My antique Hoover washing machine is on its last legs. It has served me well but its time to move on.
Does anyone have a washer-dryer combo machine? Are they good/worth it or is best to buy separate appliances? I don't have a dryer currently, I do prefer to line dry but coming up to winter and now with a baby, I think it'd be handy to have a dryer JIC.
We have an LG. the wash maximum
Weight is 9.5kg but the dryer is only like 4kg(?) something like that. So it's fine to do a small load of wash & dry but if u have a full load then uve gotta consider other options. Usually not an issue unless its been banking up for a week+ in winter. We have an old dryer but that uses a lot of electricity so we're trying to eliminate the use of it.
Verdict from separate dryer & washing machine, pretty happy with the combo version.
Some people absolutely hate them (and some brands/models can be unreliable, they seem to be getting better with time maybe?), but if you know what you're getting, and are sure it'll suit you, it can be great.
We have a Samsung 10kg washer/6kg dryer, I really like it. The dryer does error in really warm weather (our laundry faces West), I think the thermostat decides the machine's too hot, and I have to go stop that annoying beeping by pressing start to resume the cycle. We probably should get it checked under extended warranty, but on the other hand, it doesn't happen that often and really I have no business using the dryer in hot weather. It serves me right.
The dryer in combos will be a condenser dryer. These I think are gentler on your clothes but can take hours. So for people who like to decide their jeans need washing 2 hours before they have to be somewhere, it might not be the best option. We have the old dryer in the garage still for these situations. But I've read reviews of people hating the combos because of the time they take - but you know, that's not the condenser dryer's fault. It's a condender dryer. You can probably read up on condenser dryers, I think they use less power but they do use water. You can't really stop a condenser dryer halfway through like you can a hot air dryer. They won't make your laundry humid though, that's a plus.
My model has something called 'air refresh' - sort of washing without water. Sort of. Anyway, I put dry cleanable stuff through to prolong the time before I have to take it to the actual dry cleaners, and that's pretty cool. It also has a bunch of other features I use once a year lol.
With the massive capacity, I've been known to chuck on a massive load, pull out half to hang up, and then leave the tougher stuff in for a drying cycle.
It doesn't bother me that it takes awhile because I am a 'crap we have no clothes' at 11pm washer, so I just chuck it in before bed. It does play a freaking 12 hour sonata at the end, but it doesn't seem to wake anyone. There's a timer too, not that I've ever used it.
If you overfill the dryer, it won't dry the clothes properly - or if your load is towel & jeans heavy, you'll need to choose a longer cycle. My husband chooses the longest cycle because he can, but I like the art of figuring out the shortest cycle that will work for the load. It doesn't take long to figure it out, and then you'll be an artist just like me.
It's pros and cons really. You have to decide if you want a condenser dryer. It saves space but takes longer. You need to read reviews to find a reliable brand (keeping in mind that most people with no problems, like me, tend not to post reviews, and the disgruntled people have quite a bit to say), and maybe look into an extended warranty, since if one breaks, both do. If I had a massive laundry, maybe I'd get a separate big washer and condenser dryer (I really like it, it doesn't seem to ruin my clothes and husband chucks underwear and stockings and lacy frilly stuff indiscriminately into the machine). The machine's massive as it is, though part of that is the handy drawer underneath. I appreciate the extra laundry space one machine gives us. It's nice to set and wake up to clean dry clothing. Really nice. If you want a total dead certainty of reliability, you'll need to go review reading - reliability seems to be getting better, but probably two separate units have the edge there. Like I said, some love them and some hate them - I love ours but I walked into the relationship with my eyes wide open, so already knew I was trading time for convenience, and so on. All the best deciding. =)
I'm not the kind of person to use the dryer just because its convenient, if you know what I mean. Actually, I quite enjoy hanging out washing. It's therapeutic. Do you have to do a wash-dry cycle? Or can you just wash/just dry?
Oh yeah, you can definitely do them separately. That's how I do my massive wash load, then only machine dry half. I just do a wash load, pull half out to hang, and then set the rest to dry.
From memory, many reviewers I read were the sort of people who mostly hung their clothes to dry, so couldn't really justify having a separate dryer, but wanted to have one for those super rainy weeks or when they need to catch up on washing.
I use my dryer a lot in winter (mainly for towels and sheets) and I nearly always have it running while the washing machine is going so for me, separate machines is a must.
I looked at them when our washer died but decided against as the salesman told us his takes 6 hours to do a wash / dry cycle! I just have seperate front loaders now.
It's a love hate relationship great cause it doesn't take up space like 2 machines if we do a full load we just run the dry cycle twice but yeah it can take a whole day to do 1 load if it were my choice again id get a top loader and separate dryer
We used one in a hotel once - I thought it was a great idea until I tried it. It looked pretty new but was useless. Could have been just the brand but I would go separate personally.
We had one in a furnished rental when I was pg with dd2 until she was newborn. I HATED it with a passion! I wish I could recall the brand so I knew never to buy it lol like others have said it didn't do its job very well, the wash was okay but took a very long time even the shortest cycle was 1 1/2hrs or something I think, and yeah the dryer part was a condenser and even though it would go and go and GO for hrs when it apparently finished stuff was still damp no matter the size of the load. It was September when dd2 was born so still quite wet and I can tell you now I'm very grateful we moved from there when she was a week old coz I'd only just caught up on washing from hb & newborn plus all the usual stuff I can hardly imagine having to use it all the time especially with cloth nappies.
I'm sure there are better machines like it out there but honestly for more than maybe 2peoples washing I think it would be a struggle to keep up with it all in winter.
PS I to find hanging out washing therapeutic and only use a dryer when absolutely necessary
I love mine! Our laundry isn't huge and our dog sleeps in there, so the space saving is my big thing. I rarely use the dryer - I hang outside or on a clothes horse inside. If I need stuff for the next day I'll put a small amount in the dryer, and because I know it's a condenser and expected or top not be like a separate one, I just air out my clothes a bit of needed before putting them on.
I'm a huge fan of the wash cycles, it cleans like nothing else and the gentle/handwash cycles are brilliant. I don't tend to set it for wash and dry in one go, because my washing loads are always more than in can handle as a dryer. I don't have a problem with that though.
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Washer dryer combo
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