Verdict

Pros

• Outstanding wash performance
• Excellent spin efficiency
• Super eco mode very effective
• Very quiet washing
• Easy to use
• 10-year motor guarantee

Cons

• Cotton half load not economical
• Porthole not as big as door
• Looks divide opinion

What is the Samsung WW80H7410EW?

Somewhere in the middle of Samsung’s comprehensive washing machine range is the WW80H7410, here in white but also available in stainless steel. This 8kg 1400rpm spin speed machine offers a wide door for easy loading and unloading, a low-noise digital inverter motor and Samsung’s innovative Ecobubble energy-saving technology.

A mix of rotary dial and LCD screen along with the bright blue door frame give the Samsung an ultramodern look that’s further enhanced by its curved lines and rounded corners. You get a plethora of programs, a silent wash mode for less noise, and smartphone app-based error monitoring, all adding up to a thoroughly modern washing machine that washes very well.

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Samsung WW80H7410EW — What’s it like to use?

Despite its high-tech blue LCD screen, this Samsung is actually easy to get to grips with in day-to-day use. Simply choose a program from the rotary dial, add option buttons beneath the display and press Start. The soap dispenser drawer is a traditional three-compartment pull-out design for wash and pre-wash powder, and fabric softener, while a circular flap at the bottom covers the debris filter.

The huge porthole door is a little misleading in that it’s considerably larger than the aperture itself. It’s still a very wide opening, though, and you can ram in a big duvet without needing a crowbar to get it through the door. Also, a clever dual-hinge design on the door means it opens very wide, so it won’t get in the way when you’re trying to stuff clothes into the machine. The outer plastic glazing on the door is tinted blue and interior drum lights give the whole appliance a very funky and contemporary look.

Samsung’s Ecobubble technology has already proven its worth on other models we’ve tested from this brand. It uses water and air to generate bubbles prior to entering the drum. This fizzy solution quickly dissolves and activates a detergent which better penetrates the fabric to help remove dirt and stains easily. Samsung claims it’s just as effective in cool water (15C) as it is on a Super Eco Cotton wash at 40C.

No Samsung washing machine would be complete without plenty of cutting-edge technology and the WW80H7410 offers just that. At its heart is a digital inverter motor that delivers outstanding energy efficiency, very low noise and long-lasting performance.

It’s a brushless design so it’s maintenance free, and comes with a 10-year guarantee on the motor. Should things go wrong with the machine you can use Samsung’s Smart Check function. Using a smartphone app that talks to the machine, this feature can troubleshoot simple problems to avoid unnecessary engineering callouts or give Samsung’s service department a heads-up on the trouble before they visit.

Samsung WW80H7410EW — How noisy is it?

Washing machines with double-glazed doors like the WW80H7410 tend to score well on washing noise, as the double-glazing effectively dampens the noise of the water and laundry sloshing around. Add to this Samsung’s high-tech digital motor and this was expected to be a very quiet machine.

Sure enough this Samsung scored spectacularly well on wash noise, generating just 52dB, and a respectable 74dB for the full 1400rpm action. These figures are exactly the same as Samsung claims in its literature and on the EU energy label, which is an unusual occurrence in itself.

The wash noise is particularly good in that 52dB is about the same sound as a fan running to cool you down in the summer and well below normal levels of conversation. The 74dB on spin is on par with most modern machines at this price point and not a great deal louder than an office environment.

Samsung WW80H7410EW — What programs does it have?

Samsung machines invariably offer a veritable cornucopia of programs and options, and the WW80H7410 is no exception. Top of the dial, and likely to be the most commonly used programs, are the Super Eco wash and the Cotton cycle. The Super Eco wash is the low-temperature Ecobubble program for maximum energy and water saving, and the Cotton program offers optimal performance with low energy for cotton items such as T-shirts, bed linen and shirts.

Traditional programs for woollens, delicates, and synthetics are all catered for, with a number of very specific, equally very useful, cycles available. These include Babycare, with high-temperature wash and extra rinses, Dark Garments, Outdoor Care, Sportswear, and a Fast Daily wash. The Stain Away program includes a soaking cycle to effectively remove stains from laundry and there’s a dedicated Bedding program for sheets and covers.

Do note that only the Cotton and Eco Cotton programs are designed to effectively wash the maximum 8kg load of this machine. Samsung recommends a half load or less, depending on program, for all of the other fabric-specific washes. In addition to a standalone Rinse and Spin option, there’s an Eco Drum Cleaner program to remove dirt and bacteria from the drum. Samsung recommends you run this every 40 washes or so.

In terms of options, there are Prewash, Intensive and Soak modes for particularly mucky laundry, a Quick Wash that promises to clean any 2kg load in about 15 minutes, and an Easy Care option that reduces the spin speed to 800rpm for fewer wrinkles in the laundry. All programs offer a preferred mode, Speed Eco or Silent, that changes the wash parameters and spin speeds accordingly.

There is a child lock, a setting to mute the beeps and jingles from the program controls and an option to turn the drum light on or off. You also get a Delay End option so you can end the cycle at a specific time. We think this is much better than a Delay Start, as the length of the washing cycle will vary depending on program and load.

Samsung WW80H7410EW — How well does it wash?

The WW80H7410 underwent our regular wash cycle test regime of a full-load Cotton wash, a 40% Cotton wash and also a half-load Super Eco wash. To replicate how most people load their machines we use 80% of the machine’s maximum stated capacity for full load and 40% for a half load, equating to 6.4kg and 3.2kg of dry washing respectively. A test stain strip went into the first wash, stained with dried-on ketchup, coffee, blood, red wine and engine oil. We loaded the WW80H7410EW with a leading brand of non-biological detergent and got down to washing.

Like many modern machines, don’t expect normal energy-saving washes to be done quickly with the Samsung. Our full-load Cotton wash took a lengthy 3 hrs 55 mins to complete, with the half-load Cotton cycle not much quicker at just over 3 hrs 36 mins. The hand-wash-temperature Super Eco wash was considerably quicker, although still clocked up well over two hours from start to finish. These figures are very similar to most A+++ energy-efficient machines we’ve tested.

Like all of the Samsung washing machines we’ve tested to date, cleaning performance is absolutely outstanding. Our test stain strip was cleaned exceptionally thoroughly with the five key organic stains removed completely, and even the difficult-to-shift dirty engine oil being reduced to a smudge. This is on par with the very best machines we’ve tried at any price point.

Our test strip before (above) and after

Spin efficiency was also exceptionally good. On the full load just 2.2 kg (34% of dry washing load) was left in the wash after the 1400rpm spin. The results were even better with the lighter half load, with both the Cotton and the Super Eco washes leaving exactly 1kg (31% of dry washing load) in the laundry after the spin. Interestingly, the Super Eco wash limits the spin speed to 1200rpm, which would indicate there isn’t a great deal of point in going faster for a half load with the Samsung. And with such good results on 1200, why would you want to?

Samsung WW80H7410EW — How much will it cost to run?

The main full load cotton wash used a frugal 1kWh of electricity almost exactly, which is about right for a 8kg machine with an A+++ rating and compares favourably with other premium large-capacity machines on the market. Water usage for this wash was 65.6 litres, again exactly what we would expect for a true A+++ machine. An all-round excellent result that will keep your annual running costs low.

Of the two half-load washes we had something of a split result. The half-load Cotton wash used almost exactly the same amount of electricity and water as the full-load wash on the same program and took very nearly as long doing it. This would suggest that if you’re going to stick to the Cotton wash program, it’s best to fully load your machine for the most energy- and resource-efficient wash.

We had a completely different and very positive result on the Ecobubble-fuelled Super Eco wash program. For the same half load of washing, this cycle used a fraction of the electricity of a full load at 40C and around two-thirds of the water consumption at just over 40 litres. As this wash cleans in pretty much the temperature of your inlet water without heating, this equated to 15C during our tests.

That is a very cool wash, which may put off users familiar with whacking up the temperature for a better clean. So we ran the cycle again with another test strip. The results were once again exceptional with the stain strip completely clean of food stains and only a shadow of the blood and engine oil remaining — better than most budget machines we’ve tested at 40C.

Our test results table is biased towards a full-load Cotton wash to make it directly comparable with all of the other machines we have tested on the same cycle. As such, we calculate the like-for-like running costs to be under £35 per year in electricity plus around 16m³ of water, which is very good.

However, given the fantastic energy savings the WW80H7410 offers in Super Eco mode, we’d be happy to recommend using this mode for all but the most heavily soiled laundry. The energy savings over the expected 10-year life of the machine will add up to hundreds of pounds in your pocket.

Should I buy the Samsung WW80H7410EW?

The WW80H7410EW is an excellent premium washing machine that’s either exceptional or at least very good in everything it does. The curvy high-tech looks might polarise opinion and the porthole isn’t as large as the door would suggest, but it’s easy to use once you’re familiar with its operation, and there is no arguing with its outstanding wash performance and incredible energy-saving Super Eco wash program.

While we’ve reviewed a few machines in this price bracket, few stand out quite as much as this Samsung. It lacks some of the finer points of really top-end machines, but it washes just as well and we’re very impressed with its improved Eco wash. If you’re happy spending a little more than ordinary then it should sit near the top of your shortlist.

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Verdict

An outstanding washing machine that’s very frugal, especially in its Eco mode.

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