Washer/dryer???

wdv

I have a washer/dryer and its the best thing I have bought. I too heard mixed reports of them so I researched it fully. Firstly if they are as bad as everyone says they would stop making them!

The best advice is this:
1. how many people live in the house? If its 2 or less than a combination is fine, as you are unlikely to be doing heavy loads of washing regulary. Having seperate machines means you can do a wash load whilst also doing a dry load.
2. Space. I am pushed for space, and this was an important factor in deciding. I needed a dryer, but did not want the room being taken up so decide if this is possible.

I have a Hotpoint and the dryer is brilliant on it. 30 mins easily dries the clothes, as it has an excellent spin function which takes majority of water out.

I cannot complain about mine at all, I give them the thumbs up.

Peartree

Having had both options, I'd go for separates. I found when I had a w/d I had to take out half the washing load to get decent drying.

I had to get rid of my w/d when I moved to a house that already had an integrated washer in the kitchen. I got a cheap second hand dryer and stuck it in the garage (expecting it to last a couple of years) and it's been going strong for six years. It takes a much bigger load and drys much better than my w/d ever did. Wouldn't consider a w/d again unless I was really stuck for space.

Whichever you go for, I always do an extra spin before drying.

Peartree

BarGin

I have no choice but to go for a condenser washer dryer due to space constraints. Can anyone offer any recommendations please? Budget about £700 top wack.

BarGin

ormus

2 machines every time. ive lost count of the number of WDs ive seen broken.
(always the drier section).

gazza007

Been very happy with my AEG's performance

tosca5

Total waste of time...buy them seperate.

kwatt

In the trade the best advice we can give on washer dryers is, don't buy one.

Loads of problems with them, at a rough guess about 20% more breakdowns on them as opposed to a straight washer and proabably over 100% more than a dryer. All in all they are bad news.

The primary reason that they were introduced was to allow house builders to meet building regulations which state that any dwelling has to have drying facilities. Obviously with urban re-development this can be a bit of an issue, especially when you want to pack as many flats into as small a space as possible. I'm sure you can see where this is going now.

They've always been rubbish, the dryer performance is poor and prone to failure and/or internal blockages by ooze. They are also one of the worst appliances for going on fire.

If you really must have one then look at the top end Siemens and Miele's but you will spend about £1000 on one.

Personally I'd say a clothes horse was a lot cheaper and won't breakdown.

K.

aloiseb

I find my washer dryer very good, but for someone else, it depends how you are hoping to use the dryer.The washer will probably do a fine job,but you must take the colothes out and only put half of them back in (max!) to dry.

I only put small things back in to dry from wet, like socks, which are too annoying to hang out on the airer. Bigger things go on the airer - or outside on the line - until they are nearly dry, then get a 20 minute stint in the dryer later, in one or two batches.You can only do about 5 teeshirts at a time because the drum is quite small compared to a tumble dryer drum.

I reckon if you want to tumble dry all your clothes without hanging them out at all, you should definitely go for the two separate machines.

Good luck whatever you decide - it seems reading these posts that the "Friday afternoon" machine still happens!

DuncanMiller

I have got an LG washer dryer due to space requirements and it does the job quite well - it has a big drum so unless we completely fill it up for the wash then it does a good job at the drying cycle.

There are two of us and it works really well telling it to finish washing and drying for the time we get in from work (you tell it how long till you want it to finish and it calculates the estimate finish time by weight and doesn't the program until it needs to).

I also got the one with the direct drive which = a lot less noise and hopefully better reliability

Plus it auto senses the amount of water coming out in the dry cycle and reduces time accordingly - that way it is never on for longer than it needs to be.

All in all I like the machine - sometimes forget not to overload and it doesn't do a fab job it but thats my fault!

jimbo_the_jetset

http://www.washerhelp.co.uk/buying-washing-machines.html

Should give a few tips on brands/which to go for etc