Hotpoint HF7HP33UK Review
A dishwasher with a surprising amount of space inside
Verdict
With its Maxi Space tub, the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK genuinely fits more plates and glasses, all without a fight. Beyond its ease of loading, this dishwasher cleans well, dealing with very dirty dishes well using its 3D Zone and intensive cycles. Drop down to Eco mode and cleaning for normally-soiled dishes is very good, with good running costs. For those that fill load-after-load in their dishwashers, this extra-size model is a great choice.
Pros
- Tonnes of space inside
- Quality stain removal
- Wide range of cleaning cycles
Cons
- Slightly expensive to run on intense cycles
Key Features
- Place settingsThis huge dishwasher has 15-place settings, making it ideal for larger families or those that like to stick the washer on less often.
Introduction
Why won’t my plates and wine glasses fit? A common accusation levelled at dishwashers, you won’t find yourself uttering this phrase at the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK.
Thanks to its Maxi Space design, there’s more room inside here than on your average dishwasher, so everything just fits nicely. A wide range of programmes and excellent cleaning results makes this a great choice for those that often wash large loads.
Design and features
- Maxi Space tub gives 10% more space
- Lots of programmes to choose from
- 3D Wash for intensive scrubbing
Externally, this freestanding dishwasher is no different in size to any other full-sized model. Its neat and unassuming front doesn’t betray any differences, either. It was only when I opened the door and saw inside that the Maxi Space design made itself known.
Giving 10% more space than a traditional dishwasher, Maxi Space means that there’s more room inside for dishes and glasses. That becomes particularly apparent when loading the dishwasher.
I used tall wine glasses for testing. I’ve not had a dishwasher that will fit these glasses easily without rearranging some part of the dishwasher or dropping the top shelf down to its lower position, which usually results in the spray arm hitting larger plates below.
With the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK I didn’t have any problems. With the top shelf in its regular position, I managed to fit my wine glasses in without them hitting the cutlery rack above. That’s impressive going.
This middle rack is very flexible: with tines flipped up, plates can be stacked; flipped down, there’s space for larger bowls. The wine glass holders double up as extra cutlery racks.
At the top of this dishwasher sits the cutlery rack. I quite like this design, as cutlery can be laid out flat, giving an even wash. The downside is that you have to carry individual items to a drawer, which can be inconvenient; with a cutlery basket, everything can be carried to drawers at once.
If you like the idea of a cutlery rack but like a basket, the Samsung DW60A8060BB integrated dishwasher is a good compromise, as it has removable trays in its top rack.
With the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK, the cutlery rack is at least very flexible. The left-hand side can slide out of the way to give a big gap below for large items; or the smaller right-hand side can do the same. It’s all about how much space you need.
At the bottom of the dishwasher sits the bottom rack for dinner plates, pots and pans, and larger items. It has tines spaced at different intervals, giving space for dinner plates in the tightly-spaced areas and bowls in the wider-spaced areas. Tines can be folded down, too, to place casserole dishes and larger items.
At the back of the dishwasher sit the 3D Zone arms. When used with the 3D Zone programme option, these arms spray higher-pressure water at soiled items to get them clean; casserole dishes and pans that need special attention should be loaded at the rear of the dishwasher.
When first plumbed in and turned on, the salt reservoir needs filling, and the water hardness and rinse aid dispensing levels need to be set. It’s easy to do this following the simple instructions in the manual.
Using the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK is straightforward. Although the LCD on the front just shows the cycle selected as a number, the inside of the door shows what all of the options are as a handy quick reference.
It’s nice to see that the dishwasher turns on with programme one selected for the Eco mode at 50°C, which is the most efficient programme. In addition, there are three Auto programmes (65°C intensive, 55°C mixed and 50°C fast wash), where the dishwasher detects the soiling level of the dishes and adjusts the programme automatically.
There’s also a Rapid (30m) wash for a small number of lightly soiled dishes, Delicates, Night, Sanitising and Self Clean options. There’s also a half-load option to cut energy usage, and the Active Dry option, which opens the door gently at the end of a wash to dry dishes, can be disabled.
Rinse aid is added to the reservoir on the door, and dishwasher detergent is added into the pop-open dispenser.
Performance
- Decent running costs, particularly on Eco
- Good dirt removal
I put all dishwashers through the same range of tests. I start by loading them with the same stained items: a coffee cup with dried-on-drink remains, a used red wine glass, a plate with dried-on mac and cheese, and a bowl that has been used to make microwaved scrambled eggs.
To begin with, I used the standard Eco programme, which I estimated would cost 28p per cycle to run. That’s just 1.87p per place, as this is a 15-place setting dishwasher. Given the extra space available, that’s a very low running cost.
This test did well on most of my dirty dishes. I found that my wine glass came up sparkling as good as new.
With the tougher coffee test, the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK managed to get all of the stains off, leaving the mug as good as new.
My cheesy mac and cheese plate also scrubbed up perfectly with no pre-rinsing, and no residue left on the plate.
My toughest test is the egg test. Here, the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK did alright, but the bowl, placed on the top shelf, still had a fair amount of egg left behind on it.
To counter this, I put the dishwasher into its intensive auto mode at 65°C, and put on the 3D Zone wash. Here, the price per wash jumped to 66p for the wash, which is a lot more expensive. Only the LG DF455HMS cost more per cycle, but that was when I used its steam cycle to fully clean very dirty dishes.
With the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK set to its intensive mode, the egg bowl was fully cleaned and sparkling, bar a couple of tiny marks. Still, that’s a great result.
I tried the Auto Fast Wash and found that this cost 42p per cycle. That’s a chunk more expensive than the Eco wash, so I’d only use this if time was of the essence.
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Should you buy it?
You need a lot of space for dishes
Maxi Space means that there’s loads of room, even for very tall wine glasses.
You want the lowest running costs
There are dishwashers that are cheaper to run on standard settings.
Final Thoughts
Solid, reliable and with good cleaning, the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK is particularly good for those that need more space for dishes. Maxi Space gives a load more room, and this is the first dishwasher that genuinely fits my tall wine glasses without a fight. If you want an integrated model, or one with cheaper running costs, check out my guide to the best dishwashers.
How we test
We test every dishwasher we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
We measure water and energy usage for each dishwasher to see how efficient they are.
We use real-world mess to test a dishwasher’s ability to clean.
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FAQs
Hotpoint has made the cavity larger on this model, compared to regular dishwashers, giving more room inside for plates, pans, glasses and cutlery.
No, this is a regular dishwasher that is controlled via its front control panel only.
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
