Guide to washing machines and laundry kit to suit your home 

Is it worth splashing the cash on washing machines and laundry accessories? We give options from high-end to budget a whirl

The Samsung AirDresser is the ultimate in glamorous dressing-room accessories, €2,359, harveynorman.ie.

Washing machines are an essential domestic servant, and choosing the right one next time out could make a real difference to an inevitable chore.

This year’s model in branded, bigger machines, blistering in learning technology and app-control will push up the price when Old Sudsy goes toes-up.

Distracted by the hype, you could lay down up to €2500 for the latest and greatest. The truth is you could be spending too much with very little advantage in terms of the wash result.

Paddles, direct drives, bubbles, 70C steam and coy texting from the laundry room are all upmarket add-ons but it’s unlikely with even a new economy machine, that you’ll drag out a load and exclaim, “woah, that’s filthy!”

Most machines will clean perfectly at 30C with the latest enzyme-rich detergents and I’m just relieved not to be slapping my undies on a rock.

In terms of design, what’s truly sexy in today’s super washer is improved energy and water efficiency with dependable results at cool temperatures.

Examine what you liked or loathed about your last machine. Then and only then, step up the capacity and RRP to slay running costs and introduce genuinely useful additional benefits in performance and features.

TOP MODELS

Starting at the top, what we are getting with a wince-inducing four-figure spend? The LG EZ Dispense 10.5kg TurboWash 360C at €1699, is around €1270 more than an entry-level 10kg machine by Hoover. For that premium, it detects the appropriate wash pattern or cycle using AI (pre-rinse sensors) determining weight and fabric softness.

The build quality and drum of a top brand washer like LG will be the same within one range.

During the run, it releases the appropriate amount of detergent and softener which can be pre-filled for up to 35 loads. So, we’re removing both the brain-teasing of turning the dial to the correct times and temperatures, plus eliminating the need to toss a featherlight pod into drawer or drum.

Do these wonders really count? What should matter more is the great German branding, build quality and A EU Energy Rating, which delivers 100 eco washes for just 55kWh. It’s a Gold winner according to independent energy group YourEko.

The Samsung’s A-rated Series 8 11kg (€1130) and many sister machines, including Miele, suggest a 20-year expected lifetime in a time where three to seven years is considered a reasonable lifetime for a family washer.

Bolstering that confidence in their engineering, the Samsung also handles weeks of detergent dispensing with its pioneering Ecodose and is the latest in the company’s legendary EcoBubble machines that have breaking surface tension for more than a decade.

Samsung’s interactives includes fascia and phone communications to include remembrance of your personal washing habits. The SmartThings App suggests wash-to-wash settings, planning and mumsy advice on drying those creaky clean clothes.

Pricier Samsungs, like all the cleverest washers, will let you start the machine remotely and call or text you via SmartThings to report progress. Samsung launched its 11kg A-rated Bespoke A1 this year, and it is regarded by the industry as the most energy-efficient model in its category (RRP €820). Miele’s WWR 860 WiFi-enabled 9 kg 1600 makes much of its mobile style tap-’n’-swipe, for an eye-watering €2,450.

Miele machines, due to their quality and innovation are universally revered. AEG is always up in the top rankings and check out its 9000 series, from €1,300, which can soften the hard water devouring your machine, and stain-defeating ProSteam models, from €1,100.

Incidentally, Zanussi is the budget end of the AEG/Electrolux family.

MID-RANGE QUALITY

Remember, the build quality is the same within each brand and its range — it’s the feature selection that will vary.

The mechanics of better brands tend to be more “repairable”, with greater longevity.

With up to a whopping 12kg delivered in a re-engineered 60cm wide cabinet — it’s simply amazing what the makers can get inside. Any cheap 10kg-12kg machine should give you pause. Sticking with LG (Siemens, AEG, Samsung, Bosch and LG ride high in any ratings including the gold-standard of Which), you can buy a machine with the same capacity as the LG we just deified, for €599 with the LG V3 10.5kg.

You read that right: €1,100 less than the LG EZ Dispense 10kg TurboWash 360C.

There’s still most of the AI intelligent wash systems and mechanical direct-drive goodies including a large port-hole door seen in their Dispense/Turbowash models.

The V3 even includes integral steam to dedicated cycles, which relaxes and cleans/sanitises clothes of all sorts of tiny particulate matter — a big plus for allergy sufferers.

What the cheaper LG doesn’t include, compared to the TurboWash 360, is that pre-fill detergent/softener drawer, and a full load in only 39 minutes with 39% less energy than former TurboWash machines. If the need for speed with some precious teenage duds on a Friday night is important — drill down on lightning-fast “quick wash” times with reasonable energy efficiencies for up to 3kg.

Compare specs to avoid going just too cheap, or jumping straight into the most expensive machines of the same kg ratings. Some bells and whistles that cost hundreds more won’t be used or appreciated enough to warrant their expense.

I would single out the incomprehensible advantages of complex app-control which can be largely handled with a manually set delayed-start function. Do we have to park up our brains?

The wash rating for the LG V3 10.5kg is still a formidable B. At 61kWh per 100 cycles (.6kW per cycle) with a whisper-quiet 73dB level for open-plan settings.

For a Bosch washing machine, a search in Curry’s will throw up two machines under €499, 14 from €500 to €999, and just 5 in the €1000-plus category.

Run an on-site comparison tool with say the Bosch 8 Series and discover the difference between machines’ prices from €700 and €1,500. Often the more expensive washers are WiFi-enabled, spin up to 1600rpm (not wholly necessary), and (sometimes) are a modest 1kg bigger.

Capacity, spin-speeds, and many features are, in fact, often identical.

You may even find a year older model with WiFi smarts, cheaper than a newer model in the same brand without it.

Compare and then run some real user reviews online. Don’t oversize the drum. Go for a better brand, and then hit the entry to mid-range of their collections in your searches of A and B energy ratings.

The Samsung AirDresser, €2,359, harveynorman.ie.

CABINET RESHUFFLE

To blow some serious money, there’s a relatively new luxurious arrival on the clothes care front.

The steam cabinet or cupboard is a handsome upright appliance (styled largely like a small vertical S/S fridge/freezer).

It can clean, dry and refresh key pieces of your wardrobe between trips to the opera and the washing machine.

Interestingly it can also remove pollutants and allergens from household objects including soft toys and small pillows, for example.

Samsung is heading up the field in home, chemical-free “dry-cleaning” performance.

Its AirDresser model tackles those lingering odours including your Chanel No5, whilst providing 99.9% sanitation.

The unit also contains a jet-air system matched to an air-hangar, allowing powerful currents of air to blow dust and debris out of the weave of up to five pieces.

Drying cabinets matched to a dedicated heat pump, allow you to dry delicate garments straight out of the washing machine without the potential damage of the heat and attrition of the tumble drying to wool or silk, reducing wrinkles and the need to iron.

Sounds simply fabulous, darling, until you get to the price, which leaves most of us sadly exploring hand-held steamers and heated fabric wardrobe styles of budget clothes dryers.

The Samsung AirDresser is €2,359, harveynorman.ie. In the same society of upper-class steamers, the Styler S3BF WiFi-Enabled Steam Clothing Care System is €160 less at €2,200, takes 3 items per run, and includes remote LG ThinQ app operation and fragrance infuser.

LG boast their tech can deal with 99.99% of viruses and 99.9% of coronavirus. Suppliers include brownthomas.com.

Now, together with the steam functions found in some mid-range washers, I did find something straddling the market for whole-garment work, the Tefal, Care for You (YT3040), also aimed at gently drying vulnerable fabrics and perking up textiles.

With a collapsible but robust exoskeleton, it steams, sanitises and dries clothes. Get your suit crease-free or treat cashmere, cushions and teddy bears in as little as 10 minutes with its two-litre water tank.

We’re pushed of out of the dressing room and back in the utility room in terms of styling, but Care for You does move about on wheels, which is dead handy, but watch that power consumption at 3.1kWh; €850, currys.ie.