Samsung EcoBubble WW6000 (WW80J6410CW) review

Samsung's washing machines have always been exceptionally economical to run, but they've generally been a bit more expensive. With the WW6000, Samsung has produced an economically machine that's very reasonable priced for what you get. So, the big question is, can it live up to the EcoBubble name?

Well the good news is that there's everything you'd expect from a Samsung washing machine. Although not as heavy as some machines that I've tested, the Samsung WW80J6410CW is well made and feels tough. At just 550mm deep, this machine is quite compact, so it will fit under practically any kitchen counter. It's also incredibly easy to manoeuvre. Some low-weight machines can jump around a little bit or be noisy, but the digital inverter motor is quiet and slick in operation, with the washing machine putting out 53dB on wash and 74dB on spin. That's comparatively quite quiet and the level of noise isn't too distracting.

As I've come to expect from Samsung washing machines, the WW80J6410CW is exceptionally easy to use. A large clear dial lets you select the wash type (bedding, delicates, outdoor, cotton, wool and so on), but you can then use the large LCD screen and additional options to choose how to customise the wash. This include adjusting temperature and spin speed. There's also the Bubble Soak option, which uses water bubbles to soak your garments, helping to eliminate stains.

Capacity

With an 8kg drum, the WW80J6410CW is about the perfect size for most families. This makes it big enough to deal with most weekly wash loads, but there's enough capacity there for larger items, such as a duvet.

Water and electricity usage

I test every washing machine with a 3kg load of washing, so that I can compare between machines, regardless of drum size. This test is also a useful indicator to show how switching between modes affects power and water consumption. As this is an A+++ rated machine, it should be super efficient and my testing showed this to be true. Testing using the 30C Cotton programme, the washing machine used 38.5L of water and just 0.23kW of power, making for a total cycle cost of 14p. Dialling the temperature up to 40C increased power usage to just 0.26kW, while water usage when up to 40.3L. This is impressive, as a lot of washing machines use dramatically more power when upping the temperature. As this is an EcoBubble machine, there's also a 15C wash, which used just 0.19kW of power and 36.3L of water, for a total cycle cost of just 13p. That's incredibly efficient.

I also work out annual running costs, using the EU energy label. My calculations work out the average low, medium and high usage costs for every household, taking into account drum size: in other words, an 8kg washing machine can wash the same amount of clothes in fewer washes than a 6kg machine (see, how we test washing machines). I worked out exceptionally low costs of £18.80 for low use, £28.20 for medium use and £37.60 for high use. That's really very good.

Wash performance

As good as it is to know that a washing machine is cheap to run, it's the quality of the wash that really counts. For this reason, I used industry standard stain strips (fabric impregnated with common stains, such as blood and red wine) to see how clean each machine can get them. Across the board, it was hard to tell the difference between the 15C, 30C and 40C washes, with stains effectively and evenly being removed. To be fair, the 40C wash was a little better, but for lightly soiled garments, you can save good money by sticking with the 15C Eco wash.

The one problem that I had with this machine, on every occasion, is that it would throw a sock or two against door, where they'd get stuck. As a result, the socks would come out of the machine dripping wet: a more soiled garment wouldn't be as clean if this happened.

I'm pleased to say that the clothes came out of the machine relatively dry, with the 1,400rpm spin speed meaning that the clothes, on average, only retained around 1kg of water.

Conclusion

In terms of general cleaning performance and economy, the WW80J6410CW is a great performer that won't cost you a lot to run. It's easy to use, not very noisy and is well priced. My one annoyance is that I always had a sock or two that got stuck against the door and didn't clean up properly.