Washing our clothes and other linens in a washing machine is an essential part of running a household. It will keep your favourite garments looking their best at all times and will ensure that you always have fresh bed sheets to snuggle in to, especially during these colder months. And with the children back to school, a quick turn around of lifting persistent grass stains from trousers and ketchup from white school shirts is a must, too.
We’ve partnered with John Lewis & Partners to bring you five ways a new washing machine – more specially an AEG washing machine – can help to keep the laundry on a full cycle for busy home life throughout October, and beyond. The range will provide you with a style to suit your every need, from larger 10kg washing machines for family loads to smaller sizes with all the tech your laundry could possibly desire.
1. Opt for the most suitable size for your household
Washing machines are available with varying drum capacities to cater for the size of your household. The size of the drum will, of course, also affect the load size. For example; if you're washing for a large family, a 10kg washing machine will suit; 9kg will do for an average family; 6kg to 8kg is big enough for single people or couples. Typically, one would imagine getting approximately 40 shirts in a washing machine with a 8kg drum size which is a good gauge for whether or not it will be big enough for your home.
The 8kg washing machines are available as a freestanding or integrated model so you can choose which would suit your kitchen or utility space the best, too.
2. Measured detergent for the perfect wash
It’s all too easy to drop a pod (or two) into the drum, or fill the dosing drawer up with detergent until it overflows, to feel like you're giving the laundry a good wash. Sure, this may leave your laundry smelling super fresh at the end of the cycle, but could be amounting to a lot of waste and, in fact, be damaging your clothes in the long run.
With technology such as the AEG AutoDose, you will never have to wonder how much washing detergent to use again. It will automatically feed the correct calibrated dose of detergent and softener at the right time, and the machine will even weigh your clothes in the drum to set the perfect detergent amount for up to 20 washes. This incredibly practical feature is available on the L8FEC966CA and L6FBG841CA models, which would be worth keeping a lookout for when comparing which washing machine is best for you.
3. Having smart controls can give you even more flexibility
We’ve moved on a lot from the days of just pushing buttons and turning dials to get things going in the world of laundry. And although these are still very much present on the front of the washing machines, you now also have the option to control them with an app on your smartphone.
Having app capability means that you can specify how you want to use the AutoDose compartments, tailor the dosage to water hardness and receive refill notifications when the detergent is running low. You can also set tailored programmes remotely; get cycle recommendations for your garments and receive notifications when your laundry is ready.
4. Water made softer will provide a more gentle care
Regardless of whether you are in a hard water area or soft water area, the quality of the water which fills the drum for your washing cycle is vitally important for the care of your laundry. AEG have recognised this and developed their SoftWater Technology which purifies and softens water, delivering a 60 degree Celsius cleaning performance at just 30 degrees. This maintains every garments’ shape and feel, while keeping colours looking like new for longer.
This will also save you money on your energy bills and help the planet, too, since a 30 degree Celsius wash uses less energy. The range of AEG washing machines with this technology have an A+++ energy rating, and are up there with some of the best available to buy at the moment.
5. Finishing touches for reducing time spent ironing
When the cycle has finished on the washing machine, the (often) dreaded task of ironing awaits. This is another time consuming household chore which is pretty tiresome – standing there with the iron and ironing board every Sunday evening – but needs must if you want a crinkle-free shirt to wear in the morning.
Technologies such as PlusSteam are all over this. In fact, this option can reduce wrinkles by up to a third and can even be used as a quick way to refresh clothes, too. This ensures that clothes look and feel better for longer, and it’s all down to the addition of steam at the end of a wash cycle.