I love toys which aren't battery powered, and I supposed that's what you'd expect from a bath toy. But the way you 'wind up' this toy has been ingeniously thought out - as you open and close the door you feel some resistance, and this winds up the internal mechanism. Once the door is closed your child simply turns the green dial to on and presses the small blue button at the top to start it spinning.
This comes with some small items of clothing to pop into the machine and a bottle which looks like a washing liquid/fabric conditioner bottle. As you pour water into the spout on top of the washing machine you can see it fill with water, and pressing the big blue button pumps air in to bubble it up. Once the cycle is complete (after 5 seconds or so) two pull down washing lines can then be used to air the clothes.
My two girls love this, they work together to take it in turns (most of the time!) to put the clothes in, add the water, and press the buttons. My only niggle with this is that the door is tricky to open, the catch is very stiff so you have to wedge your finger under the handle and really force it to pop it open. It also requires a bit of force to close it but my girls can manage that.
In a nutshell: This toy doesn't cost a great deal and it provides a lot of play value. It's a robust toy and helps to make bathtime more fun. I can be a bit of a pain when you're constantly opening the door (because it's too hard for most children!) but it's fab to see them loading up the washing machine and playing and running through the motions of hanging it to dry.