My attention was drawn to rinsing efficiency after noticing that out of dozens of washing machines reviewed by Which? most of them had a poor rating for rinsing. Even those singled out as Best Buys were “poor” at rinsing. Believe it or not, at least one Best Buy was “very poor”. I found that pretty shocking.
From studying the figures it is clear that if “good”, or “very good” rinsing was one of the prerequisites for a Best Buy there would be no Best Buy washing machines or washer dryers at all – not a single one. It appears that Which? have decided to allow the poor rinsing results to be a caveat instead of a best buy killer. Please note however that several Which? best buys are “satisfactory” at rinsing which is something at least.
Out of 125 washing machines and washer dryers tested, a remarkable 75 of them (60%) were rated either “poor” or “very poor” at rinsing with only 3 getting the rating we should expect for all washing machines which is “good”.
The rest were a mere “satisfactory”. To summarise, just less than 3 % of the 125 washers & dryers are “good” at rinsing according to Which?
Since writing this article I’ve discovered Which? no longer give the majority of washing machines 1 or 2 star ratings for rinsing ability, and the majority appear to get 3 or 4 stars. Which? tell me they’ve readjusted their rinse marks to more accurately reflect the degrees of abilities between even poor rinsing machines. However, they are still critical of many of their rinsing abilities in the comments and the pros and cons.
What does this mean?
Well for a start it doesn’t mean that we can settle for one of the three washing machines that are “good” at rinsing because they unfortunately let themselves down in other areas such as with “noisy spin, and poor brand reliability”. However, if you really need a washing machine that rinses better than any other – maybe because of allergies – then at least Which? have identified three candidates out of the 125 they’ve tested so far.
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Why aren’t they rinsing properly and does it really matter?
Surely all washing machines should rinse well? It’s surely quite simple, you just use enough water to rinse them properly. It’s astounding that we have reached the situation where the majority of washing machines and washer dryers on sale in the UK are apparently poor at rinsing.
This has probably come about because people have been focussing on other aspects, which has left rinsing as a low priority. Two explanations spring to mind. Firstly, the focus on using less and less water is clearly impacting on our washing machine’s ability to rinse effectively. Whereas modern detergents can facilitate efficient and effective washing results at lower temperatures and with less water, no such product is currently allowing effective rinsing with much less water.
Good rinsing needs plenty of water which is in direct opposition to the current environmental concerns and clamour to be the washing machine using the least amount of water.
Eco LabelsThe second explanation I can think of is that the eco-labelling system which awards ratings for energy efficiency, spin efficiency and wash efficiency do not appear to take into account rinse efficiency.
As such, manufacturers aren’t being judged on how well their washing machines rinse, only on how well they wash and how well they extract water on spin. I’m speculating at this stage, but I can’t see how so many washing machines could be awarded an “A” wash efficiency rating if the tests took into account how well the clothes were rinsed. Presumably, as long as all stains are removed and laundry looks “clean” no one bothers about how much soap detergent residue is left.
It might be a good idea to create a fourth category, “rinse efficiency” on the eco labels, or at least include the rinse efficiency as part of the wash efficiency test.
Ultimately if customers don’t notice an issue then it could be argued that it doesn’t really matter.
Maybe it doesn’t for most people, but it surely does to anyone sensitive to wash detergents and with allergies and a lot of people are. There were 581 comments added on this topic from such people before I had to close comments to prevent it being endless.
The current situation is that to anyone keen to buy a washing machine with good rinsing I have no washing machine to recommend because none of the companies producing the best, and the most reliable washing machines currently supply one that rinses above average according to Which? although this could easily change and you would need to check out the latest to be sure.
Are Which? being too critical? Are Which? applying too stringent a rinse test? I must admit I’ve not had many complaints from people saying their washing machine isn’t rinsing properly and my own Miele washing machine, which although a Which? Best Buy, didn’t receive a “good” rating for rinsing yet it appears to rinse perfectly well as far as we can see.
In fact I remarked to my wife that my clothes don’t smell of detergent like they used to in the old washing machine and deduced that it rinsed much better. However, neither of us have any reactions to washing machine detergent. The thing about Which? is that they are totally independent.
They work only for their subscribers interests and are actually a registered charity. They don’t make any money directly by recommending any product (even though they could) because they want to be seen as 100% unbiased. They are highly respected and I expect they test products fairly. However, my understanding is that the do charge for companies to display their “Best Buy” logo!
I suspect Which? are right and that modern washing machines don’t generally rinse very well because of the reasons I speculate about above. Whether it matters or whether it will change depends on whether enough of the public are bothered, or even notice. The 581 comments added to this article below show that many people do find this a big issue.
Which? research
NOTE: Which? do rate some washing machines as satisfactory for rinsing and even a couple are rated as good, although unfortunately the few rated good (so far) are not so good on reliability.
Which? are constantly reviewing washing machines so if rinsing is particularly important to you it makes sense to become a member and see all the buying advice. I can’t print their advice for copyright reasons.
Here’s how they describe their reviews –
We are of course well known for our traditional product testing. And when we test something like the proverbial washing machine, we will ask the laboratory not only to measure how clean the clothes get, but how much water and energy is used? How easy is it to work out the programmes? What is the machine like on specialist cycles? How long does it take? All these things feed into our best buy criteria.
We will devise the testing schedule by looking at things from the ordinary user’s point of view: and if standard industry methods are not good enough we will devise our own methods ”
Causes of poor rinsing
There are some common causes of poor rinsing even in washing machines that do rinse well that it might be useful to point out. Anyone experiencing poor rinsing problems where washing comes out with detergent residues or white powder streaks should read this – White streaks or residual washing powder after washing
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Hi Nikki,
Read your comment (247) more closley, the first line to be exact, you wern’t talking about your laundry or your machine you were talking about mine.
I did all of your test and they all came back the same, no detergent could be extracted from my TOWELS and I have tried it with JEANS and again nothing could be removed by hot hand rinses, also to give the test a bit more kick after rinsing them in hot water I spun them at 2800rpm in a spin dryer with gravity drain into a bucket and absolutley nothing came out except pure water. I even tasted the water and it was as if it came straight from the tap.
Looks like my old Bosch rinses properly with cold water………..
Oliver.
Hi Nikki: When you say, it is scientific fact that detergent cannot be rinsed out of towels using cold water I have two issues. The first is that even if true, it isn’t relevant to washing machines because for the majority of people (including the manufacturers) the criteria for satisfactory rinsing of laundry is not to remove all traces of detergent. That’s your criteria because you have an allergy. There is indisputable evidence that washing machines are capable of rinsing to perfectly acceptable standards for most people (or at least used to) using cold water.
My washing machine rinses perfectly well in cold water and by perfectly well I mean to our satisfaction. It doesn’t matter to me if there are still traces of detergent microscopically there. I cannot smell any detergent on any of our laundry, my wife is perfectly happy with results too as are most people I know.
The second one is that I’m not convinced that it is scientifically impossible to rinse out all detergent with cold water. Are you saying if a towel was placed in a fast flowing river or even thrashed around in the sea it could never get rid of the detergent? Even after months in these places the detergent would never be dislodged and diluted or washed away? The definition of scientifically impossible is that no matter how much water was used, and no matter how much agitation or time was used cold water could never remove all detergent, which I find difficult to believe.
I’ve just tried your experiment myself with two identical thin cotton towels. I rinsed one in a bowlful of fairly hot water and squeezed it out. I did the same for the second but in cold water. In both cases all I could see was a few patches of clear bubbles created when I wrung out the towels. The water remained clear and there was no evidence of any soap and no difference in results between the two.
I can only conclude that anyone who can get soapy water out of their laundry when rinsing manually in warm or even cold water must have laundry that has rinsed very poorly and left a lot of detergent in them. In that case the washing machine is either useless at rinsing, or there is some problem with partial blockages affecting its ability to rinse, or some other as yet unknown cause. It can’t be due to a fact that it is using cold water to rinse.
I understand you aspire for much better rinsing and have real issues, as do others. I’m just saying most people don’t, and manufacturers always manufacture for most people unless specifically making a niche product. I’m also saying warm water may or may not be more efficient at rinsing but unless there’s a proven link between large numbers of allergy sufferers and poor rinsing in washing machines no one is going to make washing machines rinse in warm water because it makes them more expensive, decreases reliability and adds to running costs.
Also Nikki, Which? who inspired this article with their test results which marked most washing machines with just 1 or 2 stars for rinsing and said they were “poor” at rinsing have recently given 5 stars to the Indesit WIXE127 and said, “This washing machine is one of the cheapest to buy, yet it’s one of the best at rinsing, so if residual detergent irritates your sensitive skin, this model is good choice.”
People with priority for rinsing may be interested in this model and I’ve mentioned it on my article (above) although I would recommend it only if rinsing is the primary and paramount concern. However, it rinses in cold water and Which? laboratory tests say it is very good at rinsing.
Hi Andy,
Which? rinse tests are funnily enough done using a 2800rpm spin dryer as well. Whether they use warm or cold water to extract the detergent I don’t know, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel if Indesit have made a machine rinse propelry.
All the best,
Oliver.
Thanks Oliver: It’s a shame it’s one of the budget manufacturers but at least they’ve shown it can be done. Funnily enough they also give it 4 out of 5 stars for water usage so it doesn’t appear to use substantially more water. I’d be interested as to the exact reason why this washing machine apparently rinses even better than an £800 Miele.
Oh Dear: I’ve just checked on about 12 different Which? reviews ranging from Candy, Hoover, Hotpoint, LG, Miele to Bosh and every washing machine I tried has got 4 out of 5 stars for rinsing efficiency – even one that said in the cons “disappointing cottons rinse”.
So it seems that 3 years after writing this article Which? no longer rates most washing machines as poor at rinsing. However, checking the actual reviews shows they still criticise many for poor rinsing or say they are only average, they just don’t seem to reflect this so well on their 5 star rating system.
On the basis of this I’ll withdraw my recommendation of the Indesit WIXE127 being one of a rare breed that rinses well although Which? do comment that they think it rinses above average, it’s just that they’ve given it 4 stars, the same as most of the other washing machines where they haven’t highlighted their excellent rinse results. It’s all completely confusing and inconsistent.
@Washerhelp I strongly recommend you contact Which? and ask them what’s going on. Do Which? know about this blog topic (that’s still going strong after nearly 3 years)?
Did I mention that when I rinse clothes in lots of warm water – I live in a “hard water” area? Perhaps also cold water rinses a little better in the summer, compared to cold water in the middle of winter due to the temperature difference?
As for Which? – they are advising people to do the same as me, that is re-rinsing. On one “Best Buy” Hotpoint, I quote from the Which? website:
“Unfortunately the cotton rinse isn’t nearly as impressive – it’s poor and leaves too much detergent behind on your clothes. You can’t add an extra rinse to the programs, either, so if you suffer from sensitive skin you may need to run a separate rinse after your washing has finished.”
I will always believe that warm water rinsing works better in some way as I’ve seen the results from the amount of foam in my washing machine on the 40C quickwash without detergent, despite the 3rd ‘normal’ rinse before that showing no foam (fabric conditioner is not used until second time round i.e. after warm rinsing). I’ve also noticed warm rinsing helped when I was soaking a mug with bleach, I was able to rinse it out much quicker with water from the hot tap and the smell of bleach disappeared fast. If I was using cold water, I would have to use more water and rinse the mug for a bit longer.
Hi WMUser,
It looks like the warm rinse is removing detergent from the washing machine opposed to your laundry. This will also apply if you add water, which you say you add between 7-10 jugs fulls of hot water, so the water is going where it previously hasn’t and so shows up soapy. The load my be rinsed just fine using only cold water.
Oliver.
@Oliver Shaw next time I do the washing, I will go to the trouble of adding jugfuls of cold water to the 3rd rinse of the normal cotton cycle to get a high water level. When I re-rinse using the quickwash at 40C, I will add the same amount of warm water to match the level of cold water added previously.
If I notice lots of suds during the warm rinse, then it proves that warm water must be doing something different to the cold water. Here’s an interesting link to a physics forum about warm water rinsing, not too much to read:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/warm-water-rinse-superior.83943/
Hope that helps.
Hello Oliver,
After all the issues with rinsing i have found a final solution to my rinsing problems- Ecover biological liquid! Leaves no residue at all and i do not have to set the ‘Super Rinse’ button! I find even Persil Small and Mighty very very difficult to rinse out which i find odd as i thought liquids were supposed to be easier. It doesn’t foam too bad but it takes about 6 hand rinses to sufficiently to get rid of the soap. I never remember detergents so difficult to get rid of, they must have changed them as the cleaning performance is not as good and takes so much water to neutralise the solution. They were much better at cleaning back in the 90’s imo. The only stain remover i would ever consider buying for impossible stains is Shout or SA8 by Amway. The rest don’t work! How do they get away with selling things that don’t work?
Anyone see the new Ariel range of stain removers and additives lately in supermarkets? More rubbish aimed at a gullable public lol.
All the best
Simon