The best and worst large appliance brands – Which? News

Choosing a large home appliance brand that’s less likely to fail is one of the best ways to make your money go further.

In our unique owners’ survey*, we asked more than 17,000 people to tell us about the dishwasher, fridge, freezer, fridge freezer, oven, hob, washing machine, washer dryer, tumble dryer and vacuum cleaner brands they own, and the problems they’ve experienced with them.

We cross-analysed the results on over 73,000 appliances with our testing results of more than 1,500 products to find the best appliance brands

As we often discover, spending more on a brand doesn’t always guarantee a fault-free appliance. Visit the links below to see in-depth information on each of the large home appliance brands we investigated, including how many appliances were reported faulty, what went wrong and whether the owners would buy the brand again.

Read our kitchen appliance reviews to avoid costly mistakes

Which? brand survey results by appliance type

Three ways to make appliances last longer

1. Research before you buy

Knowing which brands develop the most faults and how quickly they come up, should be an important part of any buying decision.

Our large appliance brand survey analysis takes into account which brands are more susceptible to faults and whether they were serious enough to need to get the appliance repaired, or worse, replaced entirely. This will help you find the very best appliance possible for your budget.

2. Keep appliances clean

It may sound obvious, but keeping your dishwasher, fridge freezer or vacuum cleaner clean can help it to perform better and ward off problems in the long-run.

One of the most common problems plaguing dishwashers, for example, is when they stop draining properly. The issue accounted for 11% of reported dishwasher problems in our survey, and can often be remedied simply by giving the dishwasher filters or pump a good clean. Similarly, regularly maintaining your vacuum cleaner by cleaning the filters and removing hair and fibre from the brush bar can help to keep it fault-free for longer.

3. Follow the instructions

An impressive 94% of our survey respondents** when we asked about instructions, said that they read some or all of the instructions that come with their appliances. Your appliance instructions, while not the most exciting read, contain important information that will help keep your gadget running for longer.

More than one in 10 of the faults experienced by dryer owners who took part in our survey told us that they’d had a problem with the drum on their tumble dryer. Most instructions manuals will warn not to overfill a machine – by making sure there’s plenty of room inside for clothes to move, you’ll ensure your clothes dry properly and help to protect the drum.

Appliances: your rights when things go wrong

Dealing with a faulty home appliance is frustrating and some of the most common faults may not be covered by your manufacturer’s warranty. So what are your rights when things go wrong?

Here’s what to do:

• Approach the retailer first before attempting to make a claim via a warranty. A faulty product is likely to be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act of 2015, which states that anything we buy must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If that’s not the case, your statutory consumer rights must be upheld by the retailer – the company that sold you the product – not the manufacturer.
• Tell them about the problem and ask for your money back Visit our faulty goods complaint tool to generate a ready-to-go complaint letter. You have 30 days ‘right to reject’, which starts from when you take ownership of the appliance, to claim a refund, repair or replacement if it turns out to be faulty.
• Know your rights. Be aware that even after 30 days you may still be able to ask for a repair or a replacement, and if you’ve owned the item for less than six months, the retailer must give you a full refund if an attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful.

Faulty product? How to get a refund, repair or replacement

* Survey: 12,411 Which? Connect panel members; 5,011 members of the public, September 2021
** Survey: 1,195 Which? Connect panel members, instructions, June 2021