Buying a washing machine: the numbers that count
You buy a washing machine for ten years. Four figures decide your energy bill, your sleep and your patience: load capacity, energy class, spin speed and noise.
Capacity by household size
7 kg for one or two people, 8 kg for three, 9 kg or more from four. Half-filling an oversized machine costs more than fully loading the right one.
The energy class pays back slowly
Moving from C to A saves noticeable electricity over ten years but costs more up front. With few washes a week the premium rarely pays back; with daily laundry it does.
Noise when the machine lives in the flat
The critical figure is spin noise, not wash noise. Below 72 dB you can sleep in the next room; above it you hear every cycle. An inverter motor is nearly always the quieter choice.
Quick checklist
- Capacity by household size, not by brochure
- Under 72 dB spin if it stands in the flat
- Measure the niche before ordering
- Price history: white goods swing seasonally
