Sep 08, 2013 03:59 PM
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The name Videocon by default only resonates as a washing machine in our minds when we hear it. Yes. Videocon has always been the leader in washing machines. There are dozens of Videocon machines as old as 20 years and still functioning in several of my family members’ homes. So I would take the liberty to express my appreciation of this brand.
I bought this Aqua model about four years ago from Croma. I have had a few minor troubles with it but the motors that run the spin and wash tubs are as good as ever.
As I said before Videocon washing machines are made to last. Except for some breakage in the plastics like the outlet pipe, spinner cap and others, the machine remains sturdy for years. This model claims to be germ and rust-free. This is quite true. I don’t need to bother to let it dry before putting the cover back and yet have never seen it developing molds or bacteria.
Now this is a top-loading semi-automatic washing machine. So you would have the setbacks like having to manually transferring clothes into the spin tub to dry clothes. Also you don’t have the added features like water heating or automatic rinsing. For rinsing, you would have to refill water and then run it for rinsing. And the issue of cotton dust remaining on the clothes or sticking to dark clothes does happen. We should ensure to keep cotton and woolen or velvet clothes separate because the cotton dust from one type of garment sticks on to the others. And on darker clothes, these particles become prominently visible after drying. As for the spin tub, one needs to read their manual and put clothes accordingly or else the tub bounces around and does not spin.
The machine has three types of speeds – low, medium and high. Depending on how dirty the clothes are, we can select the type of wash. The body in whole is pretty protected from any short circuit. I have used it pretty clumsily like keeping it on wet floor, splashing water all over on the buttons and the knobs and doing things like that. But the machine has never short circuited because of this.
The appearance of the machine is also pleasing and though based on the old models, it looks good because the body and most parts of the machine are plastic or of fiberglass. So unlike the old models, this is rust free. However, the plastic is sensitive to bright sunlight. So if left outside in the balcony, one should ensure to cover it or else the plastic would become discolored and later break. I have attached a picture of the machine. As you can see, the lids have become totally discolored because of keeping the machine outside. The body is intact because I didn’t remove the protective polythene. The water outlet and inlet pipes in particular would turn brittle and break over a period of time. The wheels attached to the base of the machine makes it easy to move it around.
I don’t think the power consumption should be too much of an issue because the equipment is used only once in three or four days and for half an hour. I do not see this unit consuming inflating my electricity bill even during months when it is heavily used.
Coming to the service part, the service engineers whom I have seen do have the expertise in handling the item. However, one needs to be careful and pay attention to what they are doing because they casually discard the screws without putting them back. Also, when they are asked to check for coins or other items stuck inside the machine, they simply say that they would get washed away and there is nothing to worry. Big coins do not get washed away and they would continue to make rattling sound for many days when the machine is run. Additionally, they never keep up to their commitment about the TAT of repairing the item nor do they fix an appointment before arriving. I have heard of other customers complain that the engineers claim some part as being faulty and later the owners realize that wasn't the item which had a problem at all and the company refuses to refund the money that was paid.
I would give the model four stars because it more or less fulfills all the purposes it is designed to serve. It is one of the lowest priced washing machines available in the market with a capacity of 6 Kg. However, I am not satisfied with their after-sales service.
