Amazon deliver for free if you accept it will be between 7am and 7pm and will collect the old appliance in situ but drained for a very reasonable 10. They will unpack the new machine for 5 and take packaging away. I wish I had booked that as it was really difficult on my own to get the polystyrene base off as it has the weight of the whole machine on it. You need a 13mm socket to remove the four transit bolts and a 17mm spanner to adjust the retaining nuts on the four feet but you need a bigger one to turn the rubber feet first as there’s little room to get the spanner between the feet and the chassis to move the 17mm nuts for levelling.

It’s difficult to slide the machine on a hard floor as the feet are rubber so stutter, easier to put on cardboard to move to the place it will be put. I did a guesstimate to adjust the feet after checking the floor levels whilst the machine was on its side WITH TRANSIT SCREWS STILL INSTALLED to get the polystyrene base off with a friends help. It would be difficult adjusting the feet when it’s on its feet! How do you get to the back two feet when it’s at the back of a cabinet? I guess in realty not that much levelling goes on. Anyway my guess worked I adjusted one front corner lower than the other three because I used a level to check the floor prior.

Attached the inlet hose and put outlet hose into drain pipe using a hose clip that I already had. It was mentioned in the paper manual (yes there is one in the drum) but it’s an extra so if you need one get one in advance. Seems standard size hence used a zanussi clip/horseshoe. Electric cable is on right side at the back low down but if your socket is on the left there are a row of three loose clips under the back of the top that it can be routed along which I thought was a very neat design thought as it gets the cable away from the inlet and outlet hoses dangling around the back.

I’ve done a wash it was quiet in operation and has an air of quality about it. Was rock solid on the floor no moving around or shuddering that I got with my old machine. Lots of programmes I can’t claim to understand or be very interested in all the permutations but the Mixed cycle takes 60 minutes at 40c which is probably what I will use most but who knows as I discover the intricacies of it.

It was straightforward registering online for the five year extended warranty which is included with this machine at time of writing just make sure you take down the various enr, fd, z numbers on the back of the machine door! Better than phoning and probably getting the numbers letters etc taken down wrong or needing endless clarification/confirmation, e for echo t for tango you know the drill. Although the enclosed warranty leaflet alludes to a 99 charge if wishing to extend from two to five years when you register it clearly states a FIVE year warranty so that’s a bonus!

P.S. Unless you are a masochist it’s worth paying Amazon 5 to have the new machine unpacked (all was easy until it came to the polystyrene packing on the base! Impossible to remove as whole weight of machine on it so had to lay machine on its side with help from a strong bloke, with transit bolts still in place so drum doesn’t sag or pull other parts down or crush). Maybe even pay the optional 15 to have it installed depends on the quality of the installer I guess and if you are really up to lugging heavy things around and confident to attach the hose so watertight and fit the drain pipe outlet in place. Bosch make sliders for the feet too at additional cost or make your own out of thin shiny hardboard.

Addendum. After using the machine for two weeks on a couple of occasions the clothes and especially any towels have felt almost wet after the final spin even though I used the fastest 1400 spin speed and could even see water in the drum just before the cycle completed. My old zanussi from 2008 spun more effectively with its 6kg drum. It is amazingly quiet though I didn’t know it was possible!