Trying to buy ethical appliances that are reliable

tcs

Hi there

Am trying to do the decent thing and buy my kitchen appliances from the most ethical companies. According to www.gooshing.co.uk (Good Shopping Guide), Whirlpool gets a 4 out of 5 start rating, Miele, Belling, Baumatic & New World, get a 3 1/2 out of 5 star rating.

A lot of people say buy Bosch but they've a 3 star rating and are involved in armaments etc. They're same company as Neff & Siemens. AEG/Electrolux/Zanussi/Tricity Bendix (Electrolux / Wallenberg Family) fall down similarly on armaments etc. so that's ruled out a lot of brands easily available to the Irish consumer!!

The site is in development & all info is not yet available. I have an old hard copy of the Good Shopping Guide from 2004 which put Candy, Leisure & Stoves in the ethical list for cookers, put Candy, Hoover, Lec, Liebherr, Ocean & Proline in the ethical list for fridges & freezers etc. These were in addition to Miele, Belling, Baumatic & New World. Research is still pending for these companies currently.

Armed with that info, I started my search for a

• a 450mm (slimline) integrated dishwasher - there are 2 contenders a Whirlpool ADG550 & a Belling IDW450. Thing is, dishwashers can be notorious for reliability & I can't get any info on reliability of these. Saw horrific reviews of Baumatic, Kenwood & Indesit ones!
• a 600mm electric single oven - Whirlpool AKZ451IX looks like an affordable option that meets ethical criteria - saw review of a Baumatic one that exploded (pyrolitic oven)! Hope I shouldn't go too far wrong with a pretty basic electric oven from Whirlpool..??
• a 600mm gas hob preferably with wok burner - there's a Baumatic one I'm considering (P62SS) that meets the wok burner criteria but based on reviews of other baumatic appliances would I be silly to go for this - gas supply to rings surely can't be that complex?? There's also a CDA one on Hi Speed Gas site (MX60) but I've never heard of CDA. Has anyone out there heard of them??
• a 600mm cooker hood (with glass'd be nice) - this ain't easy. Baumatic have one & I saw it in In-House showroom in Santry. Buttons look really gammy. It's expensive anyway... There are Cata ones on Hi Speed Gas site (C-600 & PV-600) but again, like CDA, I never heard of that make.
• a < 600mm wide stainless steel freestanding fridge - because of slope of stairs, I can't seem to get an integrated one into the available space so have to go freestanding - I want 70:30 or 60:40 with small-ish freezer on bottom & larger fridge, stainless steel finish but most stuff is 1800mm or taller! That'll fit (integrated wouldn't cos of extra height needed for plinths etc.) but it does seem humongous. Belling BK66 might be a runner. I was looking on Baumatic's uk website for fridges and there is one (http://www.baumatic.co.uk/products/catalogue/refrigeration/freestandingrefrigeration/BF207BLM) that looks OK on screen but because of the mirror glass finish you'd have to see it & there have been some scathing remarks passed about Baumatic appliances

Belling are probably OK for cookers, anyone know about them for fridges/freezers & dishwashers.

Baumatic have gotten some slating on some sites I browsed. Based on a review of their dishwasher I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I should be safe on the gas hob though shouldn't I?

Anyone have any thoughts on Powerpoint or Leisure as brands for dishwashers. Saw them in Powercity along with a Belling & (I think) an AEG/Electrolux.

Suspect that Powerpoint is a bit dodge but Leisure is a known cooker brand (that was ethical in 2004). Any thoughts on it's reliability for dishwashers though? Even though the booklets in dishwasher gave a url - www.leisurecp.co.uk - I couldn't find anything about dishwashers on it. So assume it's a new venture/someone else making them for them. No idea as to reliability...

Saw a really nice Kenwood dishwasher in Curry's but there are reviews that slate it from a height!! Reckon someone else makes it and it's badged as a Kenwood.

Hope I'm not stuck with Miele & high price tag to be ethical & get a reliable appliance...

Thanks

T

cast_iron

I would say get the Whirlpool.
If they are all the same brand, when they start to give trouble in years to come, you'll get the best service. You'll be dealing with one company only and they have one of the cheapest call out charges also.

byte

Whirlpool come with 8 year Parts guarantee* on most of their appliances (of course you could argue the biggest cost is the labour anyway).

The others usually have a 2-5 year parts guarantee*.

*First year, parts and labour are covered.

Some Siemens stuff have a FULL 5 year guarantee (parts & labour) and maybe some other manufacturers too.

WRT Powerpoint dishwashers, avoid at all cost! They have been very unreliable in the past. Cheaper for a reason.

I have never seen a Kenwood dishwasher, and personally wouldn't buy it.

Leisure is a Beko company, so take that as you like.

cast_iron

Good point. In fact, Whirlpool used to have a 10 year parts guarantee, but the EU rules made them change it to 8 years!