Fisher & Paykel WashSmart WH8560P1 (8.5kg)

not working – door stays locked washing inside no matter what cycle you use it comes up with error 37 and the drum on spin cycle is out of balance.cannot access to get clothes out and machine is under warrenty but still waiting for a repairer to come out.paying the extra for 5 years was worth it as i got it in 2016 and its only 3 years old. Show details

My clothes are ruined. I'd give it a zero if I could! – I've had this machine for a little over 3 years and it has ruined so many clothes I've lost count. Bonds onsies, cotton underpants, bras, cotton jersey t-shirts and bed sheets are all quickly destroyed in this machine. Fabric gets stretched to the point of see-through, neck and leg binding is pulled irreversibly out of shape, holes follow and… Read more

sheets are rendered threadbare. I'm talking in a matter of weeks too! If you buy this machine get prepared to purchase new underpants every two months and replace almost your entire wardrobe every season. Even my husbands heavy cotton drill, extra tough work pants are damaged by this machine and need replacing or mending after 6 months (they used to last 3+ years in our old Fisher & Paykel top loader).

Not to mention how rough everything comes out of the machine, even using fabric softener (which the manual actually advises against). I CAN NOT let my towels dry on the line, lest they become cardboard and virtually crack upon folding. I have to put all my towel in the dryer so we can stand the fabric against our skin, which is a ridiculous waste of energy and money. I never had this problem with my old machine.

And wrinkles! You can't get away with not ironing with this machine no matter what function you use.

The wash cycle times displayed on the machine are both inaccurate and impractical for a family. I often have to leave the house with clothes still in the machine, even though I put the load on with enough time for it to be finished and hung out before I had to go. For example, a load that says it takes 59 minutes to complete might actually take 1.5 hours or more. Don't bother checking on the time remaining because it can display the same time, say 8 minutes, for 20-30 minute intervals.

The capacity is laughable. It is supposed to be 2 kg's larger than my old top loader but it holds less.

Cleaning it is a nightmare. They recommend you clean the filter once a month, but to do it you will need to lay flat on the ground, put towels on the floor to catch any water that spills, use a coin to open the door, put a slice pan or other shallow dish on the ground to syphon the wastewater into, then struggle to pull the filter out of it's socket and push it back in again without scraping the skin of your knuckles. It is a complete joke!

I will say it is quiet, it's helpful to be able to add things once the load has started, and it's also good (although necessary) to have long delayed start option (so you can get the machine started at 2am to ensure it's ready to hang out in the morning before you need to leave the house).

But, all in all, I hate this machine. It's done nothing but cost me money (clothes and clothing repairs) and waste my precious time since I got it. I expected so much more from a company that made a really great top loader.

Quiet & Cleans Well – This was our first front loader having used top loaders for 20+ years. We have had the machine for 3 1/2 years and with a household of 4 children & 2 adults average 10-12 loads per week. We haven't needed to call for a service at all during this period. All of the issues with the machine were caused by us (user error e.g. loose items being left in… Read more

the clothes, bobby pins, coins, hair ties etc.) causing blockages in the pump filter.

Pluses for the washer:

Super quiet from day 1 and still the same after 2000+ wash cycles

Has a good selection of wash cycles from heavily soiled (2 hrs) to a super quick 15 min cycle

Cleans clothes really well

You can add garments mid-wash

High speed spin gets clothes really dry (but can be a bit harsh on delicates & towels)

Has both a hot and cold inlet

Seems to use very little water and power

Have just replaced the drain pump (myself) - which has been the only service item

Super fast spares network - ordered 11am Monday - part arrived 9am the next day

Negatives:

Drain hose only on the right hand side

If you spin towels at 1400 rpm they can come out a bit on the rough side - slowing down to 800rpm stops this

A bit touchy on the pump filter smallest of items left in pockets etc will cause the unit to stop until cleared (error 37 message)

I would definitely recommend this if you find one on runout etc

Needs more washing cycles... then it'd get five stars – We've had our washing machine approaching a year, after our old machine finally gave up. This one does everything it can, in a very efficient AND super-quiet way; it's hard to hear, even on maximum spin speed. We have almost nothing to complain about how it does things but it could do with with more washing cycles and more rinse options,… Read more

especially with the short cycles, like in our old machine. It's very easy to clean the filter and the drum clean cycle is handy. One annoying thing and it's been noticed on several occasions, is for the machine to dwell on balancing its load, ad nauseum, on bulky loads - suddenly, the super-quick cycle is anything but. All in all, a very solid contributor

to our household.

Feb. 2017: This machine is still going strongly, with barely putting a foot wrong - a minor feet balancing adjustment fixed the increased spin-cycle vibration. It still needs more options on the quick cycles and simply more cycles but it's still very quiet (although not as much as when it was new). The clothes come out unscathed every time and even tissues left in pockets just ball up and leave no mess. A very good machine...

Great for small family – Very satisfied with the product and great package for small family Also very great if you want to wash your blankets/heavy loads. Highly recommended and appreciated. Little bit disappointed when put woolen cloths like sweaters, cardigans, jackets. Cause it not really squeeshing the water out from those type of clothes.  Show details

Best machine I’ve owned – I’ve had mine almost 4 years and it’s never missed a beat. It washes everything, even large bulky items brilliantly. It’s so quiet, you don’t even notice it’s running! The quick cycles are great if you’re in a hurry or have a smaller load. Everything comes out beautifully clean even on the quick cycles. Clothes dry really quickly thanks to the great spin cycle.  Show details

Aewsome – This thing has been given an absolute flogging since we bought it 3 years ago. It does 3 full loads a day every day as we have a king bed, queen bed and double bed, plus family members who play soccer and matial arts as well as tradesmen clothes. The place is like a professional laundry. Cleans well, has lots of options for loads, water levels… Read more

and clothing types. Gentle wash is very good for fragile fabrics. Runs very quietly. Definitely would recommend it.

Terrible Do Not Buy – This is supposed to be a large machine. It will not even wash one queen size sheet and a couple of pillowcases. Or 2 bath towels and one bathmat and a hand towel in one load.It forever beeps saying it is too full when it is not. It is a nightmare. It washes clothes on auto with the water not even covering the clothes which will shred them. I want to return this machine. It is 1 week old. A disgrace.  Show details

Avoid! – Have had two of these machines now. The first one failed after about 2 months. A major component broke loose inside during the spin cycle, denting the side of the cabinet as it flailed around! Terrible noise and vibration! The damage being irreparable the machine was replaced under warranty. Sadly after another 3 years the replacement machine… Read more

failed in exactly the same way. The machines received only light use and were never overloaded.

Prior to this we had very good experience with F&P clothes washers which is why we selected this machine, despite misgivings due to bad experience with an F&P dishwasher.

The dishwasher was replaced with a European model and we will be doing the same with the clothes washer.

Oh and don't bother contacting customer service. After collecting details of model, nature of failure etc for their records you will never hear from them again.

Never again F&P!!

Washed well and quietly, until the bearings disintegrated – Bought it as it was one of very few washing machines that could handle low water pressures, and has hot and cold water feed. It also has handy features such as delayed start, wool wash, add a garment and received positive feedback from the store. It washed very well, very quiet. Had to reduce the spin cycles to 800rpm as higher speeds require a… Read more

solid floor to stop it going walkabouts. After 2 years the washing machine started to make a squeaky sound which became increasingly louder when the drum rotates this led to eventually calling a technician. The washing machine was written off as the costs of repair were in excess of NZ$1100. It has done less then 100 washes in the 2y3m I had it. Thankfully I had been persuaded to take out an extended warranty.

Best washing machine Ive owned – This is a great machine. Its quiet, easy to use, got heaps of different programs for all your needs. It also has a hot water inlet incase you got free hot water from solar or something. If not you can just have the machine heat up the water as we do. Take your time when you set it up and make sure its lever otherwise it might walk away from you during spinning cycle.  Show details

Finally an excellent washing machine – Had years of hassle with various Whirlpool models, so I was nervous about yet another new washing machine. It's been almost two years and this one hasn't been the slightest problem, does what it needs to do, and keeps up with our very large household and daily washing. I like the options available, makes it easy to make sure each load is handled… Read more

exactly how it needs to be. No noticeable wear on the clothes, nice and quiet, and overall a really reliable and quality item. It's nice to get what you pay for sometimes.

Best machine I've owned – This is by far the best washing machine I've owned. It does a terrific job washing, be it clothes, towels, linen. The running noise of this machine is very quiet - ours is perfectly balanced so even on the fastest spin dry it is fairly quiet. Very easy to use menu on the front panel and the child lock is an absolute must for us  Show details

3 parts replaced not even 2 years old!! – Do not buy this washing machine!!! I have owned ours for not even 2 years and it has had the water pump replaced, suspension replaced and now a part in the motor replaced!!! Local repairer said they are made with cheap Chinese parts and does not recommend them!!! Stay away!! Fisher Paykel customer relations are totally useless. Couldn't care less!  Show details

Amazing washing machine – It cleans my clothes better than any other washer I've bought before. It's very quiet. I love how easy it is to use. It's easy to clean and wipe out. It looks great and is really economical to use. I would recommend this washer to anyone, in fact my mum bought the same one when I said how happy I am with mine.  Show details

Great Product, Very little noise and good results – It cleans really well to my standard and it's really quiet during the wash but get a little noisy during the rinsing cycle. I can even wash my big king size duvets in it. I also wash my wool duvets in it too. I have it for 2 years now and no problem so far. Very happy about the purchase.  Show details

Semi Happy Customer. Willing to endure, and hopeful of a positive outcome – I use cold water settings only and normally clothes are clean, however being a front loader I have found water traps inside the rubber seal ring and is subject to moldy smell. It appears to not wear out clothes but never consistantly satisfied with results of towels. Seems the rinse cycles aren't always good on towels. Within the first month of… Read more

use, at the beginning of any cycle, it was quiet but later started making a load buzzing vibration consistently for about a minute before it eases in to the wash cycle. It seems to cycle through OK if you don't think it's damaged and don't mind the noise. I have not used all cycles to effectively analyse if they work better. It spins at a very fast rpm for regular last spin cycle thus sounding like an over powered spin. Other spin cycles come out quite wet still, but that might be due to being more delicate on light fabrics but I suspect that should not be dripping wet. I do like the stop and add a garment and have used it a few times. The contact points for 'instructing the machine what to do' are very sensitive and a light brush past the them have triggered them to react and turn off the machine or it just triggers OFF on the movement making you think something has brushed against the pause button. So I just hit start again and it carries on. I haven't brought in a technician yet. However we Did purchase extended warranty. Its understandable that this model appears now as discontinued, too bad we weren't told that in January of 2015 when Harvey Norman sold it to us, but they likely didn't get the negative feedback anyway. In our case we are fortunate we DID buy the extended warranty. We hope they restore it to optimal function, if they can't due to poor design and digital features and internal programming, I hope they honor the warranty and stand good to the positive reputation Fisher & Paykel wish to represent. I'm sure if you are honest with the people you work with, they will honor warranties and do their best to resolve the problem. Semi Happy Customer. Willing to endure, and hopeful of a positive outcome. Still liking having a nice new washer, hopeful for a longterm relationship with it's function. :)

Disappointed, to say the least – We bought this washing machine knowing how reliable Fisher and Paykel are. My parents have fridges and washing machines that have lasted decades, this thing however, has been a nightmare. In the 2nd month of owning the machine it flooded. We had just renovated our kitchen and dinning room, the flood was big enough it seeped onto our newly laid… Read more

wooden floors. It's flooded on 3 separate occasions, eventually we were told to only use a 'sparing' amount of washing powder (roughly a table spoon), as using the detergents recommended dose was causing the flooding (never a problem we had with any other washing machine we owned).

Now our clothes smell musty and don't feel very clean. It's been a nightmare really. We have 3 kids (a newborn at the time), we were in the middle of renovations and the last thing we needed was a unreliable and destructive washing machine. Sad times.

Very Unhappy – Washing machine only 2 yrs olds and just out of warranty when e709 error came on machine. Contacted Fisher and Paykel and they were clueless, told me to ring a service tech. Going to cost over $400 to fix. Washing machine should last longer than 2 yrs especially with how expensive they are. Don't just go by peoples reviews who have only had their machines for 6mths etc. Do your homework, I don't want others in our position!  Show details

Very annoyed. Waste of money – Bought this model for $1,000 from Harvey Norman in WA 15 months ago and broke down yesterday mid cycle. Makes a very loud drill-like noise. Had to drain hose before I could open the door and remove the clothes. Now waiting for repairs next week. So disappointed after I spent a long time researching to find the right machine. Bought this model… Read more

after reviews here. So disappointed. You would expect a machine which cost so much to last longer than 15 months. My previous machine, which was nowhere near as sophisticated, lasted 11 years and survived four house moved including interstate.

Happy Purchase – Bought the WH8560P1 8.5kg Front Load Washing Machine last October 2015 and have been very pleased with the performance of the machine so far. It is very silent, and it produces a great wash, fresh and clean. I love the feature of being able to stop and pause to add a garment that we missed after starting the wash cycle. It does spin perhaps a bit too high for towels. But otherwise, have not been disappointed.

Perplexed – I bought my machine in Oct 2015. It has been great. It is now flashing to remind us to do a Drum Clean. I tried to do this today but the washing machine says E 7:00 & it is beeping. Not sure what this means and why the machine won't do the Drum Clean.  Show reply

Disappointed – When we purchased our new machine nothing was mentioned of needing a stacker to fit our fisher and paykel dryer on top. This is our 4th front loader (none of them a fisher and paykel) and never had any problems sitting our dryer on top of the machine even mismatched brands.

Quite and water efficient but not for towels – This machine is very quite and uses hardly any water but, my towels are totally destroyed. I have tried using less detergent. I have tried a different spin. I have tried putting less in the wash. Nothing changes, my new towels are wrecked. Very disappointing as otherwise a good machine.

Not Happy Jan – I dont normally write appliance reviews but felt compelled to this time as this is my first and LAST front loader. I am extremely disappointed in this machine. I read all the great reviews before buying it and have to ask what happened? Yes i can add a sock to it if i need, yes it is fairly quiet but my towels come out as rough as sandpaper even… Read more

with softener and as for the wrinkle free setting, that is a joke. My clothes have never been more wrinkled. I am ironing more now than ever. As for my back...Biggest regret. Wish Id never bought it but it looks like Im stuck with it as i only bought it 4 months ago and cant afford to buy a different one.

excellent wash time of cycle inaccurate – Washes well. Sometimes noisy on full spinning speed and sometimes vibrates Definitely inaccurate estimated cycle times. Always keeps revolving at either 11 or 7 minutes to go and after 10 to 15 minutes decides to Spin. Don't like this sensory mode as technician explained it's normal for this to happen

Love it! My first front loader – Cleans and washes clothes very well, not as tough on clothes as my old top loader, very quiet, favourite features are able to add items once started, this was the only front loader I found that had a hot water tap. Others all heated The water and this washer does both options!!!

incorrect information – The only thing that i am disappointed in, is that the time they give per cycle is incorrect. It actually takes longer than the time given per cycle, eg when I use the 59min cycle and when i use my other washing machine at the same time which is over an hour, it finishes before the 59min cycle. How do you explain that?

Love Our New Washing Machine! – I bought this washing machine about 4 weeks ago after our 5-year-old Electrolux died. :( I love how easy this washing machine is to use and it has all the wash cycles I need and does a brilliant job. I can run it at night time and it is super quiet and does not disturb sleeping kids. The only complaint I have about this machine, if you can even… Read more

call it a complaint is that the beeping when the wash is finished is a little too quiet but I do love that the machine turns itself off when it is finished. I am extremely happy with my purchase.

Great machine glad we bought it – We bought this machine 3 weeks ago after our old F&P died a slow death ..initially the monitor played up and then the spin cycle and finally the motor. It was only 8 years old - F&P technician came out and the cost to repair was half the price of a new one. We went for another F&P on advice of reviews and also sales people and we are very happy… Read more

with it. It's quiet and efficient. Minimal water use. I use the everyday and short wash cycles frequently with small kids clothes and they come out brand new. Only negative is the spin is very high so have had to reduce it for dark colours to avoid it ruining clothes due to excess spin and the wash hose is short. The 8.5kg is massive but appears to be efficient. Highly recommend it.

Outstanding product – This washing machine is wonderful. It has many different wash settings ranging from a super quick 15 minute wash if you need something in a hurry, to a bulky load for bedding, towels etc. This is the quietest machine I have owned with 4 and a half star water rating and a 4 star energy rating. I think this product would suit anyone.

So far so great! – Bought a 6 weeks ago based on good reviews. Spent a little more for a larger 8.5kg model. Has been fantastic so far. Never had a front loader until now. I can't speak for all front loaders but I don't think we'll ever go back to a top loader. Our old top loader (also F&P) lasted over 15 years and when the water pump finally gave out we thought… Read more

it was time to give front-loaders a try. We're not committed to any brand and were actually a little dubious about F&P since we'd heard they had gone down hill a bit over the years.

But just wow, we are so impressed! It installs easily. It cleans brilliantly and yet so gentle on the clothes! Less lint, less fluff, better clean overall. It is so amazingly quiet I can actually walk through the laundry and not realise it is on. You'll get the odd clank of a button on the drum and that's about it. The only time we hear anything really is when it is filling with water (house plumbing mostly) and on the spin cycle.

The spin cycle is awesome! The higher spin speeds means your clothes come out dryer so it there is less drying time and less time in the dryer (which we use only if in a hurry). Our machine was installed properly level on a tiled floor with no extra mats or rubber feet and we've not experienced any "helicopter" issues with noise or vibrations at all. The machine does build up an audible hum during this cycle but it seems solid and it's magnitudes quieter than our old machine and well worth it for the results.

The load size seems about the same as our top loader which was rated smaller (7.5kg) so we're glad we got the bigger one. We don't stuff clothes in it and they collapse down to about 50% full when wet so maybe it is just that. Watching it work though it seems happy having some "tumble room".

The controls are easy enough to use and being able to pause it to throw in a hiding sock is great. The selection of cycles is quite good but the interface does lack some flexibility. I've noticed that once you choose an option from the main knob then you can't bump up some of the settings (though you can lower them). So for example if you're washing light fluffy blankets choose the "bulky" option but want to put the spin speed up higher than 800 it won't let you. I understand this may be trying to be helpful, and makes more sense when it does this on the "no iron" or "delicates" settings... but we figure light fluffy blankets are safe at high spin speeds and won't crease anyway. In any case this is a very minor gripe and probably safest for users that don't know much about washing machines.

I haven't checked the bills yet but specs tell us its going to be much cheaper to run too! If this machine goes the distance we will be more than happy with our purchase. If it doesn't I'll be back to post an update to the review.

Thank you Product reviewers – My years old front loader Maytag (which replaced an older Fisher and Paykel top loader which was a distaster) needed replacing. Instinctively ruled out F+P and looked at Bosch (like their products) and Miele but was surprised by the not so good reviews and put off by their high prices. So looked at literally every washing machine on Product Review… Read more ·  1

and to my surprise this one came out on top not only on performance but more so for the price.

It's super quiet and so water efficient at times I was not sure it was even switched on. Had it 5 months with no mishap when it suddenly stopped working and I thought "oh no the pump has carked it". Remembered 1 reviewer commenting on the "coin drain feature" (I rarely read manuals) a little door at the bottom right of the machine, checked and there was a small piece of clothe stuck in the system. Pulled it out and it's back to being perfect.

I was surprised by the recent bad reviews (I purchased before they were online) but Appliancesonline delivered, unpacked, did a level check and did a test run for me as my laundry floor is slightly sloping and it has worked absolutely perfectly. Maybe bad installations?

Now looking at replacing my 15 year old Maytag fridge and thanks to Product Reviews buying a Mitsubishi 562L fridge, the only product on Product Review where all 25 contributors have given 5 stars.