Thomson Twin Tubs

Twin tubs are something that especially older people seem to look for as, with the way that modern appliances have gone, they look desperately inefficient in terms of energy use and water volume used when compared to a modern front loading washing machine.

In the nineties both Hotpoint and Hoover dropped the twin tubs and top loaders due to poor sales volumes in the UK and, people seeking a toploader where left with the option of a US one from Whirlpool or Maytag and twin tubs died. This was forced on them due to increasing production costs and falling sales volumes which made twin tubs and top loading washing machines seem very expensive compared to the newer front loaders.

However as a niche market some importers started to see an opportunity to import from the burgeoning Far Eastern suppliers who still use a lot of twin tubs and toploaders which, in some markets such as China and Japan, remain very popular as they seem to care less about the environmental arguments.

In the very late nineties and early 00's we started to see these Eastern imports reach UK shores.

Retail Position

When you consider that at their death a good top loading washing machine cost well over £400 and a twin tub not far off that then these new ones, mainly from China, at under £300 seem a bargain on the face of it. There's just one catch, the quality is nothing short of dire and the performance will not even come close to that of an old Hoover or Hotpoint machines.

If you track the old Hotpoint and Hoover machine with inflation only, never mind adding any features, they would easily cost over £600 in today's money, more than double these cheap Chinese efforts.

So, even at the best part of £300 these things don't really represent real value in our opinion as you can by a far more efficient and cheaper to run front loading washing machine for the same money and, in comparison to what has gone before they are as cheap as chips, but then so is the build.

So, our advice is simple, don't waste your money on one.

Spares Pricing & Service

What spares and what support? There is none!

Should you choose to buy one of these machines this is pretty much the reality of aftersales position so far as the repairers are concerned with very few having any experience with them at all and, those that have, most often not wishing to see another.