Condensing washer dryer

Candy53

Hi,

Does anyone have/had one of these?

We have a small kitchen, and my dryer is taking up vital space even though it's only a small 3 kw one. There are 4 adults in our house, so I do need a dryer in the winter.


Thanks,
Candy

SternMusik

I am not a fan of these. I have had them in a couple of flats in the past. You can normally only dry half a wash load at a time, which makes them impractical and inefficient. I believe they use mains water for the condensation process which is not very eco-friendly either (and can be expensive if you are on a water meter).

I live by myself and love my tumble dryer! I keep it in the garage though so it doesn't take up space in the kitchen.

Candy53

Oh right, think I'll keep my dryer then.

I wish I could put it outside, but there is absolutely no electricity outside, even in 2 brick sheds.

Thanks.
Candy

ic

I've certainly never heard of fresh water being used in the condensing process - they just use air as far as I know.

I personally have a washer dryer, and its great. I use the dryer for odd items I need drying quickly, or just don't have room to dry in doors during winter/wet days - like bed sheets. My machine is an 8kg wash, 6kg dry - so a wash and dry of 6kg of clothing is hardly impractical. My only criticism is the dry is slow, and of course whilst that's running, you can't wash anything else. The washing side of it runs just as well as any other standalone washing machine.

The argument will always be that separates are more reliable, efficient, individually cheaper, and more practical as you can wash one load whilst drying another. A washer dryer is a compromise for those that don't have the space.

Hezzawithkids

I have one and I hate it. My old tumble dryer used to be in the garage but when we converted that into living space it had to go as there's no room for a 2nd machine in my kitchen. Don't get me wrong its great at washing but I can't seem to find a dry setting that doesn't completely mangle everything, meaning it takes me twice as long to do the ironing. Can't wait until we get our extension done and I can have a separate dryer again.

SternMusik

ic wrote: »

I've certainly never heard of fresh water being used in the condensing process - they just use air as far as I know.

From http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/laundry-and-cleaning/reviews/washer-dryers/page/features-explained/ :

"Condenser
The condenser in a washer-dryer cools moist, hot air inside the machine, producing water which pours down the drain. This process uses a lot of water itself, making some washer-dryers a poor choice for people with a water meter."

You can look up the water and energy consumption values on the retailers' websites. For a Bosch model I found that washing alone uses 54l of water and washing + drying uses 89l of water.

Which? also say that "Three in 10 washer-dryers are likely to have a problem that needs repairing in the first six years, compared to one in ten tumble dryers."

Agreed with the comment about compromise. Is there any way you could get electricity into your brick built sheds and make a utility room? It might not cost more to do that than the price of a good washer/drier and would be a better use of money IMO.

lottie3000

I had a bosch one, so quite an expensive model and thought it was awful. Used it just for a washing machine after a while. I found it never dried anything like a seperate tumble dryer and didn't like the fact that you put it on a drying cycle, like you would a wash cycle and had to wait ages just to test the dryness of the washing.

Candy53

Ah, yeah, I think I will stick to my separate washer and dryer then.

Thanks for all of your reviews.

I would put it outside but can't afford an electrician.


Candy

sk240

A washer dryer uses fresh cold water to pass through the condencer, where as a condencer dryer used the new incoming air to do the same thing.

This is because the washer part neesd a completely sealed system to keep the water in :-)

Candy53

Well, I did some more research about them, and several people have said they get condensation in their kitchen from them, when they're not supposed to do.


Candy