Washing machine buying guide: capacity, spin speed and what it costs to run
Drum size and energy rating decide the ten-year cost; brand and feature lists matter less than the number of loads you actually do.
A washing machine is bought once and run a few hundred times a year, so the running cost matters as much as the price. The energy label now rates machines A to G on an eco 40-60 programme; each step down the scale typically adds to the electricity bill over the machine’s life, and the label also states water use per cycle and noise in decibels.
What to compare
- Drum capacity: 7 kg suits one or two people, 9 kg a family, 10 kg and above for bedding and bulky loads
- Spin speed: 1,400 rpm leaves clothes drier than 1,200, which shortens tumble-drying time
- Energy rating and the kWh per 100 cycles printed on the label
- Noise rating if the machine lives near a living space or bedroom
- Length of the parts and labour guarantee, which varies from one to ten years between brands
Prices for the same model move by £50 to £100 between retailers and over the year, and installation, recycling of the old machine and delivery to a specific floor are often priced separately. Compare the total at checkout, not the headline figure.
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