Home Appliances
Got a bunch of laundry and a bunch of questions?
The first flush of ownership.
We know you’re eager to pack in your clothes and get washing. But before you press “start” on your new life of laundry, it’s a good idea to run an empty cycle. This cleans out the appliance’s innards so that you can be sure no factory residues spoil your first load of spotless clothes. To do so, just follow these simple steps:
- Press the power button and wait a few seconds for your washing machine to switch on.
- Select the Cottons 90°C programme or the drum cleaning programme in the Home Connect app before closing the door.
- Add washing powder with an oxygen bleach to the manual dosing compartment and close it again. To prevent foaming, use only half of the recommended amount for light soiling. Don’t use detergent formulated for woollens or delicates.
- Once the cycle is complete and you see “End” on the display, you can press the start button to initiate the first wash cycle or to put the appliance in standby mode.
Kick-start your quick start.
Watch our step-by-step video that shows you everything you need to know from loading through adding detergent to selecting the right programme and using the prewash function. That way, there won't be anything wishy-washy about your laundry.
Become the pro in programmes.
What makes a washing machine power user? They know their programmes. As a result, their clothes receive exactly the right care, look better and last longer. Mastering the full range of washing options is easy. You can look up which ones your model offers here and match them to what’s in your wardrobe. And just like you, too, could become a power user.
Laundry 101.
Keep your true colours.
Laundry is the one time you don’t want any light(s) in the darkness or vice versa. That’s because dyes from darker fabrics can discolour your sparkling whites. One red sock can turn all your white linen pink. Ideally, you should do a separate load for each colour.
Jam-packed? Fabric and detergent can’t interact.
When your machine’s drum is overloaded, it can’t wash properly. That not only means your laundry won’t come out totally clean, but you could stress or damage your appliance. Always stick to the specified load.
Your laundry’s safety net.
Mesh laundry bags are a great way to protect delicate items from lint, tangling and damage.
All a matter of degrees.
The colour, fabric and level of soiling should all factor into your choice of laundry programme and washing temperature. Never choose a cycle without first consulting your clothing labels. As a rule of thumb, you can wash heavily soiled or greasy whites as well as baby nappies and towels at 60°C. But pale colours are better served by a 40°C cycle, which will ensure they shrink and fade less. To prevent darks and bright shades from dulling, wash them at 30°C.
Different soaps have different scopes.
Think detergent is detergent is detergent? That’s not the case. Products are formulated for different purposes. A heavy-duty cleaning agent containing bleach will make white fabrics dazzling. But to ensure your black clothing stays deep and dark, you’ll need something else entirely. The same goes for keeping colours bright. Wool and silk also need dedicated formulas to care for them appropriately.
Hard water? Use softener oftener.
Do you know how hard your water is? It’s easy to find out with a water hardness test strip. The more minerals in your water, the more you may need to use fabric conditioner to stop laundry from drying stiff and scratchy. This important information will also help you determine how frequently you need to descale your appliance to keep it working like new.
No sniff of a whiff.
Bad odours breed in damp places. So it’s a good idea to leave the door and detergent compartment of your machine open to let residual moisture dry out. That way you won’t wrinkle you nose when you next open the machine.
