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phrase implies it will either last a very long time, or that a product is so technically advanced it is unlikely to be superseded by anything better in the near future.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. 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 Moon’s looks
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 – so 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.
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.
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.
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Anonymous: If you are only unhappy with the smell, grease and black mould, and have no complaints about wash results or reliability you might consider having the free repair and cleaning sachets as the easiest option. However, if you believe that without the boil wash the problem will return, then this might not be a good choice.
I can’t say with any certainty that not having the boil wash will render the maintenance wash ineffective or even reduce its effectiveness but the engineer consulted on the Watchdog programme implied it would. Personally I always use and recommend 90 degrees for the maintenance wash and instinctively feel it would do the job better. However, 60 degrees is still pretty hot, hot enough to burn skin, and presumably hot enough to kill bacteria especially if combined with detergent containing bleaching agents. Indesit claim 60 degrees is hot enough and I’m not in a position to dispute or confirm that. I can say that once the black mould has taken over though you will not shift it even with boil washes. It gets impregnated into the rubber and you need a new door seal.
If you accepted this and despite your efforts to keep it clean the problem reoccurred I believe you would still have rights under the sale of goods act to claim the machine is not fit for its purpose though depending on how long you’d had it by then it may make it more difficult to pursue and if by then it’s over 6 years old (or 5 in Scotland) you would not be able to make a claim.
If you do accept the repair I would try to get it written on the engineers paperwork that you are accepting it only on condition that the problem does not re-occur despite your regular maintenance washes (as per this article – What causes washing machine smells inside washing machines)
The offer of a different machine for £150 may or may not be a good deal depending on which machine it is and its normal retail cost. I’m sure many would argue you shouldn’t have to pay anything and some have posted that they have received replacement machines for no cost but it’s only the retailer that can refund money as it’s them you gave it to. I suspect it will be a like for like budget model worth around £300. Again you might consider this a reasonable outcome if you don’t want any more hassle and just want something resolved but it depends how much you still owe on the Moon. There’s little point if you still owe a fair amount.
You could try going back to the retailer for a full refund saying as Indesit have offered to replace the machine it’s evidence there is a problem but that they have stopped short of the full refund because in consumer law it’s not them who are responsible – and of course they can’t refund you money they never received. Most people find a lot of hurdles in the way from many retailers though and only the determined seem to get anywhere (as D Thomas above said in his last comment above).
Also depending on how long you’ve had it the retailer may claim that you aren’t entitled to a full refund as you’ve already had x years use from it so you may not end up with much more than the £150. Again that depends on how long you’ve had it.
Well, an update…
Indesit refused to replace the machine for free and, on discussion, my husband found out the cleaning detergent they’d give us is enough for 5 months. Basically meaning if we have the seal replaced it is only guaranteed as long as we use their cleaning agent and after five months we’d be required to buy more directly from them.
Not happy with that so we’ll be taking it further! Their isn’t much smell but clothes frequently come out of the machine covered in mould and needing further washing. Not to mention the health hazards of having mould that spores so we will be chasing a new machine and giving as little finance back to indesit as possible.
Hi guys we are experiancing same mould problems on our 2 year old machine but know the drum bearings are noisy and been told new drum asembly 153.00 POUNDS and 60POUNDS labour to repaidoes anyone have ceo mail addy
shaun: You need to complain to the retailer you bought it from as it hasn’t lasted a reasonable time according to the Sale of Goods Act (as long as you’ve only used it normally). Only the retailer is responsible under UK consumer law. I would think that considering all the complaints and issues with this model, combined with the fact that after 2 years it’s now effectively beyond economical repair you should have a strong claim under the Sale of Goods act for a refund (less an amount to take into account the 2 years use you’ve had). Consumer rights act
Indesit moon – same problems re grunge and slime on clothes and mould covered door seal. Already carry out all the maintenance recommended. Thought it was an isolated problem until I read the watchdog’s report and posts on the site. Indesit have now taken the contact no on the watchdog site out of service and not replying to my email I have taken the matter up with the retailer B&Q who are taking the matter up with Indesit. Indesit have responded saying £64.00 up front cost to change the door seal and provide descaler sachet or £7.99 per month for 12 months – B&Q are referring the problem to their buying dept to see if they can get a better outcome as they agree this is not acceptable as clearly it is a manufacturing fault so should be free of charge. Why aren’t Indesit doing a recall? This problem is particularly problematic for me as I am a chronic asthmatic and have been severely ill several times this year.
Re Mary Connolly post
I eventually had my money back after I emailed chief executive of Indesit and chief executive of Currys. What the procedure was I do not now but currys phoned me and said to come up to chose another machine and that they would take the Moon away. this was just after the watchdog programme. The sales of good act contact is between you and the retailer.
Update on my previous post: Did some research on the internet and got the email address for Indesit’s Chief Executive in Italy. Indesit Customer Services called and now doing replacement seal and cleaner free of charge. I said I would try this but if it doesn’t resolve the problem will be back on to them.
Function compromised by design?
Fascinating. Sat down to do a quick google to identify the quickest route to the Indesit Complaints Desk, and here you all are…
Grimy smelly machine, perhaps 3/4 years old. The 30 degree cycle just makes things damp and leaves great undissolved puddles of powder, gel or liquid languishing in my clothes. The forty degrees cycle washes adequately; if you run the cycle twice and fill the drum only a third. The 60 degrees wash doesn’t cease until you hit the breaker. (I went out for ten hours, came back and it was still churning away, helloooo electricity bill) The door lip and fascia are rusting badly. Big swathes of rust. I’ve not bothered to pursue it as…well, to be frank I’ve never bought a washing machine before so I just assumed they were all rubbish. I thought it was industry standard. Pay £300, get ripped off and annoyed, thats life? Hmm..
Single-something female, I use The Moon perhaps three times a week for a light load (I can only wear so many socks – most everything else is dry-cleaned) I bought it because it looked great, was a good price, was energy friendly, and because I don’t need a big capacity machine with big jets. However I DO need something that washes my clothes.
It doesn’t look good because of the rust and grime, it’s not a good price because it doesn’t do it’s advertised job, and it is not energy efficient because I have started to run cycles twice to get my clothes clean. Not much point buying a washing liquid that claims to do a great job at 15 degrees when I have to run everything at 40 degrees for 70 minutes TWICE, just to get that ‘just washed’ feeling.
Would love to know if I have a case and whom I should address it to. In my own business, if someone paid £300 for a service from me and I didn’t deliver, I would end up in court. Washing machines are ugly and utilitarian..but in my mother’s house, they at least worked. Is this the price I have to pay for being a trendy thirty-something? A great looking machine that compliments my modern kitchen perfectly but utterly fails to do the job it was sold for. What happened to form following function? Is this function compromised by design? M
Margaret: Sorry I missed your comment until now. The The only people you can pursue a claim against are the people you bought it from claiming it isn’t fit for its purpose ( Sale of Goods Act )
Thanks for the response and link Washerhelp – however I have an interesting update to report – following my rant above I then contacted the Indesit UK service desk and I have to say they have been brilliant. I’ve found them responsive and diligent and cannot fault their customer service, in fact a great result all round!
M