A good washing machine should work quietly and carefully. And if she still allows the water meter not to spin too violently, it’s very good. In this article, we will study and test the Lex WFS 71202 WH, which saves both water and detergent.
How she does it and how cleanly she can wash clothes in different modes, we will find out during the tests.
Characteristics
| Manufacturer | Lex |
|---|---|
| Model | WFS 71202 WH |
| Type | washing machine |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Warranty | 36.6 months |
| Service life * | 10 years |
| Maximum load | 7 kg |
| Energy class | A+++ |
| Wash class | BUT |
| Drying class | B |
| Spin | 1200 rpm |
| Number of programs | fifteen |
| Delayed start | there is |
| Child protection | there is |
| Super fast wash | there is |
| Drum cleaning | there is |
| The weight | 57 kg |
| Dimensions (W×H×D) | 595×850×460 mm |
| Network cable length | 1.4 m |
| Retail offers |
* Contrary to common misconception, this is not the period after which the device will definitely break. However, after this period, the manufacturer ceases to bear any responsibility for its performance and has the right to refuse to repair it, even for a fee.
Equipment
Styrofoam technological packaging Lex WFS 71202 WH is reinforced on the front side with two wooden bars, protected on top with a cardboard lid with shipping information and covered with a thick polyethylene film.
Washing machine kit includes:
- hose for water connection
- sewer connection hose (installed on the machine)
- drain hose bracket:
- set of plugs for transport holes
- user guide
- warranty card
- Appliance Energy Efficiency Label
The inlet hose supplied with the washing machine is of the simplest design and is not equipped with an AquaStop valve.
Standard for this model and a bracket for attaching a drain hose: two latches, a smooth bend and a screw hole.
At first sight
The design of the washing machine is solved in a classic style: a white body and a transparent hatch with a black frame. The detergent tray is located in the upper left part of the front panel, the round program selector is in the center, and to the right of it is a display with additional options buttons.
On the side walls we see stamping, which increases the rigidity of the structure.
At the top of the rear panel there is a socket for connecting the inlet hose with a removable plastic filter that protects the machine from rust and dirt from the water supply. Lex WFS 71202 WH is connected to cold water supply only. The corrugated drain hose of this model is non-removable, of a traditional design.
In the transport position, the drum is fixed with four screws with plastic plugs and shock absorbers made of dense black rubber. They must be removed before use.
The hatch hinges of this model are metal, their design allows you to open the door a little more than 180 °. The latch of the lock is also made of metal, and the mating part of the latch is plastic. It is not possible to rearrange the lid to right-hand opening in this model.
On the walls of the drum there are perforations and stampings in the form of convex triangles that form a beautiful pattern. Gray plastic hammers are slightly curved and also “into a hole”.
The detergent tray has three compartments: the left one, as usual, for the main wash, the right one for the pre-wash and the central one for the conditioner. There are no separate trays or devices for liquid detergents in this model.
The tray is fixed with a blue latch. It can be easily removed for cleaning and maintenance.
Under the rectangular cover at the bottom of the panel is the exhaust filter plug. The hatch is held by a plastic latch and opens without difficulty.
What’s inside?
According to the established tradition, we perform an incomplete disassembly of the washing machine and see how it works.
Instruction
The User’s Guide is printed on thick white paper in the form of an A5 brochure. It contains forty-two pages, the language of the document is Russian. The quality of printing is excellent: numerous figures, charts and tables are easy to read.
The instructions are printed for three similar models of washing machines at once, but the reader does not have to independently study the differences between them: all the features of the products are carefully highlighted and listed in detail.
The document contains detailed information about the preparation of the machine for work, its operation, care of the product and safety measures during use. The brochure ends with a list of possible malfunctions with ways to eliminate them yourself.
Control
The selector washer, located in the center of the control panel, serves to select the main washing programs. The notch on the cylinder indicates the selected scenario, and the vertical position of the mark turns off the device.
At the end of the program, the selector remains in the set position. To start the next wash, it must be returned to the “Off” position. and wait half a second.
Mode information is displayed on a black display with red LED indication. Digits and control lamps are contrasting, with a good viewing angle and are easily read in any light.
When a program is selected, the expected duration of the program appears on the display. When changing the temperature and spin settings, the time is replaced by the value of the corresponding washing parameter.
Below the display are buttons that control additional washing options. Our car has four of them:
- The water temperature during washing is set by the leftmost button. Available values are 95, 60, 40 and 20 °C. Heating can be turned off completely.
- The spin speed is selected from 1200, 1000, 800 and 600 rpm. An option to turn off the spin is also available.
- The third button is the prewash/extra rinse options. The first press turns on the prewash, the second sets the Rinse+ mode, the third activates both functions and the fourth turns them off.
- Finally, the fourth button starts the program or pauses it .
Pressing the temperature and spin buttons at the same time activates the delayed start setting mode. This function does not work in a completely familiar way: this model does not set the time after which it is desirable to start the device, but the expected end time of the selected cycle. For example, if you select a mode for cotton that runs a little more than three hours, the minimum delay value is four hours (the washing machine will start approximately 50 minutes after the function is activated). The time selection is made in 1 hour increments, and the maximum value is 24 hours.
A long press on the spin and program buttons turns the child lock on and off. The protection on indicator is located under the drum lock light, both LEDs are signed the same way – “Block”, but differ in small icons.
In the table below we list the default values for each of the programs and the possible range of manual settings.
| Program | Default water temperature, °C | Possibility of temperature change, °C | Program duration | Spin by default, rpm | The ability to change the spin speed, rpm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton | 40 | 0-95 | 3:08-3:18 | 800 | 0-1200 |
| colored cotton | 20 | 0-60 | 2:58-3:18 | 1000 | 0-1200 |
| Synthetics | 40 | 0-60 | 1:58 | 800 | 0-1200 |
| Mixed wash | 40 | 0-40 | 0:58 | 800 | 0-1200 |
| Wool | 40 | 0-40 | 0:55 | 600 | 0-600 |
| Express | without heating | 0-40 | 0:15—0:30 | 800 | 0-800 |
| Rinse+Spin | without heating | — | 0:30 | 800 | 0-800 |
| Spin | — | — | 0:12 | 800 | 0-1200 |
| Drum cleaning | 95 | 95 | 1:10 | — | — |
| Delicate wash | 40 | 0-40 | 0:36 | 600 | 0-600 |
| Down jacket | 40 | 0-40 | 1:05 | 600 | 0-600 |
| Sports wear | 40 | 0-40 | 0:58 | 800 | 0-1200 |
| Dark fabrics | 20 | 0-60 | 1:15 | 800 | 0-1200 |
| Baby stuff/Steam | 60 | 0-95 | 2:10-2:20 | 800 | 0-1200 |
| Hypoallergenic/Steam | 60 | 0-60 | 1:51 | 800 | 0-1200 |
In addition to the classic modes for cotton, synthetics, delicate and mixed fabrics, this model has a quick mode (15 minutes in cold water or 30 with heating), programs for washing down jackets (also suitable for blankets, bedspreads and other large items), sports forms and products from dark fabrics. They also added two modes with steam treatment: the first – for children’s clothing, the second – to remove organic allergens from the fabric.
The set of programs is quite consistent, in our opinion, with the range of daily needs of the average user of the washing machine, the default settings are logical, and the range of changeable parameters is quite adequate.
Exploitation
Connecting the washing machine to the water supply and sewerage did not cause us any difficulties: the connections here are standard. If you do not forget to unscrew the transport bolts holding the drum before starting work, there should be no problems.
We strongly advise you not to neglect alignment as well. To do this, you need to adjust the height of the legs, taking the building level to help. This will prevent vibration and damage that an uneven machine can cause.
A properly set washing machine, according to subjective sensations, works quite quietly. This model is perfectly balanced and – with proper alignment – stands firmly and securely on the surface.
The last step to prepare your machine for washing is to run the Drum Clean program recommended by the manufacturer. This mode should work with an empty tank.
The duration of the cycle, which appears on the display when a program is selected, does not change during the washing process and is determined quite accurately: the operating time of the washing machine does not depend on the weight of the laundry loaded into it, nor on the degree of soiling.
The expected washing time is affected by the choice of temperature: for some programs, the maximum temperature may be higher than the default. When you change the settings, the predicted run time increases slightly: the washing machine takes into account the additional heating period of the water in the tub. For example, for Cottons, raising the wash temperature from 40 to 95 doubles the run time by 10 minutes, and for the 15-minute Express scenario, which defaults to a cold wash, raising the temperature to 40 doubles the run time, to 30 minutes.
The device, of course, blocks the door for the duration of the program, but immediately after the end it can be freely opened. That is, the inscription “End” appears on the display literally a second after the end of the movement of the drum and the click of the lock.
Care
The manufacturer recommends taking out the detergent container regularly and washing it in warm water.
Wipe the drum door seals with a damp cloth if necessary. In this case, the condition of the gaskets should be checked.
It is recommended that the washing machine filter be checked and cleaned at least two to three times a year. An extraordinary cleaning must be done if the machine does not drain the water normally or does not wring out properly, as well as in cases where foreign objects (buttons, coins, pins, etc.) have entered the tank.
Our measurements
When evaluating washing machines, we have a rule: evaluate the capacity of the drum. Of course, it almost never turns out to be a regular cylinder, but for approximate calculations it is enough to represent it as such.
For Lex WFS 71202 WH, the tank is a cylinder with a radius of 25 cm and a depth of 22 cm. Thus, its volume is calculated at 43197 cm³, that is, approximately 43.1 liters.
It has also become a common practice for us to monitor the work of the main program with a stopwatch in hand (the standard Cotton program with default settings). Here’s what we got.
| Actual time to finish | Countdown on display | Action | Total water consumption, l |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:04 | 3:08 | program start, water inlet | |
| 3:03 | 3:06 | start washing | 7.7 |
| 0:42 | 0:45 | drain, squeeze | |
| 0:34 | 0:36 | gulf of water | 14.2 |
| 0.33 | 0.35 | rinse I | |
| 0:32 | 0:34 | additional bay | 14.9 |
| 0:25 | 0:29 | drain, squeeze | |
| 0:18 | 0:21 | gulf of water | 19.0 |
| 0:17 | 0:20 | rinse II | |
| 0:16 | 0:19 | additional bay | 20.7 |
| 0:10 | 0:12 | drain, squeeze | |
| 0:01 | 0:01 | stop the drum, end the wash | |
| 0:00 | End | drum unlock |
Energy and water consumption
Unfortunately, these parameters are usually not indicated in the instructions or are not detailed and not accurate, so we offer you the measurement results for those programs that we used in the testing process.
| Program | Amount of water, l | Electricity consumption, kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Cotton, 40°C | 20.7 | 0.517 |
| Cotton, 96 °C with prewash | 32.4 | 1.369 |
| mixed | 17.7 | 0.363 |
| Wool | 24.9 | 0.356 |
| Express (15 minutes) | 18.8 | 0.035 |
| Synthetics | 35.1 | 0.615 |
The washing machine consumes water very economically: this should be taken into account when loading detergents. Test operation has shown that the dosage of gel or powder recommended by the manufacturer may be too much: in this case, it is worth reducing the dose or using the “Rinse +” option.
Spin
Another standard test is the assessment of the actual spinning efficiency, which we measure in grams of water per gram of cotton using the formula: ( wring weight – dry weight ) / dry weight . As a reference linen, 10 white terry towels from Ikea with a total weight of about 2 kg were used.
| Spin speed, rpm | Remaining water per gram of dry laundry, g |
|---|---|
| 600 | 1.16 |
| 800 | 0.85 |
| 1000 | 0.70 |
| 1200 | 0.64 |
Noise
We measured the noise level in a room where washing machines are often placed – a bathroom. The sound level meter was located at a level of 1 m from the floor and at a distance of 1 m from the device, in the center of the front panel.
| Working mode | Noise level, dBA |
|---|---|
| Wash | 38 |
| Drain | 40 |
| Intermediate spin | 52 |
| Rinsing | 38 |
| Final spin 1200 rpm | 57 |
The maximum power consumption of the machine, recorded during practical tests, was 1608 watts. In standby mode, the washing machine consumes less than 0.1 watts.
practice tests
To evaluate the main function of the washing machine, we took the white towels that have already appeared in the tests above, generously applied common and hard-to-wash organic stains on them and left them to dry for 24 hours. And then put the wash on standard modes and see what happened.
Cotton, 40°C
We stained a set of five towels with red wine, soy sauce, ketchup, blood and cocoa (each towel has its own kind of dirt). Then dried at room temperature for a day and loaded with a test wash.
We used a gel for white linen from one of the manufacturers, well known both in Russia and in the rest of the world. The dosage was calculated according to the instructions on the package.
Washing was carried out on the standard program “Cotton” with a temperature of 40 °C. The result is in the photos below.
The stains from soy sauce, ketchup and cocoa were completely washed off, and traces of blood and red wine were barely noticeable.
Result: excellent.
Cotton program with maximum temperature and prewash
To see if it was possible to wash it better, we took the same set of towels, applied the same stains and dried again for a day. But now the washer was running on the “Cotton” program with a maximum (95 ° C) temperature and the prewash option turned on.
The result was even better. The red wine stains were visibly paler, and the traces of blood, cocoa, ketchup and soy sauce disappeared as if they had never been there.
Result: excellent.
Wool
Washing only cotton is indispensable for a modern machine. Therefore, we must also appreciate how gently this model will process delicate fabrics. We put our favorite woolen blanket in it, weighing just under a kilogram, and set the appropriate program to the default settings (40 ° C, spin 600 rpm). A special liquid product for wool was used.
Lex WFS 71202 WH washed the blanket carefully and carefully: the material did not fall off or shrink during the washing process, the existing contamination disappeared. The minimum (600 rpm) spin speed turned out to be quite enough: a slightly damp blanket could only be dried in air for three hours.
Result: excellent.
findings
The Lex WFS 71202 WH washing machine turned out to be easy to operate, very economical and not too noisy. During the test operation, we did not reveal significant shortcomings, and practical tests confirmed good efficiency.
The low water consumption of this model also has a downside: a significant water saving at the default settings leads to insufficient rinsing of the detergent. The usual dosage of gel or powder has to be significantly reduced or, in case of severe contamination, use the “Rinse +” option. The washing machine thus makes it possible not only to save water resources, but also to reduce the consumption of detergents. This feature is in line with modern environmental trends, and we do not consider it a disadvantage.
But we will attribute a not too large set of additional washing options to the disadvantages of this washer: it does not have a half wash, no settings for the degree of soiling of clothes, or auto load detection. However, the simplification of the design also affects the price of the device – it is low.
Pros :
- simple control
- high profitability
- good wash quality
- low noise
- logical set of built-in programs
Cons :
- minimum set of additional options
