The Fisher and Paykel Aquasmart washer: a washing machine ahead of its time or a prototype pretending to be the finished product? (A review of the Fisher and Paykel Aquasmart washing machine)

Machine type: High efficiency top loader, capacity 7kg

Australian models:

8kg WL80T65CW1
7kg WL70T60CW1

US models:

3.7 cu ft WL37T26CW2
4.2 cu ft WL42T26CW1
4.2 cu ft WL42T26DW1 
4.2 cu ft WL42T26DW1 
4.2 cu ft WL42T26KW1 

Before we start, it's important to understand that this machine works differently
from other top loaders. The fact that you must use High efficiency or front loading low
sudsing detergent should alert you to this fact. The machine uses about the
same amount of water per wash as a front loader, although for some cycles such
as delicate items, it uses a full load of water. You can also choose to
manually override the Aquasmart (low water setting) and force the machine to use a conventional wash.

You’ll also notice that there’s no agitator – highly unusual for a top loading washer. The clothes are washed by gently tossing them over in the bowl, rather than around the agitator.

Washing modes

On the LCD model, there’s a mind boggling number of washing modes, ranging from a regular wash to a shoes wash mode. Yes, shoes. Among the so called “Lifestyle Cycles”, there are also separate wash modes for chocolate, blood, tomato, grass, fruit and wine. In the Sport section, there are modes for sweaty, muddy, sports shoes and beach gear. This is just scratching the surface – there are many more cycles, for almost every imaginable washing situation. Are they just a marketing gimmick, or do they actually work? According to the instruction manual,

“These cycles have been specifically designed by our washing experts, with you in mind.

We have incorporated 70 years of washing knowledge into 19 easy to use, preprogrammed wash

cycles. This allows you to let the washer deal with some of the more tricky washing situations

you may encounter, ensuring that you get the same results as a washing expert, without having

to be one.”

Hmmm. I think that as with any stain, if you treat it quickly by hand first, and then wash it, the machine will do its job. Don’t expect it to remove a two day old food stain though.

User interface

Backlit LCD screen is easy to read

The machine has an LCD display screen with buttons to set your washing program. The LCD is backlit, which is great in low light, but strangely the buttons aren’t backlit. It would have been nice to have both. The button panel is placed to the right of the display, and it’s a little awkward to use, as you have to look back at the display to make sure you’ve made the right selections. I feel that it would have been better located under the display. Sometimes I find myself touching the screen, which has large, bright, pulsating icons, almost inviting you to touch them – maybe the next model will add a touchscreen.

Each button press is signalled by a beep, but you can turn this off if you wish. The end of wash cycle can also be set to beep – 5 or 15 times. Personally, I think five beeps is too little and 15 too many. Why not 10?

The machine's lint removal system means that you MUST separate lint givers (fleecy items such as track pants) from lint receivers (for example, cotton t shirts), and it is very fussy about this, especially in regard to black or
dark coloured clothing. For example, if you wash a pair of black fleecy track pants with a dark blue t shirt, the chances are pretty good that the t shirt will be covered in lint. However, if you wash your fleecy lint givers separately from your t shirts, you  generally won't have a problem. This takes some adjustment if you’re used to throwing everything in together! There’s no lint trap at all in the machine, and F&P claims that lint is extracted and removed with the grey water during the wash. Not if you wash the wrong types of clothes together though!

Powder or liquid detergent?

Use a good quality liquid detergent
for best results

Even when using good quality powder detergent (the same brand included as a sample when I bought the machine, Cussons Radiant powder), I’ve found that when using a high efficiency wash in combination with dark colored clothing can cause powder residue to be left on the clothes after a wash. There are 2 solutions to this problem – use the conventional wash mode, or use a good quality liquid detergent.

Conventional wash – This seems to be the go to mode when the High Efficiency mode doesn’t produce good results. It adds more water, but not as much as a conventional top loader, so in theory you’re still saving water! Using a liquid detergent seems to go a long way to reducing any residue problems you might have with powder detergents.

There is also an “aqua plus” mode, which adds more water to the rinse cycle in high efficiency mode. I have set this to “on” permanently, so that the lint/residue problems are minimised. The operating manual also suggests as much:

“Activating this option adds additional water to the Aqua rinse in a High

Efficiency wash cycle. This will give you a little extra rinsing for those with

sensitive skin. You can also use this option if you tend to wash lot of dark

garments.”

Most settings can be customised in this way. For example, you can set the spin speed to medium or slow by default if you don’t like a fast spin. You can also change the default temperature of cold, warm and hot washes. Washing “hints” are also turned on by default, and can be turned off when you are used to the machine.

Get used to seeing this message

When washing items that can become very heavy when wet, such as large sheets or quilt covers, the machine sometimes goes out of balance when spinning and stops. Although it comes with an automatic out of balance correction feature which adds extra water to attempt to float the load if this happens, this feature is turned off by default! I would strongly suggest that you turn this on in order to minimise this problem. I say minimise, because it doesn’t eliminate the issue. There have been times when I’ve come home after leaving a wash and heard the dreaded F&P alert tone. This means that the machine has tried, but failed to redistribute the load, so you have to do it manually and try again – and again sometimes! This gets annoying quickly.

What’s the reason for it happening? It seems that the lack of an agitator has something to do with it. Because the sheet is tossed over itself, it can end up in the shape of a ball – a large, heavy ball. This thumps around inside the washing compartment, and causes the machine to go out of balance. It’s not unusual for the whole machine to have moved from its original position during this process, and the noise can be disconcerting at first!

Even with a small load there can
be out of balance issues

I would go as far as saying that this is a design fault, and that you should be aware that if you buy this machine, you’re going to run into the out of balance problem at some point. It doesn’t happen with every load, but just make sure you flatten large sheets and quilts when you put them into the machine. Don’t just jam them in, and follow the instruction book when determining how many you should wash in one load. In my 7kg machine, one king size, or two queen size sheets is about the limit, or one king/queen size quilt. If the load works itself into a ball, it’s almost certain that you’re going to hear that dreaded alert tone at some stage.

You have to give FP credit for attempting to introduce a completely new type of washer, but in practice, the concept doesn’t quite come together. I’m used to throwing everything into the machine, pushing a button or two, and walking away. You just can’t do that with the Aquasmart. You have to think about what you’re doing. Can I wash this with that, should I use a slower spin speed, oh yeah, it’s a sheet, I have to unfurl it first. Being more than slightly geeky, I like to tinker to find the right settings for each type of load. But I understand that most people don’t want to do this. My wife, for instance. She just gives me the load and says “here, you do it”. Get used to hearing that if you buy this machine! It works quite well, but requires some effort on your part. You must read the manual, and you must be prepared to experiment with its settings until the wash is to your satisfaction.

Agree…disagree with this review? Have something to add? Feel free to comment!