Verdict

Pros

• Ample basic programmes
• Great wash performance
• Simple to use, modern looks
• Efficient Super-Eco mode

Cons

• A little noisy for a £400 machine
• Full load spin only average

What is the Samsung WF70F5E0W4W?

The Samsung WF70F5E0W4W is a mid-range washing machine from Samsung offering Ecobubble wash technology that froths water, detergent and air together before injecting the mix into the wash — a feature Samsung claims penetrates your clothes better and allows you to use cooler temperatures, which saves money and is kinder on your clothes as a result. It’s a nice looking machine, too, and it has a vibrant LED display — a great feature for a machine that is available for under £400.

For smartphone users, Samsung’s Smart Washer app for both Android and iOS phones allows you to access the self-diagnostic Smart Check function and helps you sort out minor issues quickly. The 7kg load, 1400 spin, 12 programmes and A energy efficiency are all good headline figures and very similar to the Samsung WF80F5E0W4W 8kg model, which we also tested. Coming in at around £50 cheaper than the 8kg model, the Samsung WF70F5E0W4W could be a steal for those with smaller load wash requirements.

Samsung WF70F5E0W4W: What is it like to use?

Just like its larger capacity brother, this machine is a dream to use. Just choose the desired programme from a choice of 12, set the solid feeling illuminated dial and press start. The vivid LED display offers information such as countdown timer, temperature and spin speed, as well as offering extra feature options chosen by just lightly touching the surrounding buttons.

It’s a very simple machine to use, too. We do struggle to see why you might need to turn the Ecobubble feature ‘off’, but it’s nice that the options there. Conversely, it’s a godsend that you’re able to turn off the regular Samsung ditty that plays at the end of the cycle, which gives even hardened washing machine reviewers a nervous tick.

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Samsung WF70F5E0W4W: How noisy is it?

Not surprisingly the WF70F5E0W4W measured exactly the same as its slightly larger capacity brother and precisely as Samsung’s figures suggest.

This meant 62dB for washing and 79dB for full 1400 spin speed. These figures are good but not outstanding for noise for a mid-priced machine and we have tested less expensive models, such as the £399 Servis W818FLHd and even the £290 Beko WMB91442L, that are a little quieter. Indeed, the Beko is a full 10dB quieter during its spin cycle, though the Beko did suffer a slightly annoying ‘thump’ noise when initially getting up to speed, an issue the this Samsung doesn’t have.

Samsung WF70F5E0W4W: What programmes does it have?

The main 12 programs have a useful spread for most households along with a couple of nice to have touches such as the Outdoor Care programme. This programme is designed specifically for modern technical fabrics such as mountain wear, ski-clothing and materials such as spandex and Microfibre.

There are the regular cotton, synthetics, woollen and hand wash cycles and a baby care mode, which engages extra rinsing to ensure no detergent is left in the fabric after the wash. Samsung Stain Away programmes is designed to shift just the sort of challenging stains we put into our test strips and claims to remove the need for pre-soaking or pre-treatments to get rid of the stain.

Temperature, Spin Speed and the options for extra rinse or pre-soak can be manually adjusted for every programme. To top the programme list Samsung’s Super Eco mode uses a very low temperature wash to save water and electricity.

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Samsung WF70F5E0W4W: How well does it wash?

We ran three different wash cycles for our tests; a 40°C cotton wash with a 5.6kg (80%) full load at 1400 spin speed, a 40°C normal cotton wash with a 2.8kg (40%) load at 1400 spin speed and then the same wash but this time in Super Eco mode to see how much energy this mode could save. The Super Eco mode is limited to 1200 spin to save energy. We did not use the full 7kg load as using 80% is regarded as more realistic for day to day usage. We also included a test stain strip in the first wash, which was stained with dried-on ketchup, coffee, blood, red wine and engine oil and washed using a non-biological detergent.

Interestingly, we got much better ‘eco’ results in terms of energy used with the WF70 than with its bigger brother, indicating that the 7kg drum model might be the best optimised in the range.

Like the WF70’s bigger brother, wash timings were very variable. The first wash ran over by 13mins from the 2hrs 52mins indicated initially, the second wash was 44mins quicker than the 2hrs 52mins stated and the final Super Eco wash ran over by 27mins from the 1hr 57mins indicated. This sounds trivial, but it’s an annoying thing to deal with if you need to wait for a load to finish before leaving the house.

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Wash results were all but identical to the larger capacity WF80 machine, this Samsung turning in a very clean sheet on the test strip. The dirty engine oil hung in there tenaciously, with the merest hint of the red wine and coffee stains visible after the wash. This is a very good result for a machine at this price.

Two of the spin results were average with the first wash leaving 2.1kg (38%) and the eco wash suffering from not being able to have a 1200 spin so leaving 1.1kg (39%) of water. However, by far the best result was the half load standard cotton wash with a fabulously low amount of 0.5kg (18%) of water left. This is the best result that we have had to date and again indicated that the 7kg model is the standout version of Samsung’s WF range.

Samsung WF70F5E0W4W: How much will it cost to run?

Based on an average UK household use (200 x 40°C 80% max load and 40 x 40°C 40% half load with a 50/50 split on normal and eco programmes), the Samsung WF70F5E0W4W’s annual running cost is a happy budget £30.73, while standard mode figures are pretty close to the larger WF80 8kg machine, the WF70F5E0W4W’s Super Eco mode really was Super-Eco, using just 4p of electricity to complete a near 3kg wash load. Specific figures for power and water use are listed on the spec page.

Should I buy the Samsung WF70F5E0W4W?

The Samsung WF70F5E0W4W is the hot spot of Samsung’s already very good mid-priced washing machine range. It offers a good basic selection of programs and features, is simple to use and cost effective to run. While it lacks some of the wow-features of higher specification machines and isn’t the quietest on the market for its price, its excellent wash results and energy efficient Super-Eco mode make it a great buy.

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