Hisense WF5I1045BWQ

Introduction

Washing machines might be a standard width and height, but depth can vary greatly. If you don’t have much space in your kitchen, then a washing machine that sticks out from the counter may not be ideal, so the Hisense WF5I1045BWQ should appeal.

One of Hisense’s KitchenFit models, the WF5I1045BWQ is just 550mm deep, which means it will sit flush with a kitchen counter, even with pipes and a tap connector behind it.

Despite the small physical size, the 10.5kg capacity makes this one of the largest-capacity washing machines that I’ve reviewed, although I did find some caveats as to how much could be loaded in.

Design and Features

• Only as deep as a kitchen counter
• Compatible with ConnectLife app
• Large 10.5kg capacity

Hisense uses the KitchenFit branding for its appliances that are only as deep as a regular kitchen counter. I’ve seen fridge freezers that use this branding, such as the Hisense RB3K330SAIC fridge freezer, but the Hisense WF5I1045BWQ is the first washing machine that I’ve seen.

Most washing machines tend to protrude a little from a worksurface, but the Hisense WF5I1045BWQ is just 550mm deep in its entirety. Sitting next to a ‘regular’ washing machine, the Hisense WF5I1045BWQ looks a little odd and not possibly deep enough to take a full load.

Despite appearances to the contrary, this washing machine has a Max Drum, which means that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice washing capacity, with the WF5I1045BWQ able to take 10.5kg of washing. That drum stretches almost fully from side to side of the washing machine, although it is quite a bit shallower than drums on deeper washing machines.

In practice, and discussed in more depth below, the Hisense WF5I1045BWQ can take larger loads, but I found that some wash cycles benefited from stripping out a few items. As you can see from the images below, loading the washing machine with my standard 5kg load of mixed washing (which includes a bed sheet, towels, and general clothing items), the drum was quite full.

I do like the light inside the drum. Few washing machines have one, but the light makes it easier to load the washing machine and to find any stray items that might otherwise get missed when unloading.

Control of the washing machine is mostly via the 3.55-inch LCD on the front. Using the control dial next to the screen, I could scroll through the available wash cycles. It’s a neat interface, as the LCD shows the name of the cycle, its estimated run time, the maximum wash load, as well as the default temperature and spin speed.

All of the main wash cycles are included, plus there are some specials, including an Auto mode that senses the type of washing; a 49-minute fast full load; a wool mode; and a mode for bedding.

It’s possible to override the default settings (temperature, spin speed, and so on) using the dedicated touch buttons, and most modes also support the steam option, too.

Tap the extras button and there’s a separate menu. The LCD looks as though it should be a touchscreen, but it’s not, so submenus have to be navigated using the control dial and touch-sensitive select button. Extras include an Intensive wash mode and a Stain Removal setting.

For the latter, you select the stain type (grass, soil, wine, coffee, milk, juice, sweat, blood or oil), and the Hisense WF5I1045BWQ automatically picks the best wash settings). For example, selecting wine as the stain type sets the Cotton wash to 20°C, and two rinses.

Liquid detergent and fabric conditioner can be added to the dispensers in the detergent drawer. I like this kind of system, as you can pre-load with detergent and softener and then start a wash. Additionally, you can double up on washing liquid if you don’t use fabric softener.

If you do use washing powder, there’s a manual detergent shoot in the middle, and a dedicated button to turn the automatic dispenser off.

The Hisense WF5I1045BWQ is also compatible with the ConnectLife app. From the app, I could choose the wash cycle I wanted, or have the app help me choose the right cycle based on the selected washing.

The app also gave me more control over the dispensers, with the option to turn detergent and fabric softener off individually, and also to tell the machine that two different detergents were installed, and which compartment to use for a wash. It’s nice to have this flexibility.

Performance

• Good running costs
• Some washes benefit from slightly smaller loads
• Good cleaning, particularly at low temperatures

I use a 5kg wash load, which consists of clothes, sheets and towels, which gives a full week’s load worth of washing. I started by washing this load using the Eco 40-60 wash load, which is the most efficient wash cycle on a machine.

I certainly can’t complain about the running cost, with the cycle costing just 15p to run. That’s only 2p per cycle more expensive than the Beko BM3WT3941W. However, when I opened the door, I noticed that there were quite a lot of suds left, and the washing was exceptionally heavy: it came out 122.73% heavier than it went in. That’s a lot more than I’d expect, and under 40% is a good result. 

Wash results were very good, though. I use a stain strip for each load, which has, left to right, red wine, cooking oil, ketchup, orange juice and gravy. At the end of the wash, the stains were largely gone, although the red wine stain was faded but still visible, and the ketchup stain had spread from where the stain strip was rolled up.

Given that the Hisense WF5I1045BWQ’s drum isn’t as deep as on some machines, I decided to take out some of the larger items, and drop down to a 3kg wash, which still has enough basic clothes for a week’s worth of washing.

This dropped the running cost down to just 11p, which is phenomenal. And, the washing came out just 36.42% heavier than it went in, which is a very good result and shows that the spin cycle works well with the right size loads.

This time, the stain strip showed that with more room for the washing to move, the stain removal was even better, with the ketchup stain pretty much gone, bar a few chunks that needed rinsing off.

Whether or not clothes came out very wet or not depended on the wash load, but for general washing I found smaller loads were generally better. With the 10.5kg maximum weight, I’d save that for larger items, such as fitting in a duvet, and for day-to-day washing with lots of items, reduce the load so that the drum wasn’t so tightly packed.

Moving on, I washed with the 30°C Cotton wash. This increased the running cost to 33p for the cycle, and my clothes came out 60.89% heavier, which again shows that a slightly lower load would be better. I then used the spin cycle again to remove water.

Wash performance was very good. Bar the few speckles of ketchup stain, and the faded red wine stain, the rest of the stains had gone.

Next, I tried a 20°C wash. As with the regular Eco 40-60 wash, a full load didn’t fair that well, and my clothes came out 120% heavier. Reducing the load was the answer, with running costs coming in at 11p for the cycle. 

Wash performance was alright, although the red wine stain was still quite visible, and the ketchup stain was left behind.

There’s an Auto mode, which dealt with the full 5kg wash load, although my clothes did come out 49.59% heavier, which is a touch more than I’d want. With a full load, the stain strip got quite twisted, so the ketchup stain couldn’t be dispersed properly. Otherwise, bar the visible red wine stain, this cycle washed the rest of the stains well.

Going for a 60°C wash with the intense wash option, the cost per cycle increased to 70p. With a full 5kg wash load, my clothes were 52.96% heavier, which is a touch more than I’d hope for, so it might be worth reducing the load slightly.

Wash performance as very good, with all of the stains gone, bar the tough red wine stain, which was dramatically reduced.

I also tried the red wine stain option, which ran the machine on a cold wash and cost 32p to run. However, I didn’t find that the wine stain removal was any better than with the Eco 40-60 wash.

Finally, I tried the 49-minute fast wash for a full load, which cost a reasonable 25p to run, although my clothes were a little wet at 48.76% heavier than they went in. Still, if you need lightly soiled clothes in a rush, this is a good mode.

Should you buy it?

FAQs