Decent stain removal in our tests, particularly on the cotton cycle, and impressive running costs help the side, making this a decent choice if you’re after a budget washing machine. Candy Grand’O Vita GVS169DC3 – What you need to know It’s worth pointing out that in both tests, the countdown timer wasn’t particularly accurate. For the synthetic wash, I found that the last 2 minutes of the spin cycle took closer to 10 minutes to complete. Think of it as an indicator of time, rather than a hard-fast timer. One noteworthy feature of this washing machine is the intelligent sensor technology. At the start of each cycle the machine analyses the load’s weight, and adjusts the time, water, and electricity used by the machine. This gives it an A+++ energy-efficient rating, helping you save on energy bills whilst helping the environment.

Stain removal – Pretty good on the 30ºC wash, although the synthetic wash ended up folding the stain strip leaving a blob of ketchup behind. Running costs are impressively low, even more remarkable by virtue of how little this washing machine costs. Stain removal is about as good as I can expect from a machine at this price.Variable Spin and Temperature - Allowing you to adjust the spin speed and temperature on all cycles to suit the load Functions are easy to use too, ensuring that you won’t have to stress over finding the right setting for your needs. The smart features also add to the energy savings that you can get with this device. Pros Spin efficiency – Excellent, particularly when the washing machine can run at 16oorpm to leave clothes comparatively dry.

Unfortunately, problems do occasionally occur. And although you may not be able to fix them yourself it’s good to know what they may be related to. See common Candy washing machine problems and troubleshooting here… Candy Washing Machine Error Codes To work out yearly figures, I used the average number of washing machine loads in the UK (274 per year), and multiplied by three different load amounts (6kg for high, 4.5kg for medium and 3kg for low) to get a total amount of washing per year in kg. To get some more in-depth running costs, I used the figures stated on the EU energy label, which assume 220 washes per year. This let me break-down the stated energy and water consumption figures to give us an average cost per wash, using average electricity and water costs. This is often an issue with the outlet pipe which may need re-aligning by a qualified plumber. Mid-cycle stoppingWater remaining in the drum can cause this. Water not draining away needs to be dealt with by a trained technician. Incorrect control options or settings can also affect the spin cycle. An unbalanced load in a machine fitted with an electronic sensor can also stop the machine from spinning. The appliance is really noisy Examining our stain strip, we have – left to right in the image below – red wine, vegetable oil, tomato sauce, orange juice and gravy, all left to dry into the fabric. At the end of the wash cycle, all the stains had effectively been removed, bar a circle of the tough red wine test and a faint mark left of the ketchup.