Review: Electrolux 700 SteamCare (EWI774EY6Q)

It’s a real big machine we’ve been supplied with for this test. That is, the cabinet is actually average in size, but the drum is huge.

Even the contents of our most stuffed laundry basket can easily fit inside, and there’s still room for more clothes. Perfect if you have a couple of teenagers in the house or a lot of kids to look after. Or a large wardrobe and a laundry day every three weeks. You can probably think of more examples yourself.

The point is: This machine is for those who want to get a whole load of laundry done in one go.

Nifty gadgetry

We’ve tested quite a few tumble dryers in our household, and there are some things we’ve really come to appreciate. One of them is automatic dispensing of detergent. Check. This machine from Electrolux has that.

Another feature we like is that the machine weighs the clothes and adjusts the amount of detergent accordingly. And is happy to let us know if we can add more. Check. The Electrolux does that too.

Then there’s Wi-Fi. Check. A well-functioning app. Check.

And then there are nice touches like steam washing and anti-crease function. Check and check.

It’s time to dig a little deeper.

With and without the app

The first few times we test the machine without connecting the app, and it’s quite an intuitive panel Electrolux has equipped the machine with. However, as the display is digital, we can’t select programmes from a visible list, but have to scroll through the list at a slow pace to choose the right one.

However, the machine is smart enough to suggest our favourite wash by default, which we appreciate. It’s also pretty obvious how to switch automatic dosing on and off, so you can add, for example, the delicates detergent to the drawer yourself.

Since we chose to connect the app to get its features, it takes less than three minutes from downloading the app until the machine is on the house network and connected to the mobile phone. It’s great when manufacturers get this process right.

In the app, we find an assistant that wants to help us choose the right programme. However, it’s a bit of a silly test to go through and we end up ditching it for our regular coloured wash. But for people who have never washed clothes before, it probably makes sense.

To start a wash, you have to fill the machine, close the door and then switch on the remote on the washing machine. It seems silly to stand next to the machine and start it on your mobile, but on the other hand, it’s the only way to make sure you know there’s no pet inside the machine when you start it.

On the mobile, we can see how much time is left and exactly what part of the process it’s doing. And this is where we get our first big shock.

Lightning fast or wash all day

We’ve thrown a load of towels, tea towels and dishcloths into the machine and started a ‘cotton wash’ at 60 degrees. And we wanted extra dry.

The machine estimates that this project will take over eight hours. This seems like an inordinate amount of time and definitely the slowest wash-dry cycle we’ve ever experienced.

During the wash, the time is adjusted slightly, but it still takes over eight hours before we can pull clean, dry and fragrant towels out of the machine. That’s a really long time to have a machine running with just one wash.

On the other hand, it’s fair to say that the machine is also equipped with several quick programmes. One where clothes are steamed in just 25 minutes, a regular wash in 20 minutes and a combined wash and dry cycle for a maximum of one kilo of clothes, which is completed in just one hour.

We throw a set of trousers, blouse and underwear into the machine and follow along on the app. During the wash, the time is adjusted upwards by two minutes, but when the time is up, we can take clean clothes out of the machine. The trousers, which were synthetic, are dry enough for us to put them on, but the blouse, which is a heavy cotton fabric, is still too damp. But with this machine in the house, you can actually forget about washing and still get (some of) the clothes you want to wear.

Conclusion

The Electrolux washer dryer has all the features you could wish for and washes and dries clothes so that they are both perfectly clean and bone dry. The app is well-functioning and easy to use.