Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK Review
Gentle, low-cost drying
Verdict
With its A+++ rating, the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK proved cheap to run in all of my tests, and it was gentle on clothes, too. Simple to use with lots of programmes available on the front dial, this tumble dryer does everything you need; plus, it has some nice touches, including an auto-cleaning bottom filter to reduce the amount of regular maintenance you need to do.
Pros
- Self-cleaning bottom filter
- Very low running costs
- Gentle on clothes
Cons
- No light in drum
Availability
- UKRRP: £839
Key Features
- CapacityTakes up to 9kg of wet washing.
Introduction
Who said that tumble drying had to be expensive? With the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK, you get an A+++ rated tumble dryer that sips electricity while looking after your clothes.
With its large 9kg capacity and clever features, including a self-cleaning bottom filter, this tumble dryer has it all.
Design and features
- Lots of programmes
- Self-cleaning bottom filter
- Clever drum design
Whirlpool doesn’t have a smart app for this tumble dryer, so instead puts everything you need on the front panel. I don’t see that as a problem: smart apps are useful for notifications and for downloading special programmes, but I find that I don’t use them very often, preferring to set my tumble dryer manually.
Here, the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK has everything laid out in a neat and easy-to-understand way. All of the basic programmes you need are selectable via the programme dial in the middle of the control panel, which covers all of the standard options, plus special programmes that include drying cycles for wool, duvets, jeans and shirts.
Once you’ve selected a programme, the LCD shows how long it will take. This figure is revised during drying, as the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK uses its 6th Sense technology to detect how dry washing is.
For each mode, I could override the target drying level with iron, hanging, cupboard and extra dry options available. It’s also possible to set a hard drying time in increments of 10 minutes, but I find that only really useful if a slightly damp item just needs an extra bit of drying. Otherwise, it’s more energy efficient to let the tumble dryer turn off when it’s done.
Other cycle options include a Gentle option that reduces the drying temperature, and Anti Tangle that varies the drum movement to stop larger items from twisting. That’s also helped by the smart drum design, where the rim has blocks pointing in different directions to help tumble clothes gently and efficiently.
There’s also a FreshCare+ option. Turn this on, and at the end of the cycle, the drum will move occasionally, and fresh air is passed over your clothes to keep them fresh if you can’t unload the dryer immediately.
As this dryer can take 9kg of wet clothes, the drum is massive, paired with an equally-as-large porthole. Loading up with my test clothes was no problem. I would have liked a light inside the machine to make it easier to see, particularly for emptying.
At the end of a drying cycle, the water tank must be removed and emptied. As with most tumble dryers, this sits where the detergent drawer is on a washing machine. Alternatively, the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK can be plumbed into a drain.
There are two filters on this machine, but you only need to manually empty the pull-out lint filter, located at the bottom of the porthole. I found this very easy to remove and clean, as it’s a two-part filter, with an inner and outer component.
As for the bottom filter, don’t worry. This machine has Whirlpool’s Auto Cleaning feature, so the filter is handled automatically for you. That’s the same technology as on the Hotpoint NDD 8636 DA UK (a sister brand), and is as brilliant here as it was on the Hotpoint machine.
The only thing the Hotpoint dryer has is a Daily drying programme for small amounts of tumble drying, which isn’t an option here.
Performance
- Very low power usage
- Drys effectively
To see how well the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK performed, I put it through my standard tests. First, I started with my normal washing load and used the Eco option to test out the Cupboard Dry mode. Here, a cycle cost just 26p, with my clothes coming out with 97.66% of the water removed. That’s enough water gone that my clothes could be folded and stored.
Not overdrying clothes is a very good thing to have in a tumble dryer: the lint filter wasn’t overly filled, showing that this tumble dryer is kind to clothes, too.
With the Hanging Dry option, the cycle cost was reduced to just 17p, with 93.63% of the water removed. That’s a good result, as while the clothes have a very slight damp feel to them, they’ll finish drying quickly and naturally when hung up. For the likes of shirts, trousers or even gowns, cutting running costs and finishing off naturally can save a lot of money over a year.
For slightly musty-smelling clothes, there’s a refresh option that costs just 1p to run. This takes 20 minutes and passes fresh air through clothes. For clothes with a strong odour, a steam refresh cycle on a washing machine is better, but for clothes you’ve had in storage for a while, this refresh mode is a quick way to breathe new life into them.
Tumble dryers are more efficient when run at a full load. Here, the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK costs 56p to run a full 9kg cycle to cupboard dry. Assuming that the average amount of tumble drying in the UK is 960kg, this tumble dryer could do all that in 106.67 loads. That’s a total running cost of just £59.48 per year, making this one of the cheapest tumble dryers I have ever reviewed.
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Should you buy it?
Affordable to run: If you want a large tumble dryer that’s kind to clothes and cheap to run, then this is an excellent choice.
No smarts: If you want something cheaper or a machine with a smart app, then you might want to look elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
If you want a quality tumble dryer that doesn’t cost much to run, the Whirlpool W6 D94WR UK is an excellent choice. Kind on clothes, easy to use and super efficient, it does everything you want from a quality tumble dryer, and it even auto cleans the bottom filter to reduce the amount of daily maintenance.
Backed with a two-year warranty for parts and labour, and a ten-year parts guarantee, you can buy with the knowledge that your product is backed up by quality support.
If you’re after something cheaper or different, check out my guide to the best tumble dryers.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every tumble dryer 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 tumble dryers only
We test with the same sets of clothes for each machine, run through a cycle on our test washing machine, so we can compare energy costs and drying performance between tumble dryers
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FAQs
This tumble dryer can take 9kg of wet clothes.
No, it is controlled via its front panel only.
No, this tumble dryer has a self-cleaning bottom filter.
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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.
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.
