triumphtoledo
Well-known member
After fixing up an old Hotpoint top-loader last year, a 1509/10, which would not have been possible without the support of members of this forum, I thought I would give something back, by explaining how I am getting on with it, seven months on.
So, if you have bought/inherited/stole one of these old machines, such as the 15-series from the 1960s, to the 96-series of the 1990s, and you are unfamiliar with them, I hope that my experience, of using such an old machine, helps.
To give some background, I am married, with two young children, one aged three years, one several months-old. So, perhaps our machine lives in what statisticians consider to be a typical average household. We also have a modern Bosch washing machine (I say modern, it keeps going at 12 years-old) but its rinsing ability is not very good and it could be nearing the end of its days. The Hotpoint is our second/back-up machine.
DISADVANTAGES:
I’ll get this out of the way first. The top-loading Hotpoint uses a lot of water. This may make it uneconomical to run, except for very dirty laundry, if you have a water meter. I don’t, so this does not concern me.
The machine also uses a lot of electricity for hot washes. However, an Economy button means that only hot water from an external source will be used. While this means running costs are still high, for electric immersion boiler equipped homes, if you have a gas-powered combi boiler, which costs less than half to run per kilowatt than electric, or even solar panelling, this does not matter as much. For some 50 degrees Celsius washes, there is no need for the heater to run, as our gas-heated water comes out of the tap at around 60 degrees.
My machine can also be rather too quick at completing washes, which I do not think gives some biological washing powders long enough to work on cool washes. What I do to counteract this, is not close the lid fully, so the machine stops before draining out the main wash water. When I pass the machine again, I knock the lid down again, so the machine continues.
The machine is also rather noisy, when agitating and draining. It is quite quiet when spinning, however. Yet, it is noiser than a modern machine, overall.
I also think that the drum is a little too small. It will wash a double summer duvet but not a winter one with lots of togs (whatever that is). It takes a little more laundry than our 6kg front loader, despite being rated at 10 lbs.
The machine also takes up a fair chunk of space and nothing can be stacked on top of it.
ADVANTAGES
The colossal use of water has a number of positives. Firstly, rinsing is excellent. I washed my newborn’s clothes in the top-loader for this reason. She has had no skin problems, caused by detergent residue remaining on her clothes.
Also, washing very heavily-soiled washing, such as my dirty overalls, or the typical regurgitated milk/wee (or worse) saturated clothing from a baby, there tends to be no need to do a pre-wash. The more water means it less likely for any remnants to cling onto the insides of the machine to fester, too.
Also, if colour does run out of certain items, such as blue jeans, there is less risk of the dye affecting lighter items in the wash. While I try to separate out wash loads (and I still wouldn’t mix white items with darks), the top-loader allows me to mix dark and lighter clothes without wrecking a single item. Light-coloured bras (not mine) have been discoloured in the water-sipping front-loader before. Therefore, I can do one large load of washing, instead of several smaller loads in the front loader. This is useful, and maybe more economical, especially when the three year-old child insists on wearing a specific item of light or bright coloured clothing.
Obviously, it helps to be able to open the lid and drop other items in. This may seem like a small point but, when you have a baby that suddenly pukes all over herself, at least you can pop the item in, without having to wait for a front-loader’s interlock to cool down, or leave the dirty item festering in a corner.
Washing double-duvets is better, I feel. In the front-loader, small items tend to work their way inside the duvet, which is a pain, because they have to be fished out, before the dryer is loaded. This doesn’t happen in the top-loader.
While liquid detergents gunk up front loaders and make them stink, this does not happen in the top-loader. I use liquid detergent (Ariel) in the top-loader for either cool washes for dark clothes, or for washing overalls, mainly because it is generally cheaper than the equivalent powder. I quite like the smell, too.
I’ve nothing to complain about the spinning performance, which seems as good as our 1100rpm Bosch, maybe slightly better. It would be inferior to a more modern faster-spinning machine.
The top-loader also copes better with very absorbent loads, which our front-loader suffers with. Coats, duvet covers, even car covers etc, are more effectively cleaned. There is no excessive foaming on spin, for example.
Cold water washing is also possible, if desired, on 15-series machines. Plus, items that could be damaged in (or cause damage to) a front-loader, such as fabric shoes with rubber soles, cuddly toys, etc, can be washed in the top-loader.
Obviously, the very quick wash times are an advantage too; a proper 40 degree wash can be done in 40 minutes, or so. Baby threw-up 90 minutes before we had to visit family over Christmas - the top loader had everything washed quickly and effectively, allowing enough time for everything to be dried, placed upon baby again and we were not late. Even Mrs Rob was impressed.
Another advantage is that these machines are very sturdily built. Until I rebuilt it last year, the seals and bearings were original on my 1978/9 machine. Having said that, I think that such an old machine needs an inspection every year or so, to check for leaks and that all the various parts are working properly.
Anyway, I hope that my overview may be useful, for anyone contemplating using one of these machines regularly. Do any more experienced Hotpoint top loader users have anything more to add, positive/negative ?
Rob.
So, if you have bought/inherited/stole one of these old machines, such as the 15-series from the 1960s, to the 96-series of the 1990s, and you are unfamiliar with them, I hope that my experience, of using such an old machine, helps.
To give some background, I am married, with two young children, one aged three years, one several months-old. So, perhaps our machine lives in what statisticians consider to be a typical average household. We also have a modern Bosch washing machine (I say modern, it keeps going at 12 years-old) but its rinsing ability is not very good and it could be nearing the end of its days. The Hotpoint is our second/back-up machine.
DISADVANTAGES:
I’ll get this out of the way first. The top-loading Hotpoint uses a lot of water. This may make it uneconomical to run, except for very dirty laundry, if you have a water meter. I don’t, so this does not concern me.
The machine also uses a lot of electricity for hot washes. However, an Economy button means that only hot water from an external source will be used. While this means running costs are still high, for electric immersion boiler equipped homes, if you have a gas-powered combi boiler, which costs less than half to run per kilowatt than electric, or even solar panelling, this does not matter as much. For some 50 degrees Celsius washes, there is no need for the heater to run, as our gas-heated water comes out of the tap at around 60 degrees.
My machine can also be rather too quick at completing washes, which I do not think gives some biological washing powders long enough to work on cool washes. What I do to counteract this, is not close the lid fully, so the machine stops before draining out the main wash water. When I pass the machine again, I knock the lid down again, so the machine continues.
The machine is also rather noisy, when agitating and draining. It is quite quiet when spinning, however. Yet, it is noiser than a modern machine, overall.
I also think that the drum is a little too small. It will wash a double summer duvet but not a winter one with lots of togs (whatever that is). It takes a little more laundry than our 6kg front loader, despite being rated at 10 lbs.
The machine also takes up a fair chunk of space and nothing can be stacked on top of it.
ADVANTAGES
The colossal use of water has a number of positives. Firstly, rinsing is excellent. I washed my newborn’s clothes in the top-loader for this reason. She has had no skin problems, caused by detergent residue remaining on her clothes.
Also, washing very heavily-soiled washing, such as my dirty overalls, or the typical regurgitated milk/wee (or worse) saturated clothing from a baby, there tends to be no need to do a pre-wash. The more water means it less likely for any remnants to cling onto the insides of the machine to fester, too.
Also, if colour does run out of certain items, such as blue jeans, there is less risk of the dye affecting lighter items in the wash. While I try to separate out wash loads (and I still wouldn’t mix white items with darks), the top-loader allows me to mix dark and lighter clothes without wrecking a single item. Light-coloured bras (not mine) have been discoloured in the water-sipping front-loader before. Therefore, I can do one large load of washing, instead of several smaller loads in the front loader. This is useful, and maybe more economical, especially when the three year-old child insists on wearing a specific item of light or bright coloured clothing.
Obviously, it helps to be able to open the lid and drop other items in. This may seem like a small point but, when you have a baby that suddenly pukes all over herself, at least you can pop the item in, without having to wait for a front-loader’s interlock to cool down, or leave the dirty item festering in a corner.
Washing double-duvets is better, I feel. In the front-loader, small items tend to work their way inside the duvet, which is a pain, because they have to be fished out, before the dryer is loaded. This doesn’t happen in the top-loader.
While liquid detergents gunk up front loaders and make them stink, this does not happen in the top-loader. I use liquid detergent (Ariel) in the top-loader for either cool washes for dark clothes, or for washing overalls, mainly because it is generally cheaper than the equivalent powder. I quite like the smell, too.
I’ve nothing to complain about the spinning performance, which seems as good as our 1100rpm Bosch, maybe slightly better. It would be inferior to a more modern faster-spinning machine.
The top-loader also copes better with very absorbent loads, which our front-loader suffers with. Coats, duvet covers, even car covers etc, are more effectively cleaned. There is no excessive foaming on spin, for example.
Cold water washing is also possible, if desired, on 15-series machines. Plus, items that could be damaged in (or cause damage to) a front-loader, such as fabric shoes with rubber soles, cuddly toys, etc, can be washed in the top-loader.
Obviously, the very quick wash times are an advantage too; a proper 40 degree wash can be done in 40 minutes, or so. Baby threw-up 90 minutes before we had to visit family over Christmas - the top loader had everything washed quickly and effectively, allowing enough time for everything to be dried, placed upon baby again and we were not late. Even Mrs Rob was impressed.
Another advantage is that these machines are very sturdily built. Until I rebuilt it last year, the seals and bearings were original on my 1978/9 machine. Having said that, I think that such an old machine needs an inspection every year or so, to check for leaks and that all the various parts are working properly.
Anyway, I hope that my overview may be useful, for anyone contemplating using one of these machines regularly. Do any more experienced Hotpoint top loader users have anything more to add, positive/negative ?
Rob.
