airer, your dryer or your dehumidifier does not have to.
Spin speed is measured in revolutions per minute and it decides how much water is left in the load when the machine stops. A 1,400rpm spin leaves noticeably less water in a load than 1,200rpm, and 1,600rpm less again. Somewhere with reliable outdoor drying, that is a marginal difference. Here, where a lot of laundry finishes on an airer in a bedroom or in a tumble dryer, it changes how long the load takes to dry and what it costs.
There is also a moisture argument. A load of washing dried indoors puts two to three litres of water into the air of your house, and that is the biggest single cause of the condensation that shows up on windows every autumn. A better spin means less of it.
The trade-off is honest: higher spin speeds crease clothes more and are harder on delicate fabrics. Most machines let you drop the speed for a given programme, so buy the higher speed and use less of it when you want to, rather than the other way round.
A practical floor. 1,400rpm suits most households here. Go to 1,600rpm if you dry indoors a lot or run a dryer frequently. 1,200rpm is fine if you have good outdoor drying and a mild spot.
Capacity is quoted as the dry weight of cotton the drum holds. It is the thing people most often get wrong, in both directions.
Buying too big costs you more to run for the same laundry, because a part-loaded machine still uses water and heat, although load-sensing helps. Buying too small means more cycles, which costs more overall and wears the machine faster.
The useful test is not household size, it is what you wash. If a double duvet has to go in the machine rather than to a launderette, you need 9kg or more. If it does not, 8kg covers most families comfortably.
The letter is a band, and the number underneath it is the number that matters.
Official EU energy label artwork, European Commission.
1. The A to G efficiency scale.
2. The class this model sits in.
3. Energy use in kWh per 100 cycles, on the standard eco programme.
4. Rated capacity in kilograms.
5. Spin-drying efficiency class, A to G.
6. Programme duration.
7. Water use per cycle in litres.
8. Airborne acoustic noise class.
Washing machine labels quote energy in kWh per 100 cycles on the standard eco programme. Divide by 100 for a single cycle. So a machine quoting 49 kWh per 100 cycles uses 0.49 kWh a wash, which at Electric Ireland's standard rate of 38.04 cent per kWh is about 19 cent, or roughly €39 a year at four washes a week.
Two B-rated machines can differ by several kWh per 100 cycles. That difference, over the eight to ten years you will own it, is often larger than the price gap that made you choose between them.
The pictogram row also gives you water per cycle in litres, programme duration, and the spin-drying efficiency class from A to G. That last one is the spin quality rating, and it is worth reading alongside the rpm figure.
We deliver nationwide, and we can take your old appliance away for recycling free of charge, in full compliance with the WEEE Regulations. To arrange collection of the old machine, contact us after your new one has been delivered. Full details are on our delivery and recycling page.
Measure before you order: the appliance space, the depth including hoses, and the narrowest point of the route in. That is the single most common cause of a delivery that has to be rebooked.
If you are not sure which machine fits your space or your household, our team can work it through with you, seven days a week.
