rudixeno's Full Review: Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC Front Load Washer
Backstory Last year when our home hit its 20 year mark we began to notice that our appliances were starting to fade. Our GE Dishwasher finally gave up the ghost after we had nursed it along for a year.
Our Kenmore Top Loading Washing Machine had started developing issues in recent years, but because we pay for a full home appliance repair contract we had been able to have it repaired for little or no cost several times. But, when the top lid broke off in my hand one day and exposed the rusted out condition of the machine I knew it was time to replace it. No complaints here though. How many modern major appliances last 20 years these days? This machine had been good to us.
Selection Process Had this been 15 years ago, maybe even 10, we probably would have gone over to Sears, picked the washer that looked the most similar to the one we were replacing, slapped down the Sears card and arranged delivery. But it’s today. Appliances are more expensive, live far shorter lives and I’ve gotten smarter (or I’d like to think that I have).
Over the last decade, more and more, top loaders have made way for “newer” front loader designs. Newer? My mom had a front loader in the 1950’s! Guess Harry Chapin was right. Life really is a circle.
Sure, I had gotten used to the relative ease of using a top loading machine. The beating it administered to our clothing had just been taken for a given, not to mention its insatiable appetite for water.
Over the last three years I have probably read and rated a thousand or so washing machine reviews. Now if there’s a reward for reading and rating all these reviews (aside from the few shekels I’m paid as an Epinions Advisor) this is it. Some of the information rubs off and you actually remember it!
So, I knew what I wanted. I wanted a large capacity washer that was energy efficient, miserly with the water, reasonably gentle on our clothing and quiet. I wanted a Bosch.
Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC The idea of switching to a front loader was not an easy one to make. Just go to the Home and Garden Message Boards and you are immediately struck by the overwhelming number of complaints about foul and moldy smells associated with front loaders. Fortunately, Bosch has been pretty successful at eliminating these problems and we’ll discuss this issue further later on in this review.
Features In this section I’ll discuss features as I find them relevant to my purchase decision and use. For further discussion of features you may want to reference the Details Page of this review. For the hardcore specifications junkies, you might want to check out the Bosch web-site so as not to miss a single feature or specification.
Capacity The Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC has a 4.0cu ft. stainless steel front load drum intelligently mounted in a front to back downward slope. While the drum may appear considerably smaller than that of a top loader, its need to accommodate much less water and lack of an agitator assures that it will handle pretty much any load you’ve subjected your top loader to.
The downward slope of the drum makes it possible (and more practical) to pause a cycle in order to add or remove a garment from the wash. I’m forever finding stray socks on the floor that didn’t make it into the wash.
Wash Cycles Could a washer, or more importantly a consumer really need 15 wash cycles? Relax. There are really only 5 major wash cycles. The ability to select water temperature for Permanent Press and Regular/Cottons, give Bosch the ability to claim 6 cycles out of these two. Other conventional cycles include: Delicates/Silk, Hand Wash and Wool.
Additional Special Cycles Kid Care enables you to get extra stain removing ability by briefly raising the temperature of the wash. Older versions of this machine may call this “Temperature Boost”. XXTRASANITARY is an extremely high temperature wash useful for sanitizing infant clothing such as “onesies” and tees, garments that will touch the infant’s skin. The temperature boost for each of these cycles is accomplished by the integrated 1,000 watt water heater. Quick Wash 25 is a particularly handy cycle in the Xeno household, where the Xeno women wear a garment only once even if for only an hour. This 25 minute cycle also comes in handy here for towels which of course never see more than one use. There is also a special Jeans cycle that claims to be more gentle on blue jean dyes. Truthfully, we never use this cycle. Aren’t jeans supposed to fade?
All wash cycles are selected from a rotary dial as are separate Soak, Drain and Spin options.
Spin Options The normal maximum spin speed is 1100 RPM. At this speed, clothing comes out of the machine just short of being dry. Push Buttons to the left of the rotary dial allow you to reduce spin speed to accommodate delicates.
More Push Buttons Yes, more buttons! You can call for an extra rinse cycle, declare the wash Heavy Duty or even decide to reduce energy consumption. Press the ECO button and the washer reduces wash temperature by about 20%.
Ergonomics All controls for the Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC are found on the top of the washer’s front panel. Whether or not you choose to purchase an optional pedestal you can see all settings by looking straight down. Most other manufacturers have placed their controls on the face of the front panel. If you don’t opt for their pedestal you find yourself almost in a crouch to check your settings. Even with the pedestal, when controls are on the front of the panel you’ll find yourself having to step back to check or adjust settings. As mentioned earlier in the review, Bosch’s rear tilted drum makes loading and unloading the washer easier and makes the pause feature much more practical when you realize an item was missed during the initial load. Separate detergent, bleach and softener compartments are conveniently placed and the machine dispenses them at the appropriate time.
Noise Levels Depending on what piece of literature you read the Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC operates at either 52db or 54db. But the proof isn’t in the numbers, it’s in your ears. This machine is Bosch dishwasher quiet, which is to say very, very quiet during wash cycles and only slightly louder during maximum speed spin cycles. But this level of quiet really requires expert installation. This machine must be installed dead level.
Energy Efficiency The Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC is Energy Star rated and uses an average of 151kwh per year. OK, this sounds great, but to the average consumer it doesn’t explain much. I find that its energy efficiency come from two sources. First, an average load requires between 12-15 gallons of water. This compares to an average of 45 gallons of water in a similar capacity top loader. That’s a very substantial savings. We’ve seen our monthly water bill of $80 almost cut in half. Keep in mind we generally use the washer 6 of 7 days.
The second source for energy savings deals with the extreme spin speeds. Items come out of the washer almost dry. Instead of spending an hour to an hour and a half in the dryer, virtually any load is dry in about 30 minutes or less. Whether your dryer is electric or gas, this represents another significant source of savings.
The Smelly Mold and other Front Loader Issues We’ve all heard about the smelly mold problem of front loaders. The need to keep the unit watertight requires the use of a heavy duty rubber gasket to seal the front door. When water accumulates on the inside of the gasket a moldy odor can develop. Most manufacturers recommend wiping out the gasket after each load and leaving the door open (an unnatural act) between washes.
In recent years, almost all manufacturers started installing drain holes in the bottoms of the gasket to minimize water pooling. When we were comparing models from different manufacturers we noticed that only Bosch had managed to place the drains at the very lowest point within the gasket. Consequently, after each wash, while the gasket is necessarily still wet, there is no pooling of water. Simply leaving the door ajar has all that’s been necessary to avoid the potential odor problem.
Let’s move on to the pedestal issue. Do you really need one? Well, technically, no. And, while it irks me to shell out $199 for a simple pedestal with a slide out drawer, my middle-age back tells me it’s a good idea to order one. The 15-18 inches it raises your machine will make it so much easier to load and unload. I found it pretty easy to get Lowe’s to knock off $60 on the cost of the pedestal.
Finally, there’s the manual. Read it! New front load high efficiency washers are electronically sophisticated appliances and while their operation is somewhat intuitive, reading the manual will minimize frustration and will help you get the most out of your Bosch Nexxt 500 Plus WFMC5301UC with minimal hassle.
Final Thoughts In the few months we’ve had our washer we have noticed better performance while utilizing both less water and less electricity. In an age of diminishing or more costly resources it’s nice to go conveniently green.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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