Samsung Ecobubble WF80F5E5U4W review

The Samsung Ecobubble WF80F5E5U4W isn’t your average washing machine, and is packed full of the latest technology. As well as Ecobubble technology to ‘froth’ detergent and penetrate fabrics faster, saving energy and money, it even works with a smartphone app to diagnose problems and errors. All the hype aside, the most important thing is washing performance. Thankfully, the washing machine delivers here, too.

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POWER AND WATER USAGE

Here’s where the Samsung Ecobubble WF80F5E5U4W really comes into its own. With the Ecobubble technology working its magic, we found that the 15C Super Eco cycle was exactly that – washing clothes so economically that it provided our best wash figures so far, on a par with the 12kg Ecobubble WF1124XAC that we tested previously.

Washing at 15C, and with a spin speed of 1,200rpm, we found that it used just 0.19kW of power and 45L of water with our 3kg test load. This worked out at a total cost per cycle of 15p, which is incredibly efficient. However, this cycle retained 1.6kg of water, which is quite a high figure.

Washing on a cotton wash at 30C saw our cost per cycle more than double at 31p. Power usage was fairly high at 0.82kW, water used was average at 66L, but water retention was significantly better than the Super Eco cycle at 1.1kg, thanks to the 1,400rpm spin speed.

Increasing the temperature to 40C saw interesting results. The cost per cycle actually reduced by 4p to 27p. While power was around about the same at 0.81kW, it used quite a lot less water – 53L. It was the same story when we ran it on a 40C Synthetic cycle – it reduced again, although this time just by a penny at 26p per cycle. Water usage was 53L, but power was reduced to 0.69kW on a 1,200rpm spin speed. Despite not being the cheapest we’ve seen, these costs were generally quite competitive overall.

EcoBubble technology means very low running costs for low-temperature washes

To get a better idea of yearly running costs we used the information printed on the washing machine’s EU Energy Label (see how we test washing machines for more information). This gave us yearly costs of £49.68 for high usage, £37.26 for medium usage and £24.84 for low usage. These costs include water, waste water and electricity based on the UK average. For an 8kg machine, that’s pretty efficient and costs less to run than some others we’ve seen, although the Panasonic NA-168VG4 is cheaper still.

WASH PERFORMANCE

To discover the cleaning performance of the Ecobubble WF80F5E5U4W, we put it through a series of tests using our stain strips. View our gallery to see all the cleaning examples: dirty cloth is at the top of each sample; the clean one is at the bottom.

It’s the Super Eco cycle that we’re most keen to review here as this is the Ecobubble range’s biggest selling point. The idea is that it pumps bubbles into the wash to dissolve detergent into the water and inject air, making a rich soapy foam cushion. This means detergent is better dissolved and penetrates clothes faster so cleaning needs less hot water.

The 15C Super Eco wash produced excellent results, as you can see from this blood stain sample

Just as with the more expensive Ecobubble model that we reviewed previously, we couldn’t fault its performance on this 15C wash. It even appeared to fare slightly better than the 30C and 40C cotton cycles, with our test strips stained with carbon/olive oil, blood, cocoa and blood/milk/ink all appearing to be marginally cleaner after the Super Eco wash. Red wine came out particularly well, virtually undetectable in our washed test strip.

Washing using the Cotton cycle at 30C and 40C produced decent results, with very little of the red wine stain left

The Synthetic 40C cycle didn’t seem to wash quite so efficiently as the 15C cycle, apart from the red wine staining which did appear to be more faint following the wash.

The Synthetic 40C cycle wasn’t quite as good as the others, with more staining left, as you can see from the cocoa sample above

An impressive performance from the Ecobubble WF80F5E5U4W – the Super Eco cycle delivers on its promise, ensuring you’ll save energy while still achieving a good level of cleanliness in your laundry.

Sound levels are pretty good, too, with the 53dB wash not being too intrusive, while the 74dB spin is among the best for a washing machine at this capacity.

EASE OF USE AND FEATURES

The Ecobubble WF80F5E5U4W feels like a quality washing machine with excellent build quality. There wasn’t a hint of flimsiness, with the door and drawer feeling more robust than many of the other washing machines we’ve had on test. It looks great, too, which is a plus from us.

It’s got tons of features, too, and we found it easy to use. Pre-set wash cycles are set via the simple dial – you’ll find a wide variety, from the impressive Super Eco to Baby Care, Wool, Denim, Hand Wash and Daily Wash for everyday items such as underwear and shirts.

We found the controls and LCD screen very easy to use and understand

The LCD screen and control panel has a variety of options, too – a 15C Quick Wash for lightly soiled garments and less than 2kg laundry that you require quickly, a Delay End button that you can control in one-hour increments, an Easy Iron function and Soak, Intensive and Prewash buttons for loads that need an extra boost of washing.

In operation, the Ecobubble is smooth and quiet, and we can’t write a review without mentioning the lovely little tune it plays to signify the end of a cycle.

Should you get an error message, there’s no need to turn to the manual, as you can simply download the Samsung Smart Washer app for Android or iOS. To use its Smart Check facility you just need to point your phone’s camera at the washing machine’s on-screen error message to be told what the problem is; if the app can’t read the error code, you can simply type it in. It’s a neat way of staying on top of problems and, even if you can’t rectify it yourself, you can at least give the support line detailed information of the problem.

The Smart Washer app helps you quickly diagnose error messages

CONCLUSION

Performance-wise, we couldn’t tell the difference between this 8kg Samsung Samsung Ecobubble WF80F5E5U4W and its big brother, the 12kg Ecobubble WF1124XAC – for costs per cycle and cleaning performance, it was hard to pick the two apart. It’s only if you need the bigger 12kg drum that we’d advise you plump for the higher spec model.

As far as the 15C cycle goes, this is a brilliant machine and incredibly cheap to run, but taking the EU energy label figures into account and all wash cycles, there are cheaper washers to run overall, such as the Panasonic NA-168VG4.