And by that I mean the best value, hugely expensive doesn’t always mean the best and the cheapest can often mean a false economy if you have to replace purchases all the time because the quality is poor.

Yes I’m talking about washing machines. Not lipstick, or shoes or serum that will simultaneously shrink pores, make fine lines disappear and make you glow like JLo (is there such a thing? – if there is by all means let me know) but my all time favourite household appliance.

I enjoy doing the laundry. Honestly – always have. There is something distinctly methodical and relaxing about the process, from separating the colours and whites and darks, to hanging everything out to dry to putting everything away in its rightful place. It gives my day structure and routine, and with a 10 weeks old baby and a four year old who is seemingly always covered in paint or glitter or both, I have washing to do EVERY day. Mostly several times a day.

In our previous home we had a Hotpoint, it was towards the lower end of the scale price wise and although it wasn’t the fanciest in terms of functionality (there wasn’t a hand wash cycle which was an arse) it gave us 10 solid years of clean. At a decade old it decided enough was enough and simply stopped working thus we decided it was time for a shiny new replacement.

Having had such a positive experience with Hotpoint we invested in the same brand again – this time a washer dryer. I’m not going to mince my words, it’s been shite since day one. I never feel anything is rinsed properly. I don’t feel stains are removed as well as they were using our old machine. I simply don’t use the drying function at all because it gives off an unpleasant burn-y scent that lingers for days. I find myself washing pieces twice, putting on an extra rinse and spin and still not being happy with the results.

Recently I noticed some garments were covered in strange black flinty-looking bits that would disintegrate upon touch, most peculiar. My Mother-in-law came to the rescue and suggested it was to do with a build up of residue inside the rubber lip that sits in front of the main drum and dutifully removed it all with a damp cloth. The fact this could even happen made me feel queasy, the smell of the residue was very much reminiscent of dirty river water – and who wants an appliance that’s supposed to clean stuff perfumed with L’eau de pond?

Alas, the removal of the sludge didn’t solve the issue so a Hotpoint engineer was called to investigate. Apparently we need to descale our washing machine every month. And if you don’t, old washing powder, grime and bacteria will build up behind the drum and be thrown into your lovely clean soapy load willy nilly as soon as it begins to spin. James and I do descale, but perhaps only twice a year if I was to hazard a guess, it’s just not something on our regular chore “to do list”.

Black bits fix aside, I’ve gone from feeling vaguely resentful towards our current machine to really no longer wanting it in the house at all, it just doesn’t live up to my expectations of what I feel is more than achievable, ie thoroughy clean laundry. Yet I admittedly desperately need it until I can find a suitable alternative.

It’s a toxic relationship. And I do admit to giving it a jolly good kick in the door when I have been particularly pissed off with its obvious disregard for my delicates.

So, what is the best washing machine? My sister has recently bought a Samsung Ecobubble which she rates very highly and my Mum has always raved about the very spendy Miele washing machines which literally last a lifetime apparently. I have of course read all sorts of reviews but I would be really interested to see what washing machine you own and whether you and he/she are friends.

I’m looking for preferably a large load capacity (9kg) an A+++ efficiency rating, reliability (!) and a proper hand wash cycle 🙂

Yes this is a post about my requirement for a decent washing machine. This is my life now.