Hoover H-Wash 500 HW49AMC/1-80

Introduction

Although the Hoover H-Wash 500 HW49AMC/1-80 is part of Hoover’s mid-range washing machines, it has a low price, decent 9kg capacity and is fully smart-enabled. It’s generally cheap to run, too, and can deal with stains well.

It’s not the best-built washing machine, and I had some issues with it foaming the water too much, despite using the correct amount of washing powder.

Design and Features

• A little cheap to look at
• Clever smart app
• Useful range of wash cycles

The Hoover H-Wash 500 HW49AMC/1-80 is part of a range of washing machines in the H-Wash 500 series. Here, I have the 9kg version, which is a good size for most families. Look to get a 10kg or larger machine if you regularly have very large loads or wash a lot of bedding.

Although the Hoover H-Wash 500 HW49AMC/1-80 generally looks quite nice, there are a few things that give away its cheaper price. First, I noticed that the main screen didn’t sit flush in the case. It’s possible that it was knocked in transit, pushing the display back; however, most washing machines have a single panel that runs across the front that would prevent this.

I slid the top panel off and pushed the panel back into place, so all was good. And, I had to remove the top panel anyway, as some plastic film used in the packaging was caught in this.

A standard control dial is used to select the wash cycle. There are a lot of options to choose from, turning the dial to the icon you want. The icons don’t always make a lot of sense, but the screen does say, in English, what the selected cycle is. However, to see if there are any limits on wash load size, you do need to use the manual to look up each wash cycle.

Depending on the cycle, you can override the wash temperature, spin speed, change the level of soiling, and add extras, such as Steam.

As the programme dial also acts as an on/off button, the washing machine doesn’t actually fully turn off when it has reached the end of a cycle. Instead, it says STBy on the screen, and has to be turned off manually.

This is another washing machine compatible with the hON app, which is home to all Hoover, Haier, and Candy appliances, such as the Haier HW110-BD14397U1.

Full remote control is possible, provided the washing machine is loaded, has the door shut and the mode turned on (a safety feature shared by all smart washing machines and tumble dryers), but you can also just send a wash cycle to the machine and monitor the progress of any wash.

I like the app a lot. It helpfully explains all wash cycles, including load limits and what they’re best for, and adds in loads of additional cycles for special items, such as Bathrobes, Bloodstains and Technical Jackets. There’s a lot more to pick from, and it’s well worth checking out what’s available before washing a special item.

If you want to save some money, there’s an Eco Schedule option available for those with time of use electricity tariffs. Tell the app when your electricity is at its cheapest, and it will automatically schedule a cycle for that time.

A standard door swings open wide, making it easy to load up with clothes. I managed to get my entire test wash load in without any trouble.

Hoover, as used a standard detergent drawer, with space for detergent, fabric softener and pre-wash detergent.

A filter is available at the bottom left, hidden underneath a panel. This, annoyingly, needs a flat-head screwdriver, or similar, to open it, which is a bit annoying when you need to clean your washing machine’s filter.

Performance

• Cleans stains well
• Good running costs
• Leaves clothes quite wet

I run all washing machines through standard cycles to see how well they perform, starting with the standard Eco 40-60 wash. I had an issue the first time that I ran this wash, as the washing machine produced far too much foam, which filled the drum.

At the end of the clean, my clothes still had soap foam on them, and needed to go through another rinse to remove the suds.

This is normally a sign that too much detergent has been used, but I always measure out the exact amount of powdered detergent, following the advice on the back for a hardwater area and a high level of soiling.

I’ve not had a problem in the past, but with the Hoover H-Wash 500 HW49AMC/1-80 I had to reduce the amount of detergent to prevent this issue.

Running the Eco 40-60 cycle, I found that the cycle cost just 19p (assuming 24.5p per kWh), which is only 1p more expensive than the same cycle in the Samsung WW11DB8B95GB. My clothes did put on a lot of weight, though, coming out 48.02% heavier than they went in, which is a lot. I like washing machines to only add a minimum of 40% in weight, and less is better.

I was impressed with the results. With my stain strips, I add (left to right), red wine, cooking oil, ketchup, orange juice and gravy. All of the stains were removed, bar the red wine stain, which was still very visible.

Next, I tried the Cotton 30°C wash. This was much more expensive to run at 40p; the Beko BM3WT3941W did this wash at a cost of 36p and the Samsung WW11DB8B95GB at just 21p. The spin cycle was better, although the 44.13% weight gain in my clothes was still a fraction too high.

Cleaning performance was very similar to the Eco 40-60 cycle, as you can see below using the comparison slider.

I then tried the cold wash cycle, which cost just 20p. However, my clothes were 119% heavier than when they went in, with water dripping everywhere. I had to run an extra spin cycle before they were ready to hang up or tumble dry.

Cleaning performance wasn’t very good, either: the ketchup was spread everywhere, and the gravy stain was still very visible.

I then went for a 60°C wash with steam turned on, and the rinse and stain levels set to maximum. This upped the running cost to 40p. My clothes came out quite wet, 58.92% heavier.

Cleaning performance was good, but not exceptional: a bit of oil was left behind, as was the faint outline of gravy. I think the Eco 40-60 wash did better.

Finally, I ran the quick wash option, which cleans a full load in 59 minutes. Ideal for lightly soiled items, this load cost 23p. My clothes were a little heavy, gaining 47.69% in weight.                                                                                     

Should you buy it?