Washer-dryers versus standard w. machines - any views?

ripplyuk

Alan_Cross wrote: »

I'm intrigued by this idea. So the thought is that you put out your washing on an airer, in the kitchen say, and have a dehumidifier going nearby. Is that right? What size/capacity/wattage, I'd like to know, in order to have an effect..?

I put the airer in one room with the dehumidifier running, and close the door. Having seen the amount of water that one load of drying produces, I don't want the damp spreading all over the house. But that might not be a worry for everyone.

I have this one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5NEZ78?ref=emc_b_5_t
It uses a lot of electricity when on laundry mode and takes much longer to dry things than the tumble dryer. I used to have a larger model (the big brother of this one) which dried things faster, but my electric bills were shocking.

Noise is also an issue. Although the tumble dryer is much louder than the dehumidifier, it's only on for maybe 90 mins, whereas the dehumidifier has to run for most of the day. I chose mine as it was listed as the quietest on the market, but I can hear the hum of it all through the house, and can't sleep with it on. It's still a very useful thing to have though.

Proxima_Centauri

I would get 2 separates if at all possible. A condenser dryer can go pretty much anywhere in the house.

boliston

I have never been keen on tumble dryers or combi washer dryers as they cost more than dedicated washers and are bad for the environment. I have always used airers even though at this time of year you are looking at 2 to 3 days for clothes to dry - I always hang what I need next day separately on a hanger which reduces drying time to just overnight for that item.

Lrimas

It's amazing. You put your clothes in and they come out clean and dry.

I have no idea how I survived so long without one.

DigForVictory

I had a washer dryer - it made sense at the time, but Ye Gods, as it aged, it aged Hard. I had kitchen cover with Hotpoint (fridge, freezer, washerdryer) & my baby sons saw more of "Captain Hotpoint" than they did of the Health Visitor.

I then went to washing machine & vented dryer, had a problem with critters getting in where the hot air was supposed to get out & finally switched to a condenser dryer. Latterly we're trying this heatpump thingummy condenser but only as it had a 5 year guarantee...

Most MS is a line & humidifier, but really - so much depends on what you need to dry & how often & how fast.
All the best!

greentiger

I had a washer and a separate tumble dryer for many years. When we changed our heating system about 5 years ago we had to move the freezer into the kitchen (and it became a fridge freezer) and change to a washer dryer. Now I only dry towels - yes, probably the most greedy thing heat and time wise - and it is fab! So we are actually using less electricity as I don't dry anything else. It's a Siemens with a good capacity and I don't have to reduce the load at all.

I hate the fridge freezer though.

sillyvixen

Proxima_Centauri wrote: »

I would get 2 separates if at all possible. A condenser dryer can go pretty much anywhere in the house.

When I rented with housemates, we had a shed with an electric supply and one of my housemates managed to get a 2nd hand condenser dryer and we used it in the shed.

I would have a condenser dryer if I had room for it, but there really is no room, I have an open plan kitchen diner and the fridge is technically in the dining room with the freezer in the understairs cupboard, kitchen is tiny and and I won't have a duel machine.

loocyloo

I had a hotpoint washer dryer for 17 years! it was great, but I generally only dried socks and pants in it, and occasionally towels and bedding.
I prefer to line/air dry. BUT, for the last 4 years of its life, we had an aga, so air dried close to that, and didn't use the dryer at all.



it finally died last year but replaced with simple washing machine instead

jackyann

I think that this is one of those questions where the answer depends so much on individual circumstances.
In principle, washer driers are less efficient than separate appliances, and very expensive to run, but if space is at a premium it may be your best option.
I presume that you don't have an old fashioned airing cupboard, or the facility to dry clothes around your boiler?
I have lived in many different kinds of dwelling, with many different kinds of heating, an the only time I really was forced to use a tumble drier was when I was living in a house whose only method of heating was an electric fire, and I was out working long shifts.
The problem about drying clothes inside on an airer, as has been said, is condensation - and how much that is an issue depends on your dwelling and its general heating. For instance, I have been able to 'air dry' on a covered terrace in all but the very worst of weathers, then finishing the drying inside did not cause too much condensation.
A lot of people on this board love these: http://www.lakeland.co.uk/brands/drysoon

suki1964

I live in one of the wettest parts of the country and I manage to dry everything without needing a tumble dryer. In fact I've never owned one


My clothes come out of the wash barely damp. Over night on the clothes horse either by an open window or a warm rad , dry by the morning if it's really too wet to hang out. Usually there's enough of a wind going outside to get the clothes dry between the showers.

If I need things really fast, I hang them in the hot press. One of the advantages of not being on mains gas, no combi boiler so a good old fashioned hot tank