Washer/dryer

jezmyers

are they any good? can someone recommend me one? We're having a child soon and there's no room for a separate dryer and I really don't want to hang up all the clother on the airer.

Thanks!

rev229

I in the past have had 3 washer dryers due to lack of space for a dryer. They were both hoovers. It was pre children and was being fixed within the first few months in fact it was virtually rebuild. Hoover eventually replaces it under warrenty. We then had our first baby, within days the dryer had gone again. New baby, christmas and tons of wet washing!!!! :eek: It was fixed every month I am sure the neighbour thought I was having an affiar with the engineer!!!!;) When I got pregnant again we bought a seperate tumble drier and put it in the garage, there was no way the machine would have coped with the extra washing as I had a toddler and bay in towelling nappies:eek: :eek: The machine died after 3 years. I would never buy a washer dryer again they are always trouble. When we moved to our current home it was a new build with an integrated washer dryer never used the dryer as I had a seperate dryer by then but it was repaired so many times despite only being used as a washing machine. I have to say that washing machines and I don't get on very well. I have had 7 washing machines in 13 years:eek: :eek: :eek: in fact I have just bought a new one this week as my last one (smeg) died last week and was to expensive to repair. I have had all makes including a bosch and none have lasted more than 3 years:mad: My mum has had 2 automatic washine machines in 30 years. I only have 2 kids and a husband but do about 18 washes a week:eek: . You can by compact tumble dryers which are quite small I waould recommend that before you buy a washer dryer. They really are a waste of money.

pamplemousse

although l have never had a washer dryer l have heard a lot of bad reports about them,,that they dont last long and break down very often .a lot of people dont have room in their kitchens for a tumble dryer but manage to find a space in another room or garage etc

FBThree

My washer/dryer smelt the house out with a smell of burnt rubber every time I tried to use the dryer bit. I only tried the dryer bit 3 times. I wouldn't get a combined unit ever again.

jezmyers

good to see they're getting such cracking reports :cool:

I just can't think where we'd find the space for a separate dryer in the house without putting it in the lounge/dining room (knocked through). It would mean not being able to run it when the baby was sleeping in the lounge. decisions, decisions.

Becles

I had one but I didn't like it. That was a Hoover and it broke down frequently.

It didn't spin as fast as a conventional washer, so the clothes came out wetter. As the drum is smaller than a tumble drier, you can't dry a full load of washing. You have to do it in two loads and it took longer than a conventional dryer. I tended to only use the dryer functions for emergencies when I needed stuff dried quick.

Once it finally died, I got separate machines and it's been better for me. Clothes are spun faster and come out drier, so they take less drying in the dryer, and I can do a whole load at once.

Don't worry about running it while baby is sleeping nearby. It's better for baby if they sleep through normal household noises during the day, then they understand the difference between night and day quicker!

steve_r123

I sell appliances, (I've got a small indepedant shop, so not one of the Curry's/Comet lot!) and they are not for some people, but lots of people have them and love them.

The most common one I sell is the Indesit WIDL126 and none of my customers have had any problems with it. Indesit are made by Hotpoint so it is a decent brand. Other brands worth looking at IMO are Whirlpool, Bosch/Neff/Siemens or Zanussi. Avoid Candy and Hoover like the plague.

What I would say though is that if you intend on only drying clothes when absolutely neccessary then a W/D will be ok. If you intend to tumble dry everything you wash, seriously re-consider getting a W/D.

HTH

papalaz

when i bought my first washer dryer, about 20yrs ago, the salesman said that the drying times would be the same as hanging the washing on the line! Things have moved on a bit since then but you should still expect up to 3hrs to dry a full cotton load. Thats ok if you dont mind tying up the machine for up to 5hrs for 1 wash.(something to consider if you're going to be using terry nappies for the little one)

daveyjp

These are like combined TV and DVD players. They do the job, but aren't as good as having a TV and a DVD player.

Big advantage of both is you can wash and dry at the same time. Drying in a washer dryer takes ages. Our dryer will take two washing machine loads and have the clothes dry in an hour.

dld2s

I have one, I think we only used the dryer programme a couple of times and decided that it wasn't practical, it takes too long for 1 wash & dry, we purchased a seperate dryer. Another thing I noticed about the WD was that the actual heat used to dry the clothes seemed to be far hotter than a normal TD

Iona_Penny

I had two washer/driers over the yeas because we didn't have room for separate appliances; they were condenser driers and so didn't have the hose attachment. You could only dry half a load, and I didn't have a baby, but I felt they were EXCELLENT for what they were. I also tried to limit the use of it, but if I needed to wash/dry the kids uniforms overnight I could.
Often people slating them have no personal experience of them. If the choice is a WD or nothing then I would say go for it. The 'separate appliance' brigade are not listening to you say you have no space. I do now have a tumble drier (my neighbours were leaving the country!) and yes it is a different beast.
Accept their limitations and I think they fulfil a role.