WASHING APPLIANCE WITH IMPROVED CIRCULATION PUMP CONTROL

A washing appliance (100) is provided, comprising: a tub (110) configured to house items to be washed; an inlet valve (120) operable to be selectively switched between an open condition for causing washing fluid to be loaded into the tub (110) and a closed condition for preventing washing fluid be fed to the appliance (100); a circulation pump (130) configured to circulate the washing fluid in the tub during a washing cycle; a control unit (105) configured to determine an operative state of the circulation pump (130) between a saturation state indicative that sufficient washing fluid is present in the tub (110) to prevent air from being drawn out by the circulation pump (130), and a starvation state indicative that insufficient washing fluid is present in the tub (110) to prevent air from being drawn out by the circulation pump (130). The control unit (105) is further configured to receive an indication of a target speed for the circulation pump (130) and accordingly control the circulation pump (130) by: causing a speed of the circulation pump (130) to increase towards the target speed with a first speed increase rate; if the following two conditions a) and b) are both true: a) a starvation state of the circulation pump (130) is determined before the speed of the circulation pump (130) reached the target speed, and b) the inlet valve (120) is in the open condition, causing the speed of the circulation pump (130) to increase towards the target speed with a second speed increase rate lower than the first speed increase rate.