Haier HWF85AN1 (8.5kg)

I purchased this washing machine from Harvey Norman during a promo period which gave the buyer an Activ e-gift card as a cash back option. My purchase entitled me to a $100 e-gift card. So, I go online and register my details, I get approved for the gift card and then get an email from Haier promotions saying - “gift card may take up to 45 days to… Read more

arrive in your email, keep checking your spam folder” [Content Removed]? I purchased an e-gift card for a nephew and it arrived within 2 hours of the transaction being completed, so where and why is the delay of 45 days occurring?? I emailed Haier promotions asking for this to be looked into and got the same bland response back from customer service. “This can take 45 days to process, please check your spam folder” If you’re thinking of purchasing during the promotional period, think again. Worst customer service experience I’ve had. How on earth does it take 45 days to process something I’ve already paid for?

Disappointing quality and expensive repairs! – I purchased this Haier washing machine 14 months ago, and the edge of the door seal has already ripped, causing leaks. Despite being under warranty, I was told that door seals are excluded, as they are considered “user error.” It was suggested that dragging clothes out of the machine or improper handling (e.g., by children) might be to blame.… Read more

However, this is a single-user machine, and I’m certain my handling of washing machines hasn’t changed in the last six years. Isn’t the door designed to help remove clothes?

For comparison, my previous front-loader was a second-hand Samsung I bought for $250, and it lasted five years second hand without any seal issues or similar problems. This Haier machine cost $750, and the repair work and labor for the seal amounted to about 46% of the purchase price.

If Haier has any confidence in their products, they should at least offer a goodwill warranty free of charge for at least the first two years. At the very least, when the part fails—because let’s be honest, it will—you should clearly inform the customers of the repair costs for the next visit and expected longevity of the replacement. This would allow me to make an informed decision about whether to proceed with the repair or start shopping for a more reliable machine.

For $750, I expected far better quality and customer service. This has been a complete waste of money, and I’ll never buy a Haier product again. I’ll save myself the frustration and invest in something dependable—like Samsung.

Great quiet machine – This machine replaced a bosh. I do love this one, it’s smaller on the outside and bigger on the inside. Quiet. Smooth. I can choose exactly how I want to wash my clothes. Quick, speed up or a soak. Honestly I really did not expect a great machine but it is. I can also add a sock if I’m quick enough.

Chomping machine – This time last year I wrote a review having only had the machine a month saying how good it was. Well a year on the machine has cost me more than it’s worth to replace clothing etc not to mention the water bill rewashing because of the putrid smell it’s putting in my washing!! Show details

Very good washer for the price – (Ambassador Program Review) Since taking delivery, I have run this washer intensively through a month’s worth of our family washing. My recommendation to a friend would be: Excellent value if you’re working to a budget as the washer offers the customisability and program options of more expensive alternatives. BUT: 1. Check the drum size against… Read more ·  1

your current washer. You may need to opt for a larger washer or be prepared to wash more frequently. 2. Check that the programs suit your lifestyle requirements. 3. Be very sure you can live with its quirks before buying. (Scroll down for my Likes / Dislikes list). 4. WIFI Connectivity is very basic, but should improve over time.

CONTEXT For context, we are a family of 3 – mum with 2 adult WFH children – with a lifestyle that generates a fair amount of light washing. The kids tend to fling most things into the wash after one wear. The dirtiest laundry I would deal with are sweaty gym clothes, grass-stained gardening clothes, and dinner placemats and kitchen tea towels which are easily laundered clean with the help of spray on stain removers when needed. We also have a 3-laundry hamper system for darks, colours and whites to pre-sort laundry before washing. Each hamper equals 1 full load and are washed generally in cold water. In addition to the usual towels and bedding, we also have a fair amount of 100% merino wools and pure mulberry silks that are washed separately. Then, there’s the washing for the pets – mats, throws, dog clothes etc.

CONTROLS Working the controls was intuitive and the display panel large and easily readable. Press the power button, then turn the knob to choose the program (Cotton, Synthetics, Towels etc) and customise by pressing the option names (Temp, ECO, etc). Each choice lights up with a ding which I found extremely irritating. Unfortunately, you can have either multiple dings or no dings. I turned off the dings. Then, forgot several loads as there’s no audible indicator that the load is done. I turned the dings back on.

PROGRAMS On first read, the manual seems clear and easily understandable. Offering 12 customisable programs is impressive at this price point, but the manual was vague e.g. - Delicate: “delicate laundry & silk”. Does this include wool? I suppose so. - Bulky: “cotton / synthetic”. Like what? - Durable: “cotton / synthetic”. Examples? - Downloaded: “cotton / synthetic. Huh?

THE WASH My first wash was a load of coloured garments of mixed materials. To my surprise, I could not get my regular load in. The drum was full!

For the load of mixed colours, the best program choices were Cotton or Synthetics, with no option of Mix. After consulting the manual, I chose Synthetics as the description said, “synthetics or mixed fabric”, turned the temp down to cold and the spin speed up to 1400. The readout showed Auto (manual pg 13), meaning the weight recognition sensed the load was lighter than the max of 8.5kg for the program chosen and would automatically adjust energy, water and washing time to suit.

What I noticed immediately was the noise. While the actual wash and spin noise levels were like my old front loader (FL), the Haier emitted loud gulping, gurgling, thunking when filling, draining or changing processes. (Both children commented on the noise at different times, so it was not only me!) The load took 50 minutes. The clothes were clean and smelt fresh when dried, as expected.

Time and again, what was my “full load” wouldn’t fit into the Haier. It’s great that the Auto feature would adjust energy, water and washing time, but it meant I had to wash extra loads. Exasperated, I finally hunted down a tape measure and measured the drum in the Haier and that in my old FL. Both were the same diameter at 49 cm. In terms of depth, the Haier was 33 cm, my old FL 37 cm. A quick google revealed the difference in volume at 8L. (For comparison, a rectangular squeeze mop bucket holds 9L.) Yet the Haier is an 8.5kg machine to my 8kg FL.

The different programs were generally appropriate to our laundry needs as I could customise where the presets did not suit. Delicates could be further customised in temp and spin speeds for loads of wool vs silk, for example.

My main complaint here is the volume of the drum. With the recommended 6 inches of free space between the load and drum top (pg 15 in the manual), nearly all my wash loads are Auto sensed as 'low loading' i.e. below the max weight of the chosen programs.

REFRESH I was super interested in this and wanted to know how it works. In the Programmes table on pg 12, Refresh was listed with a 1 kg max load for both cottons and synthetic but with nothing else, no temperature, detergent, spin etc. There was a reference to note 3 which stated the items must be dry, and to “use soft cloth to protect the embroidery and decorations on the clothing surface” (Huh?! How?), “do not spray perfume, freshener, etc.” Also “single care is recommended for best results” meaning, I suppose, 1 item of clothing despite the max load of 1 kg.

I googled for the Haier website. There it stated: “The Refresh cycle uses ultrasonic technology to release steam into the drum, reducing odours and wrinkles in even the most delicate fabrics.” Reducing wrinkles! We were all excited at the thought of not having to iron!

First item I tried was my daughter’s clean but creased linen summer dress. After 18 mins, the dress exited cool, and slightly damp with no change to the wrinkles. In the second trial, my son popped in 2 short-sleeved clean but creased cotton summer shirts which had been stored away over winter. After the 18-minute Refresh cycle, both emerged slightly damp but just as wrinkled. Disappointment all round! The steam released seems to be the cold steam that ultrasonic diffusers release. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any items with odours that we could try out in the Refresh cycle.

WiFi CONNECTIVITY What a let down!

Downloading the app and registering etc was not difficult, just annoying e.g. in my password manager, the app and password was saved under geappliances. No wonder I had trouble finding it.

After loading the wash, I thought I could then control everything else via the app. Nope!

Choosing the program and options must all be done physically on the machine. THEN you must turn on the wifi remote control by pressing Speed Up + ECO. All that the app does is allow you to turn the washer on and off remotely, tell you how long the wash will take, and the end time. Plus it will note statistics like how many cycles you’ve used …not something I want to track.

All I can say is: What an unnecessary complex way for delayed start that has to be turned on MANUALLY at the time you want the wash to start. Sigh! So, I will need to set an alarm to remind me to open the geappliances app to manually turn on the washing machine. Better than no remote on/off, I suppose.

Any hopes of using the app as an easy way to access the manual also disappeared. Pressing user guides lead you to a generic web page where you need to enter details of your appliance.

SUMMARY Well after a solid month of washing, I can say my likes and dislikes can be summarised as:

LIKES: - Price – value for money at this price point for range of programs and customisability to choose temperature, spin speed and options like Soak, Speed Up or ECO. - 15 min Express cycle. - Auto load sensing – adjusts energy, water and washing time to suit. - Favourite – ability to save favourite options by pressing Soak + Sanitise. - Refresh – would be useful for getting rid of odours in clothes that had been stored away between seasons.

DISLIKES: - No pause-to-add option for “forgotten” items. (Manual says to stop program, drain and start all over again) - No delayed start on machine. - Can't see full wash program components at a glance eg temp, spin speed, how long the wash would take. - Drum volume is small. - Annoyingly loud dings – only choice is all On or all Off. - 15 min Express cycle’s very low 1 kg load - Door does not open 180 degrees.

All in a good machine for the price.

A great washer that meets the needs of modern life – First impressions are that this is a good-looking washer as far as washers go. Not that looks are the only factor when choosing a washer – it is however great to have something that looks the part in the laundry. The design is modern and stylish and is not overdone with buttons like some washers are. The model described here is a 2021 release –… Read more

the HWF85AN1 – this is an 8.5 kg capacity front loading washer, which is the middle size of three similar washers. The smaller version is 7.5 kg and the larger is 9.5 kg.

The unit is quite heavy, weighing in at approximately 70 kg – which is not a bad thing, but good – it means the unit is robustly built and is less likely to drift from its position when operating.

Removal of the washer from the packaging is simple. It is important to read the supplied user manual to ensure that the unit is unpacked and prepared correctly. Not an onerous task; however, it is important to remove the transit bolts from the rear of the unit. These bolts fix the internal washer drum, so it does not bounce around when in transit. If not removed the washer would not be able to operate. There are four of these that are easily removed with a spanner. It is important to keep these bolts in a safe place as they should be replaced if the washer is moved from the premises i.e. for when you move house, otherwise damage could occur.

The user manual states that the four holes remaining after the bolts are removed should be plugged with the plugs provided with the washer. There are five plugs provided, which seems as though there is an extra provided. However, there is another hole which looks the same as the bolt holes and is designed to fit the plug. Although the manual states nothing about this hole it is obvious that the extra plug is for it. The washer only requires a cold-water connection. A hot water connection is not required as the washer will heat its own water to the required temperature. The washer is an inverter model, which means it can adjust its energy use to suit the load conditions. It has a standard wastewater hose like other washers and the electrical cord is of a sensible length for easy and practical installation into any standard laundry.

The door handle is molded into the washer door and there is a marking to indicate its location on the door. This does not sound like a big deal, but there are washers and dryers out there that do not have a logically placed or identified door handle. Opening the door is not too hard but still feels secure and not flimsy – it does not feel like it could ever pop open during a wash cycle. A part of this is attributed to the door’s metal latch – there are many appliances that have plastic latches that start off okay, but eventually break as the plastic ages and through repetitive use. It is expected that a metal latch would be stronger, more durable and contributes to the robustness of the machine. A machine is usually only as good as its weakest link, and it is a good move by Haier to not scrimp on the door latch. One of the reasons why the washer looks stylish is the use of touch sensor buttons. There are no mechanically operated buttons that can jam or break. The use of touch sensor buttons means there are no moving parts to the switch or gaps around the buttons. Such gaps can allow moisture and dirt to accumulate – if it doesn’t damage the machine, it will ultimately look dirty and be harder to clean than the smooth surface created by the touch sensor buttons. There is a large dial located on the right-hand side of the programme panel. This dial can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to select wash programmes. This is a logical layout which allows the user to scroll through and select out of 12 programmes. All of the available programmes are listed in two rows on the control panel – the selected programme is identified by a small blue light next to the programme title. Above the programme rows is a row of touch sensor buttons for various functions or options that can be applied to the wash programmes.

The washer beeps when you turn the dial between programmes and also when buttons are pressed. The washer plays a little tune when you start a wash cycle and a longer tune when it finishes.

Each of the programmes are preset, which makes it simple to commence a wash cycle, particularly for everyday clothing. However, the various functions or options allow some of the aspects of each of the preset programmes to be customised - such as the spin speed, temperature, how long you want to soak the load, and/or the sanitisation option to be added if not already included in the programme. It also allows you to reduce or switch off a particular aspect - such as reducing the spin speed or changing to a cold wash. The washer has many of the usual programmes that you would expect to find on most other washers. However, it has extra features and options such as an allergy programme. This programme heats up the water to 90 degrees Celsius to destroy allergens. This is a great feature due to the ever-increasing sensitivity and allergies being experienced by many people.

The washer also provides a sanitise option to most of the programmes, which is also a great inclusion, particularly in our current Covid-19 world. This washer is great for busy people who are time poor. It has an “Express 15” programme - this is great if you are limited in time, only have a few things to wash and those items are not too dirty. It is Important to note that this programme requires the use of less detergent as this is not a normal wash, which is a good thing. It should be noted that this advice is provided in the user manual, therefore, it is important that the manual is read before using the washer, as the washer itself does not offer any warning on this requirement. Some of the programmes state “Auto” when selected. Although one would expect that this means that the wash cycle is automatic and requires no more intervention from the user – and one would be correct – it also means that the washer will adjust its cycle automatically based on the wash cycle load. In other words, the washer actually weighs the load and determines the appropriate energy, water and washing time. When a program with the auto weight is activated, it is noticeable at the start of the cycle that the washer is checking the load – however, it would have been great if it could display the weight of the load to get a feel for how much a typical load should weigh - perhaps something Haier could consider for future models. The washer also has a “Refresh” programme. This is a steaming function which is great for refreshing dry clothing. It is used to remove odours and to remove crinkles from clothing – great for those shirts with creases that just won’t iron out. This is not for multiple garments but for single applications. It should be noted that it uses steam only and does not actually wash the items. The “Speed up” option is great - by pressing this, the length of the wash cycle can be reduced. Great if you need to go somewhere and have underestimated the length of the normal program. The washer provides the opportunity of saving programmes that have been customised through the various functions and options. This is done by pressing and holding two buttons for three seconds – in this case the “Soak” and “Sanitise” buttons. It should be noted that the markings on the washer control panel are easy to understand, indicating what combinations of two buttons are to be pressed to activate additional functions. However, there is a symbol on the panel which is also activated by pressing two buttons simultaneously that is not mentioned in the manual – this involves the “Sanitise” and “Speed Up” buttons. It is not clear what the symbol is referring to; however, one would expect that ongoing use of the machine and its various functions will eventually reveal its purpose (unless Haier can provide an addendum or update to their user manual).

The washer can also be locked by pressing and holding another combination of two buttons for three seconds. The lock mode ensures that all buttons become disabled – this is great if there are toddlers who you would not want to touch the machine. The washer has been used with business shirts, jeans, t-shirts, underwear, socks, bed linen and towels – this being a typical load of washing done in this household. The results have been good, particularly with the spin cycle, which has left the clothes only slightly damp, and thus reducing the time it takes to dry the clothes.

One particular load of washing involved bed linen that was stained with blood from a blood-nose. Although the stain was not entirely removed, the results from the washer were more than one would expect for such staining.

A merino wool and cashmere jumper has been washed using the delicate cycle with adjustments to the temperature and spin cycle – the temperature was reduced to a cold wash to prevent any shrinkage and the spin speed was reduced to 400 RPM to limit the stress on the garment. The results were excellent. The video that accompanies this review shows the jumper being washed.

The sanitisation option and the allergy programmes have been used on neck gators, which are being worn over the face when outdoors during spring, to reduce breathing in pollen. The sanitisation option has been effective with fishing clothing which are stained with baits and fish blood and guts.

The “Refresh” programme has been useful for some business shirts that have creases that are almost impossible to remove. This is a great feature that reduces the frustration with ineffective ironing and can be used to assist this situation.

An exciting feature of the washer is the fact that it is Wi-Fi enabled. There is an App called SmartHQ, which is used with Haier and Fisher & Paykel appliances. The App is easy to install with step-by-step prompts in the App. The App is somewhat simple and does not provide many options; however, it is useful for monitoring a programme while it is running and provides some information on how many washes have been completed over a period. A great aspect to the App is that it will send you a notification on your smart phone that a wash cycle has completed, allowing you to be away from the washer to do other things. The washer can be started remotely from the App; however, it requires the activation of the washer’s remote access mode by simultaneously pressing two buttons on the washer. When in remote access mode, it locks the door. The App then only allows the starting of the wash cycle together with information regarding the programme that is selected. There is still more work to be done to the App to make it truly remote, however, I would expect that this is under development and will improve greatly in the future.

The App has highlighted that the duration of some programmes are actually longer than stated. This becomes obvious on the App as it displays the expected finish time and there have been times when the finish time has extended by up to 12 minutes. Although the washer has a “Speed up” function that can be used to compensate for duration over-runs on some wash cycles, it would be better if the cycle times were slightly more accurate. Having said this, it is understood that this is an inverter model, and the wash cycle is probably being automatically adjusted to suit the conditions identified during the wash cycle to produce the best results. This is a great washer that meets the needs of modern life – that is, it can express wash or accelerate a wash cycle when people are busy, it can refresh clothing instead of washing every time, it can deal with allergens and can sanitise in a Covid-19 world. Being Wi-Fi enabled makes this washer exciting and remotely accessed. Its affordable price in the vicinity of $700, makes it one of the best featured and value-for-money washers available.