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Home Appliance Features I Love

Form and function are fine but what we really need to talk about are features. Here's a few nifty little features you can find in some of our favourite appliances to make your life that little bit easier.

As an appliances fangirl, I need features. I want my features to have features. Features you haven’t even thought you needed but they just make sense. Today I’m going to talk about a few nifty little features that you can find in some of our favourite appliances to make your life that little bit easier.

AutoDose or Smart Dose (Front Load Washer, Dishwasher)

image showing laundry detergent being poured into a Beko AutoDose detergent reservoir

If you’re in the market for a Front Load Washing Machine or a Dishwasher and you’ve looked at a Beko, you might have seen that some of them have a feature called AutoDose. What is AutoDose? AutoDose is where instead of a small tank for washing detergent or a dishwasher tablet, it has a large tank. You fill the larger tank with washing detergent or dishwashing gel (depending on which machine you’re using) and the machine intelligently detects how much detergent to use.
For laundry this is better for your wallet and your clothes, as using too much detergent will fade your colours and using too little won’t wash the clothes properly.
For dishwashing this makes the worst after dinner chore just that little bit easier, and you can be safe in the knowledge that your dishes will come out perfectly clean.

Here’s some cool Front Load Washers with AutoDose or Smart Dose:

Beko 10Kg AutoDose Front Load Washer BFL104ADW
Beko 8.5kg Front Load Washing Machine BFL853ADW
Electrolux 10kg AutoDose Front Load Washing Machine EWF1041ZDWA
Haier 8kg Smart Dose Front Load Washing Machine HWF80AN1

And here’s a Dishwasher with AutoDose:

Beko 16 Place Stainless Steel Dishwasher with AutoDose BDF1640AX

 

Snack Zone or Extra Space (Fridge)

image showing the snackzone compartment of a french door fridge, with blueberries on the left and strawberries on the right

I love snacks. I also love when things are well designed with zero wasted space. You can have both of these in a French Door Fridge with a snack zone. Usually these small spaces are underneath the fruit and veg crisper and have a little door to separate them as a compartment. I love the idea of being able to put treats in a small space separate from the rest of the food so they don’t get lost and you can see exactly how many you have in case someone with sticky little fingers swipes one and I don’t know about it until I find the wrapper discarded behind the TV cabinet.
They also have that X Factor that you might be looking for in an appliance; that small feature that sets your new fridge apart from your old one.

Some of our fave fridges with a snack zone compartment:

Electrolux 609L Dark Stainless French Door EHE6899BA
Westinghouse 609L French Door Refrigerator Dark Stainless WQE6870BA

 

Flexible Compartment (Fridge)

image showing the bottom two doors on a quad door fridge open

If you’re looking for a Quad Door Fridge (like a French Door with four doors), you’ll find in many models the fourth compartment is a flexible compartment. This means the temperature of the compartment can be set from a range of temperatures depending on how you want to use that compartment: from wine fridge to a freezer and everything in between.
This is super handy if you’re a wine aficionado but don’t have room for separate wine storage, or if you just need some extra freezer space temporarily, or you can even set it as a separate fridge and put toddler snacks and water in it so you can have your own self sufficient toddler fridge. Set it at the perfect temperature for your canned drinks and have it as a drinks fridge - you’re limited only by your imagination.

Here’s a couple of our picks for fridges with a flexible compartment:

Hisense 609L Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator HRCD610TS
Westinghouse 609L French Door Refrigerator Dark Stainless WQE6870BA
Fisher & Paykel 538L Quad Door Refrigerator RF605QNUVX1

 

Extra Battery (StickVac)

image showing a woman replacing a battery in an LG CordZero stick vac

Vacuuming the house is a chore, rarely enjoyed or looked forward to. It’s the pits to have to vacuum and then halfway through your vacuum battery runs out. This sort of thing happens at the worst times too: when your mother-in-law is walking down your driveway about to open the front door without knocking and you’re trying to suck up all the crumbs from the 5 slices of plain buttered toast you ate this morning.
There’s a few stickvac models that come with a second battery which can charge while you’re using the first one, effectively doubling your run time so you can finish the housework with ease.

Here’s a few options for stick vacs with a second battery:

Electrolux UltimateHome 900 Handstick Vacuum EFP91824GY
Beko PractiClean Power Stick Vacuum Cleaner VRT82821BV
LG CordZero A9 Multi Handstick Vacuum in Red A9NMULTI
LG Cordless Handstick with Power Drive Mop A9KAQUA

 

How do I live without you?

If you’re in the market for a new appliance the best thing to do (if you can) is to come in store and check out these features for yourself. Open the fridges, test out the stick vacs, investigate all of the little features that you might not think you need but you would probably love. Our appliance enthusiasts can help you along every step of the way!