Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB Review
A smart and powerful washing machine offering super-low running costs.
Verdict
Super-quiet and highly efficient, the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB is a premium washing machine capable of excellent stain removal. Accompanied by a useful smart app, you can remote control and monitor this machine from anywhere.
Pros
- Very low running costs
- Useful app
- Exceptionally quiet
Cons
- Small(ish) door
Availability
- UKRRP: £849
- USAunavailable
- Europeunavailable
- Canadaunavailable
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- CapacityThis washing machine can hold 9kg of clothing, which puts it towards the larger end of what’s available
- Smart featuresApp control means you can set this washing machine to run from your phone and monitor it via Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant
Introduction
The new energy labelling scheme has seen washing machines that used to be at the top of the efficiency list slip down several places. The result is a new load of washing machines designed for peak efficiency, such as the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB. This quality washing machine uses very little power, offers good stain removal and is exceptionally well built.
If you’re looking for a smart washing machine that you can rely on, then this is a top contender.
Design and features
- The smart app provides remote control
- Handy measuring guide in the detergent drawer
- Lots of control options
Bosch is well known for its build quality, and the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB lives up to that standard. One of the company’s top-of-the-range washing machines, this one feels tough and well built.
Swing open the porthole door to access the 9kg drum, and you’ll feel no wobble in the hinge. The light inside the drum is a nice touch, so you can more easily see what you’re loading and unloading.
It isn’t the widest of portholes, so you may need to do a bit of stuffing to get larger items in place.
At the top of the machine you’ll find the standard pull-out detergent drawer, which comprises the usual trays for fabric softener, detergent and pre-wash. If you want to use liquid detergent, there’s a pull-down measuring guide that helps you get the right amount each time.
At the front of the machine sits the dial to select the wash programme. All of the standards are covered here, plus washing cycles for jeans, wool, shirts, delicates and a quick-wash option that runs for either 15 or 30 minutes. The latter is great for barely soiled clothes for which you want a quick turnaround.
For each programme, you can use the controls around the LCD screen to adjust the temperature, spin speed, delay and to use the anti-stain option, which lets you choose between wine, grease, blood and grass. Once you’ve chosen your options, the estimated programme time will appear on-screen, although note that this can go down if you don’t have a full load.
The Remote Start button is for use with the app. For safety reasons, washing machines can’t be controlled via an app unless you’ve manually enabled it.
To use the app, you have to connect the washing machine to your Wi-Fi. While I encountered issues getting the Bosch Serie 8 WAX32LH9GB to connect to my wireless network, this newer model worked first time.
Once connected, you can use the app to set the wash programme and overrides. There’s also a six-step wizard that asks you questions about your wash load to find the best programme; it’s potentially useful, but the label scanning on the hOn app for the Hoover H-Wash 500 is more useful.
With the washer connected to your account, you can turn on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant control, letting you set a programme with your voice. This isn’t hugely useful; it’s far easier to use the app or control panel. However, having voice assistant support is handy for receiving status updates, plus you can do some useful things, such as asking Alexa to turn off your washing machine’s beeps.
IFTTT support is welcome. You can use the service to set your favourite settings, and you can control smart devices when your wash is complete, such as turning your Hue lights red.
Whether you start a wash manually or remotely, the app can tell you the current status of the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB, including popping up a useful message when the cleaning cycle has finished.
Performance
- Quality stain removal
- Clothes come out comparatively dry
- Very efficient
While the last Bosch washing machine I reviewed was listed as a C-class appliance on the energy label, the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB is A-rated. At just 18p per full cycle (water and electricity), this is the most efficient washing machine I’ve seen.
Indeed, through testing I found that the Eco 40-60 programme used just 0.189kWh of power and 24 litres of water. That’s exceptionally low use.
To work out a comparable annual cost for washing machines, I first work out the total amount of washing per year in kilograms, assuming the UK average of 274 washes per year. At an average load size of 6kg, that’s a total of 1644kg per year. Given that there’s a 9kg drum here, if the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB was used to its maximum capacity for each wash, it could complete that washing in 182.67 loads, with a yearly running cost of £33.69. That’s the lowest I’ve seen.
Equally important is wash performance – and here, too, this machine excels. Starting out on the 30ºC cotton wash, which used 0.589kWh of power and 41.2 litres of water, I saw that most of the stains on the test strip were gone. Starting from left to right, we have red wine, orange juice, ketchup, oil and gravy. At the end of the wash, the red wine stain was still quite visible, and there’s a faint outline of orange juice.
Thanks to the spin cycle, my clothing gained an additional 35.6% of weight in retained water, which is comparatively very low.
Moving to the Eco 40-60 wash, stain removal was even better. The red wine stain remains visible; this one is practically impossible to shift. The red flecks on the strip are where the strip itself had become wrapped up, and the ketchup stain has come off: a brush down was all that was needed to remove this.
Water retention was 42.3% of the original weight – which is good, but not exceptional. Still, slightly damper washing for such low running costs is a worthy trade-off in my opinion.
What’s particularly impressive about the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB is how quiet it is. I measured it at 56.3dB during the normal wash cycle, only jumping to a very quiet 60.1dB on the spin cycle. There was no movement through the washing machine’s body, either.
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Should you buy it?
If you’re after a quality washing machine that’s quiet in operation and uses few resources, this smart model is the cheapest to run that I’ve ever seen.
It’s quite expensive, and the app isn’t the best in the business. If you’re after a more budget washing machine then there are lots of alternatives available.
Final thoughts
Considering the quality stain removal, excellent build quality and the lowest running costs I’ve seen in a washing machine, the Bosch Serie 8 WAV28MH4GB is an excellent choice. It’s a high-end machine, so if your budget is tight, check out my guide to the best washing machines for alternatives.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every washing machine we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
We test compatibility with the main smart systems (HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, IFTTT and more) to see how easy each machine is to remote control. Smart washing machines only.
We test each machine with the same stains to see which ones are best at cleaning.
FAQs
You can use it with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant.
Yes, you can. It works with the Bosch Home Connect app.
You can fit up to 9kg of clothes in this machine.
Trusted Reviews Test data
Specs
Jargon buster
Alexa
Amazon's smart voice assistantGoogle Assistant
A voice assistant which is Google’s take on Amazon’s Alexa.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.