Fridges, dishwashers and washing machines - these essential appliances are so crucial to our everyday lives that the mere idea of having to replace them is enough to send a shiver down our collective cost-of-living-crushed spines.
When they eventually pack up, it’s our bank balance that takes a hit. But there is a silver lining. Choose the right model and you may find yourself saving money in the long run. In fact, replacing your time-old white goods during this stress-causing, seemingly unending energy crisis may just be what’s needed to slash some numerals off your ever-increasing bills.
Yes, with free-flowing gas and electricity now beyond the reach of most mortal pockets and rocketing water rates like watching money swirl down the drain, protecting after every last penny has become the norm. So, when it comes to affording an essential new appliance, such as a washing machine, you need something that can keep both purchase and running costs to a minimum, while still being fit for purpose.
Fortunately, when it comes to this kind of stuff, you have come to the right place. Over at ES Best, we pride ourselves in giving you bang for your buck. We are awash with ideas and have been scrubbing away hard at the persistent stains of over-pricing to settle on a sextet of machines that come in sub-£500 to secure and which will save the shekels on each and every cycle.
With a focus on features, functions and efficiency, grab your grubby unmentionables and come clean up…
Best budget washing machines at a glance:
- Best for big drum, big savings: Haier I-Pro Series 7 HW100-B14979 - £499, Haier
- Best for programme-rich smart spinning: Hisense 5S Series WF5S1045BW - £449, AO
- Best for bargain-bagging Wi-Fi wash: Hoover H-Wash 500 HWB49AMC - £349, Currys
- Best for Italian élan and ingenuity: Smeg WNP84SECUK - £499, Smeg
- Best for integrated English excellence: CDA C1381 - £479, Hughes
- Best for large, messy families: LG V3 FAV309SNE - £400, LG
Haier I-Pro Series 7 HW100-B14979
Best for: Big drum, big savings
Scraping into this washing machine mix by just one English pound, Haier is a Chinese brand that, while largely unheard of a handful of years back, now dominates the market across the washer world. Positioning itself as a kind of affordable premium producer, the I-Pro Series 7 HW100-B14979 is an excellent example of an attainable appliance done well.
Solidly built, this A-rated energy saver is ultra-efficient using just 0.51kwWh (kilowatt hour) of juice and 51 litres of water per cycle, while still being able to handle a capacious 10kg of laundry, spinning at a reasonably rapid 1400rpm.
Available in a white finish alone, the Haier comes packing 14 different programmes to cover cottons, synthetics, wool, duvet and delicates. Its clever vapour technology Refresh programme removes odours, fine dust and allergens from clothes not in need of a wash, reducing creases and softening the fabrics to boot.
Not only is it function-flexible and energy efficient, but as an extra bonus to those who live in open-plan spaces, light sleepers and general noise-haters alike, the Haier's Direct Motion Motors have been built belt-free, meaning that the motor is directly attached to the drum, thereby reducing noise and annoying vibration, and increasing the machine’s lifespan.
The top end of my self-set ‘budget’ the Haier may be, but for a machine so fully featured, pleasingly power-saving and long-lived, it’s worth spending the extra now to save more moolah in the future.
- Max wash capacity: 10kg
- Max spin speed: 1400rpm
- Dimensions: 60 x 62 x 85cm (W x D x H)
- Energy rating: A
- Energy consumption (per cycle): 0.51kWh
- Water consumption (per cycle): 51-litres
- Number of programmes: 14
- Colour: White
Buy now £499.00, Haier
Hisense 5S Series WF5S1045BW
Best for: Programme-rich smart spinning
Representing the pinnacle of Hisense’s laundry portfolio, the 5S Series WF5S1045BW offers up a yawning void in the shape of a 10kg drum with which to deposit any manner of filthed-up finery. It also comes with a whopping 19 programmes covering Auto, Cotton, Eco 40–60 °C, Jeans, Silks/Delicates, Shirts, Sports, Synthetics and Wool.
On top of this is an Auto Dose function, which means you can dump your detergent in the box and then let the machine see to the next 24 loads automatically, which is a labour-saving feature you may never have known you needed. There is also Steam Wash which kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria, and – wait for it – an app that lets you hook-up and control the Hisense using your smartphone, from anywhere in the whole wide world – if you like to launder internationally.
And it's economical too. With an A energy rating, a low electricity consumption of 0.52kWh and a thirst for H2O of 41 litres per cycle, you can almost hear the money you’re saving jingling into your pocket like a guaranteed win on the Penny Falls.
So, there it is: overflowing with programme functionality, stunningly smart, and greener than Greta Thunberg at the end of an Eco cycle, the Hisense 5S Series WF5S1045BW ticks all the ‘best of’ budget boxes.
- Max wash capacity: 10kg
- Max spin speed: 1400rpm
- Dimensions: 58.5 x 59 x 84.5cm (W x D x H)
- Energy rating: A
- Energy consumption (per cycle): 0.52kWh
- Water consumption (per cycle): 41-litres
- Number of programmes: 19
- Colour: White
Buy now £449.00, AO
Hoover H-Wash 500 HWB49AMC
Best for: Bargain-bagging Wi-Fi wash
You know Hoover – a company whose brand name is the most misused when it comes to the act of using other-name vacuum cleaners. There’s a solid heritage in Hoover when it comes to budget washing machines- too. For singletons or very small families with light laundry needs, the £350 H-Wash 500 HWB49AMC will provide ample years of working worth for very little outlay and, of course, eco-savings.
Energy rated A, the 9kg-capacity Hoover consumes very little power, at 0.94kWh, and also only 46 litres of water per cycle, so the savings will pile up as energy and water prices continue to spiral upwards in the UK.
Programme-wise, there are 16 to play with, including all the usual material-specific modes, allergy care, fitness care, mixed, 20-degree, hand wash and many others covering pretty much most households could require, so the H-Wash comes fully featured.
And, speaking of which, one of those features is Wi-Fi connectivity so, with the assistance of a handy smartphone app, you owners can check on the washing process, run a smart diagnosis or set up the cycle prior to dumping a load.
Enormously energy efficient with plenty of programmes, at a tad under £350 the Hoover will, on average, deliver between 7- and 12-years’ worth of Wi-Fi-watched washing, which, slightly less longevity aside, is actually incredible value for money. Hoover – 116 years old and still showing the whippersnapper washers how it's done.
- Max wash capacity: 9kg
- Max spin speed: 1400rpm
- Dimensions: 60 x 52 x 85cm (W x D x H)
- Energy rating: A
- Energy consumption (per cycle): 0.49kWh
- Water consumption (per cycle): 46-litres
- Number of programmes: 16
- Colour: White
Buy now £349.00, Currys
Smeg WNP84SECUK
Best for: Italian élan and ingenuity
Wait, what? A Smeg washing machine for under £500? Surely some mistake? No, believe your baffled, blinking eyes, for 100 pennies less than a monkey you could soon be slotting a sexy Smeg into your kitchen. Feel free to revel in its 8kg drum, its 1400rpm spin speed and its comprehensive 15 wash programmes consisting of Cotton, Eco 40-60, Synthetics, Quick Wash, Wool/Hand wash, Outdoor, Mix, Drain + Spin, Rinse, Self-Clean, Stain-resistant, Duvet, Shirts, Anti-allergy, and Refresh. There is also a steam feature that eradicates creases with aplomb.
Okay, it’s only rated C for energy, but even so, the Smeg manages to keep consumption down to 0.62kWh and only uses 46 litres of water per wash cycle, so it’s still undeniably efficient and cost-cutting when it comes to those grasping utility companies.
Adding to that fuel efficiency, the WNP84SECUK features automatic load balancing, adjusting water consumption according to the weight of your load, thus further saving both precious resources and, of course, the environment.
Finally, it’s a looker too, thanks to a sleek, somewhat minimalist design and a hugely likeable LED display to keep you in the cycle-position know.
- Max wash capacity: 8kg
- Max spin speed: 1400rpm
- Dimensions: 60 x 58 x 84cm (W x D x H)
- Energy rating: C
- Energy consumption (per cycle): 0.62kWh
- Water consumption (per cycle): 46-litres
- Number of programmes: 15
- Colour: White
Buy now £499.00, Smeg
CDA C1381
Best for: Integrated English excellence
One for those who hate having their appliances on show, the C1381 from Nottinghamshire purveyors of appliance perfection, CDA, is an integrated number that comes designed to disappear behind a door in order for it to blend in seamlessly, ninja-like, with your kitchen cabinet aesthetic.
Featuring an 8kg drum and a 1400rpm variable spin speed to ensure efficient water extraction, the CDA is rated B for energy, consuming a very respectable 0.55kWh of power and 48 litres of water per wash, so still drives down expense.
With a full array of some 16 programmes, garments of all fabric types are tailored for the C1381 pandering to degrees of delicacy and protecting each individually, whether that’s wool, denim silk or some form of shell-suit synthetic.
Well-priced at £479 and very well-specced, the integrated kitchen kit always tends to cost a bit more due to its stealthy style skills, something which makes the CDA C1381 an absolute sud-soaking steal.
- Max wash capacity: 8kg
- Max spin speed: 1400rpm
- Dimensions: 59.5 x 54 x 82.5cm (W x D x H)
- Energy rating: B
- Energy consumption (per cycle): 0.55kWh
- Water consumption (per cycle): 48-litres
- Number of programmes: 16
- Colour: White
Buy now £479.00, Hughes
LG V3 FAV309SNE
Best for: Large, messy families
Recently reduced by a whopping great £280 to well below the ‘budget’ limit, the V3 FAV309SNE from South Korea's king of appliances, LG, features a colossally capacious max drum weight of 10.5kg, meaning this is an ideal, ecological wishy-washy solution for larger families that need to launder a lot in one go.
B-rated for energy efficiency, the LG churns out the cycles at just 0.57kWh and downs 50-litres of water per wash, so up on most models here but still well within the acceptable boundaries of ‘money savingly eco’.
Some 14 programs see to everything from Baby Care to Cotton to Duvets to Wool, Sportswear, Eco and so on, while the machine’s cunning AI DD detects load weight and also senses the softness of fabric, choosing the optimal motions for the fabric by itself as a result.
What’s more, designed to withstand a good wash-thrashing and the test of time, the V3 FAV309SNE features an Inverter Direct Drive Motor that not only keeps operation quiet, but also keeps the LG motor fighting fit to the extent that it comes with an amazing 10-year warranty.
Yes, the LG makes it into this ‘budget’ Best only due to being reduced by a considerable amount, but that’s all the more reason to take advantage of its newfound financial accessibility and snap it up now before it sells out!
- Max wash capacity: 10.5kg
- Max spin speed: 1360rpm
- Dimensions: 60 x 56 x 85cm (W x D x H)
- Energy rating: B
- Energy consumption (per cycle): 0.57kWh
- Water consumption (per cycle): 50-litres
- Number of programs: 14
- Colour: Graphite
Buy now £400.00, LG
