Washing machines fail rinse tests
Last night the Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI) said proper rinse cycles were vital for people with skin conditions as well as those with allergies to detergent.
Even the best models on the market — as well as the most expensive — were let down by poor rinsing, the CAI found.
CAI staff assessed 23 big-name washing machines, looking at how well the devices washed different clothes on a variety of settings. Jenny Harrow, of the CAI’s Consumer Choice magazine, said the Irish market had a wealth of models with different features and prices.
“The big disappointment from these tests were the rinsing results. Nearly every machine in our test was let down by poor rinsing. Good rinsing is especially important if you have sensitive skin... Poor rinsing means there is more detergent left on the clothes at the end of the cycle.”
Of the top 10, none got a greater score than three stars out of five for rinsing while two washing machines got just one star, including the overall winner.
The CAI’s survey ranked washing machines according to their overall score against 16 criteria like price, energy consumption and how well clothes were washed.
The overall winner, the €450 Zanussi-Electrolux ZWF 14581, got five stars for its wash cycles and four for energy consumption, water use and convenience.
“This otherwise fantastic machine is let down slightly by its rinsing so if you have a sensitivity to detergent consider using the extra rinse cycle,” said Ms Harrow.
The Irish College of General Practitioners said the use of an extra rinse cycle was commonsense. “It does make some sense that if there is a question of allergy to any biological washing powder that people use the extra rinse cycle,” said a spokesman. Ireland’s top six washing machines are the Zanussi-Electrolux ZWF 14581, Electrolux EWN 14991, Electrolux EWN 13570, Whirlpool AWO/D 5516, Siemens WM12E44S and the Zanussi-Electrolux ZWF 12070.
* www.thecai.ie
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