Washer Dryer

jovie

Hi everyone,

We are moving into a new house in a few weeks and only have space for one appliance so I am looking to buy a washer dryer. Ideally we only want to spend up to £400. Could anybody recommend one? There are so many conflicting reviews online, I'm baffled!!

Thanks!

swampduck

Personally I would'nt even go there. We bought one when we refitted our kitchen and I can count on one hand the number of times I have used the dryer!! I don't know what it is but when you use the tumble dryer element of the washer /dryer your washing just does not smell fresh. Added to which you have to remove at least half of the washing in the machine to be able to use dryer efficiently.
Far easier if a little more inconvenient to use the washing line or a maiden indoors.

Swampy

Miss_Poohs

Please don't - they are notoriously problematic.

dizziblonde

Think mine's an Indesit - wouldn't recommend it - it's got a thing with the dry cycle (and I know it's not just a bug in my machine - a friend has the same model and complained about the same thing) that it'll still draw in a little bit of water before realising what it's meant to be doing. It's just an irritation but one that builds over the months!

Wouldn't be without it though - with two kids and limited space, we really don't have space at the moment for hanging clothes airers around the house, or a separate drier and someone forgot to install summer last year.

gunsandbanjos

I have a great washer dryer and wouldn't be without it but it was over double your budget.

I wouldn't buy a cheap one, you really do get what you pay for.

I had a hotpoint one and it was the bane of my life, when it eventually kicked the bucket I bought a Miele and I love it.

Meadows

People will always have good and bad stories to tell, and personal preferences that suit one but not another.

I have had a washer dryer in the past and for me have to say never again!
Not only does it take for ever to wash & dry your clothes (as only one load can be done at a time), I also found the dryer was never that efficient and clothes still came out damp and required twice the drying time (condenser dryer). So would opt for separates every time (also if one product goes U/S it all becomes unusable/unpractical).

But it really comes down to your budget and the space you have, if you can only afford one or only have the space for one this might be your only viable option!

BAGGY

We had one and never used the drying facility. It broke before we did. It was an Ariston I think.

aloiseb

We used to have a good one but had to replace it last year when it died after 7 years of loyal service.

The new one (which was about £399) isn't so good, it's incredibly loud (something we didn't realise until we got it home we can't run it at night because of the screaming noise so just as well we came off the economy 7) and I suspect because of " energy saving" (ha!) the dryer doesn't seem to get hot enough to actually dry anything in under 2 hours....yes, this is even when I have taken everything out except the underwear.

So i'd say watch out for so-called energy efficiency!

I now have enough drying racks around the house to get everything hung up so it doesn't matter, but the moneysaving of having built an extension to do this would surely be questionable.

And I suppose if you have to dry an emergency teddy like in that old Persil ad, it's good to have a dryer there....

must try to find make now and give it a review - I think it deserves one....

david39

Don't buy one

Drying cycle creates heat inside the machine.
Over time, this makes the printed circuit boards go brittle.
Vibrations from spin cycle then cause cracks in the PCB.
Result - very expensive replacements required or buy two new separate units.

We got through 3 washer dryers in about 6 years before an engineer explained this to us. We bought a washer-only and it's lasted 8 years so far.

jovie

Thank you for your opinions and advice, i'm certainly reconsidering getting one!

I am interested to know why there are so many problems with washer/dryers, but seperate dryers function fine, any ideas?

Thanks

Meadows

A dryer within a washer is normally a condenser dryer (does not need to be vented outside it condenses the steam created while drying the clothes into water that collects in a tank that must be emptied periodically).

A normal dryer vents the moisture outside (normally through a venting hose - if you do not vent to the outside then the moist air stays within the room and leads to condensation, damp and mold).

The washer/dryer has a tendency to put more moisture into the clothes at the start of a dry programme and then seems to take a lot longer to dry the clothes than a vented dryer.

As with all electricals go for the best energy rating you can afford to minimise electricity costs.