The Indesit Moon washing machine advert had a catchy tag line, “Future Friendly” and a catchy music track by New Order. I’m sceptical about the use of the phrase future friendly though.
The phrase implies it will either last a very long time, or that a product is so technically advanced it is unlikely to be superseded by anything better in the near future. If they have genuinely pulled this off it would be an amazing achievement for one of the cheapest brands in the UK.
The TV advert was very slick showing lots of robots mingling with people in everyday life apparently integrated into society. The accompanying overlaid text says, One day – Man and machine – Will live together – In perfect harmony. Then as a woman loads her new Indesit washing machine with laundry it continues, That day – Has dawned. As she closes the door the voice over says, Indesit Moon: Future friendly.
The advert is brilliant (I’m not being sarcastic). It has great music, great visuals, and a great overall concept. I was just disappointed to see it was only advertising a washing machine – and one of the cheapest washing machines in the business. £299 for a 6 kg washing machine with a 1400 rpm spin is cheap, and these days many cheap washing machines are notoriously not worth repairing (and get scrapped way too soon) if they break down out of guarantee unless it is a minor fault.
It would be great if the spare parts for this washing machine are going to be priced lower than previous Indesit spare parts, and at levels that make it economic to repair in the future. So far this is not the case with many cheap washing machines and to me, something can’t be truly future friendly if it isn’t worth repairing after 3 or 4 years just because the PCB has failed.
The Moon’s looks
I do like the look of this washing machine. I also like the simple solitary control button offering just 4 wash programmes. Many customers have often told me they want simple controls and fewer programmes – not more. It will appeal to customers buying at the budget end who see extremely simple controls as a priority but they won’t have to mind if this involves compromises elsewhere.
The innovative soap dispenser behind the door looks interesting too although it’s too early to judge if this is a genuinely good idea or not yet (it wasn’t – see update below). The advantage is that, “because water is constantly splashing inside this dispenser as the drum rotates it should be kept very clean”. However, one disadvantage is that it replaces the customary door glass. You can no longer see the laundry laundry inside. Although the novelty of watching laundry go round and round in a washing machine has long since worn off – it is still useful to be able to see the laundry as the drum revolves. You can occasionally notice something that shouldn’t be there (such as a coin or credit card) and stop the wash to attempt to retrieve it before any damage occurs.
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Summary
At the end of the day this is a great advert bigging up a normally quite basic brand who’s priority is to make washing machines as cheaply as possible and hopefully give some value for money. It represents Indesit trying to become more sophisticated and more innovative, but it could only be truly “future friendly” if it proves to be much more reliable than other previous models, and if spares are much more reasonably priced to encourage future repairs. Otherwise the future friendly tag is disingenuous. (continues below..)
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Update:
Which? have since reviewed the Indesit Moon and their opening paragraph says, “we weren’t overly impressed by the Moon”. They say it’s not very good on the 40 degree wash, the one most people use, and say it’s only good for light stains. However, surprisingly they say it is good at rinsing, which is remarkably rare these days and even most of their “best buys” aren’t highly rated for rinsing ( Why can’t modern washing machines rinse properly? ) So if you require a cheap washing machine and rinsing is especially important to you because of irritation or allergies you might be interested in one but at the compromise of not being very good on 40 degree washes. It has to be said too that Indesit don’t have a good reliability record either according to my experience and Which? reports.
(1 month trial offer plus a copy of the Which? magazine) to get the full benefit of the latest washing machine reviews)
Update: April 2011
The Indesit Moon has now been the subject of a BBC Watchdog item due to them receiving so many complaints about it. The focus of the programme’s criticism is that the Indesit Moon is particularly vulnerable to the nasty build up of grease, grime, sludge, bacteria and black mould as described in my Washerhelp article Washing machine smells – causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machines which although affecting any washing machine if the conditions I describe are present, the Indesit Moon appears to be uniquely incapable of doing the 90 degree maintenance boil wash manufacturers (including Indesit themselves) recommend.
If you have a Moon model which is covered in mould and grease you should read the article above for tips on how to discourage the problem. Although the moon cannot do a 90 degree wash you can still try to limit the problem by not using liquid detergents, doing a 60 degree maintenance wash regularly with normal detergent containing bleaching agent etc.
On balance I think it’s fair to say this model should be avoided.
Paul says
We’ve just ordered one from Sainsburys as it only worked out £13 more than the John Lewis price mentioned to take the old one away too.
Washerhelp says
You get a minimum of 2 year guarantees with appliances at John Lewis. I’ve known many people who had to scrap their washing machine in the second year because it was going to cost too much to fix after they suffered an early breakdown outside the normal 12 month guarantee. The last one was 14 months old and another recent one I know about was 18 month old.
Hopefully yours will be OK (I’m not suggesting that the majority of people would have such problems) but with cheap washing machines an extra years guarantee can prove very useful and is worth even paying a bit more for.
Anon says
Don’t bother with this washing machine. I was part of the ‘Moon Trial’ last November (2006) and wish I hadn’t bothered. The seal of the door is covered in mould which I can’t get off and an engineer told us how to take the parts off to clean it – interesting considering it is meant to be self cleaning..
Also, our dog can open the door on it and loves to pull all the washing out. So if you have small children don’t bother with this as there is no child lock.
robert jones says
Now on our second machine. First one delivered 10.10.07 took 190 minutes on the 60 wash instead of 145 as advertised. Retailer said machine was faulty and replaced it on 14.11.07
60 wash remains at 187 – 190 minutes. Still in discussion with retailer to see if Indesit plan a modification or admit to a problem.
Would welcome views of other users.
robert jones says
Further to the above, the retailer has been unable to make meaningful contact with the manufacturer so we are returning the second machine. I note the remarks re the rinse which I believe is the root cause of the problem. The rinse cycle goes on and on, even with minimum detergent, for some 25-30 minutes, with subsequent use of water and energy. Perhaps Which should do a re-test.
Washerhelp says
Thanks for the update Robert. The problem with testing is that people only test the most commonly used pogramme, which is usualy the 40 degree cottons wash. The eco labels system for example base their awards on that. The other programmes could be useless but a washing machine could still get an A wash efficiency rating.
Just make sure your problem isn’t being caused by siphoning due to the drain hose being pushed too far down after being freshly installed.
It probably isn’t, but just in case have a look at this section – Washing machine constantly fills with water and goes down the drain
If siphoning was the problem it would be losing water down the drain on rinses and the washing machine would constantly have to keep topping up with water. This can cause it to stick on rinses (and sometimes on wash).
robert jones says
I’ve always been aware of the siphoning problem with washing machines so that was the first thing that I checked. Also the vertical and horizontal levels to an exact level. It looks as though our replacement machine will be a Bosch so await the washing times with great interest.
I read in the press that the State of California (always short of water) are cracking down on manufacturers whose wahing machines take longer than the claimed times, some by a considerable time.
Tom Jones says
Bought and installed a moon just prior to christmas, on the 1st wash noticed an odd noise as the drum turned (sounds like the inner drum rubbing against the outer). Stopped the machine and messed around with the feet and managed to get the 1st wash done with no noise.
Put the 1st wash on and the noise returned, so further adjustment of feet to stop the noise. Unfortunately the back feet are now 15mm higher than the front, a spirit level in the drum however shows the drum now level, even though the machine is not. Also, when moving the drum from within, pushing the drum backward at the back and top shows only 1cm of play before a “dunk” is heard.
Am going to get the machine replaced in the new year as I don’t think this is normal behaviour, and to continue to use the machine would cause it a premature end. (when the machine spins up if I hear it rub it slows the drum momentarily – can’t be good). Hopefully the replacement will be better.
robert jones says
Tom (no relation I hasten to add !) I notice today that John Lewis have reduced the price of the Moon to £239, Comet to £265 and Currys do not feature it on their site. Looks like the word has finally got round, thanks perhaps to this super blog.
DAve says
Tom Jones
it sounds like you have removed the transit bolts but maybe left the plastic spacers between drum and rear of machine in place.
happens a lot.
respect
Dave