After buying a new dryer recently, I was after a new washing machine to go with it. My old washing machine was over five years old (probably closer to ten, we inherited it when we bought our house), and had only three temperature options and a couple of programme settings, so it was definitely time to upgrade.
I did a lot of research before deciding on a washing machine, as I wanted one with plenty of features and had a good energy rating, but wasn’t too expensive. The Beko WME7267 was one of about three washing machines that met my requirements, and ended up being the cheapest and having the highest capacity. The price for this machine varies wildly, and can be as much as £350 for the silver model. I paid £250 for my silver version from Argos, which also offers a collect/recycling service for your old machine for just £7. Don’t forget to look for cashback deals and free delivery codes to make it cheaper as well!
Key Features
The Beko WME7267 is a front-loading washing machine which holds up to 7kg of clothes, features a range of different programmes, and is fitted with a child lock. The machine’s door automatically locks once a cycle is started, and unlocks itself a few seconds after they cycle fully finishes. It uses 1.19kWh and 52 litres of water per cycle.
Other Information:
* Estimated annual energy consumption: 238kW/year
* Estimated annual water consumption: 10400litres/year
* Cold water fill
* Energy efficiency rating A+
* Washing performance A
* Spinning performance A
* 1600RPM
The energy rating was a big factor for me in determining which washing machine to go for as I prefer to buy products which are going to be inexpensive to run, and obviously they have environmental benefits as well.
7kg is a pretty high capacity, and also means we run the washing machine less frequently. If you’re looking for a dryer to go alongside this machine, then I recommend the 7kg Whirlpool AWZ8577, which is also a great buy.
Installation
This was pretty easy to do, and just involved connecting the pipes. (Sorry this section is so short, but it’s as simple as it sounds!)
Size and Appearance
I think the overall finish could be better as it is quite plastic-y looking. Having said that, general consensus in our house is that it looks pretty good. We got the silver version; this machine is also available in white, which can often be found slightly cheaper. The washing machine is a standard size of 85cm (H) x 59.5cm (W) x 54cm (D), and it fits easily under our kitchen counter, taking up a bit less space than a typical kitchen cabinet would.
Choosing a Programme
The washing machine has a little display screen on the front which tells you things such as: whether a wash has been set to run in the future, whether it’s paused, whether it’s currently running, what temperature it’s at, whether it’s on an economy setting, what speed it’s been set at and so on. It’s extremely comprehensive and tells you everything you need to know; plus it’s easy to work out without needing to remember specific symbols or referring to the manual every five minutes.
When you choose a setting the details automatically come up on the screen. You can adjust the temperature, spin and a few other options as you wish, but bear in mind that not all options are available within a particular programme. Therefore you may be better off entering details manually if you want a specific temperature or a 1600RPM spin. There are also options for a pre-wash cycle and reduced creasing, which are handy particularly if (like me) you don’t like ironing!
The standard programmes are: Cotton, Synthetic, Woollens.
The other programmes are: Baby & Toddler Clothing, Hand Wash, Daily Quick, A Class 40 (which is longer than a typical 40 degree wash), Dark Care, Mixed Fabrics and Intensive.
To select a programme, you simply turn the dial to the marked text, make any adjustments you want, and then hit Start. Most programmes take between 1 hour 40 mins and 2 hours, apart from Daily Quick which takes between 34 and 39 minutes depending on your other settings. Pre-washes will add to that time.
You can also set a programme to run up to 24 hours in the future, which is useful if you want your machine to run whilst you’re out or you’re on an energy tariff that’s cheaper for night use. The first time you press the button it gives you the option of starting the machine in half an hour’s time; after that it increases by hourly increments. You then press Start as normal; nothing will happen until the time set, but the information remains on the screen.
As the machine is running, the display will show you how much time it has left to run in hours and minutes. I know this is a pretty typical feature for a washing machine, but I’ve found it extremely useful as my old washing machine didn’t have this and guesswork was required. Not ideal when you’re living in a shared house!
The Drawer
The washing machine has a pull-out drawer divided into three sections. The left hand side section is where regular detergent goes for the main wash. The middle section is for softener, and the right hand side is for detergent for pre-wash. I have to say that I don’t really use the pre-wash aspect of cycles because I don’t think it’s necessary. Even on the 39 minute Quick Wash cycle, my clothes come out thoroughly clean, which I’m pretty impressed by. I have to say that adding detergent is the least intuitive part of using the machine and I had to look up which part of the drawer to put it in. So if someone else is using your machine, you’ll need to tell them which section the detergent goes in, or else leave the manual on the right page somewhere nearby!
Half Loads and Automatic Adjustment
One thing I love about this machine is that it automatically adjusts to the load of clothes you have in there. So if there are times when you don’t have a full load of clothes to put in but desperately need something clean, you don’t have to worry about wasting water and energy as the machine will weigh your clothes and adjust automatically.
Noise
This washing machine isn’t particularly quiet, although if you can put it in a room where you can just shut the door on it then it won’t bother you. You can just about listen to the TV in the same room if you turn it up quite a lot!
The Manual
You can find the manual for this washing machine here: http://www.beko.co.uk/manuals/wme7267.pdf.
A paper copy also comes with the machine, and it’s very comprehensive, explaining everything from how the plug should be replaced to how heavy you can expect certain items of clothing to be, to how much energy is used for each specific cycle. However, the one thing I needed to look up was left out – whether or not you can put solid washing tablets in the drawer (my housemate has had problems with them not dissolving fully in the drawer and leaving white powder all over her clothes). As the washing machine manual doesn’t have any information about using solid tablets I can’t say whether this is a fault or tablets aren’t supposed to be put in the drawer. I use liquid and have never had a problem.
My Thoughts
After getting this washing machine a month or two ago, we’ve had a couple of minor issues with it. Firstly, as I mentioned above, it’s not a great idea to put washing tablets in the drawers. Secondly, I ran a standard wash a couple of days ago that resulted in the machine making some extremely strange and very worrying noises! However, this has been a one-off so far, so I’ll update this review with further information if there are any developments.
In terms of washing clothes, this machine definitely does the job. My clothes come out smelling of detergent, which they didn’t with my old machine! I’ve also found that clothes feel a lot nicer and come out a lot drier than my old machine. The anti-crease setting is great for clothes that seem to crease the second you look at them, and has also given me a great excuse not to iron. I own a lot of black clothes, so the Dark Care option is great, and Daily Quick is good for when we all want to use the machine on the same day, or for washing work clothes that have been left to the last minute. The only programme I can’t see myself having a use for is the Baby & Toddler one, although it may be worth trying for our pet-related fabrics that could do with an extra hygienic blast.
It holds a good amount of clothes, and whilst the door could be a bit bigger, this hasn’t really been a problem and you shouldn’t have too much difficulty fitting even a duvet inside. I would like a bit more flexibility when selecting a programme (for example I didn’t realise that the 1600 spin rating only applies to a couple of programmes), but overall this is a great machine and I’m really happy I bought it.
Rating 4/5
Disclaimer: I bought this washing machine with my own money and this review was originally written for a review site. I’ve not been compensated in any way for this review; it’s purely organic!
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