Combi washer dryer or separate?

hpsauce86

Hi all,

We are on the home stretch with buying our first house and I had a question over what peoples preferences are on getting a separate washing machine and dryer, or a combi one. 

I’d prefer to have a combined one but our rented flat has one and it’s pretty rubbish. We’d be able to use the space for cleaning stuff and all that jazz as it’s only got a small utility which im hoping to turn in to more of a boot room type room. It’s not big enough to stack them on top of each other unfortunately. 

In your opinions what is best? A separate washer and dryer or a combi one? And which models do you find are best and most energy efficient? 

Thanks in advance! :-) 

Emmia

How frequently do you use the machines, how many of you in the household and is there alternative drying space e.g. outside?

hpsauce86

Emmia said:

How frequently do you use the machines, how many of you in the household and is there alternative drying space e.g. outside?

There’s only two of us (we want to start a family soon). We manage fine with the combi in our rented. I’m always doing washing though! It’s pretty much on constantly. There’s a garden so I will dry some things outside like sheets etc. 

thanks for replying! 

MalMonroe

Hi, I prefer separate machines but have to say that I've never used a combination one. My friends used to have a combi one and said it could be a bit inconvenient as they had to wait until a wash had finished before they could dry - and even then the drying was very efficient.

My washer's a Hotpoint and dryer is a White Knight. I've had both for several years and have always been happy with them.

Of course when the weather's good, there's nothing like drying washing outside. And also the fresh smell!

As the dryer eats up electricity I now dry clothes on an airer and then just finish them off to get rid of creases and refresh them in the dryer, about 10 to 20 minutes. 

If your washer's on lot now, that will definitely increase when you have a family!   Good luck. 

TELLIT01

We have a combi years ago and it took an absolute eternity to dry anything and that has put us off.  I've just looked at the comparisons on Which and unless you want to pay upwards of £900 they all have their problems, mainly long drying times.  The only exception seemed to be one Bosch at £850.

theoretica

Is the washing machine on all the time with lots of small loads?  My experience of a combi was it would only dry a half load at a time, so you either needed to do lots of little loads, or take half out.  Separate machines that will take big loads might be more convenient and efficient.

hpsauce86

MalMonroe said:

Hi, I prefer separate machines but have to say that I've never used a combination one. My friends used to have a combi one and said it could be a bit inconvenient as they had to wait until a wash had finished before they could dry - and even then the drying was very efficient.

My washer's a Hotpoint and dryer is a White Knight. I've had both for several years and have always been happy with them.

Of course when the weather's good, there's nothing like drying washing outside. And also the fresh smell!

As the dryer eats up electricity I now dry clothes on an airer and then just finish them off to get rid of creases and refresh them in the dryer, about 10 to 20 minutes. 

If your washer's on lot now, that will definitely increase when you have a family!   Good luck. 

Hi thanks so much for replying. 

Yeah I think they are better separate, I just really want the space as the new house has no storage really, so trying to use spaces more efficiently. 

Really I only dry things like towels and stuff, and everything else goes on the airer. Kind of like you! 

Yeah, I think with a baby (hopefully) it’ll be on more than the once a day it’s currently on! 

Thanks again, will have a look at your suggestions. 

hpsauce86

TELLIT01 said:

We have a combi years ago and it took an absolute eternity to dry anything and that has put us off.  I've just looked at the comparisons on Which and unless you want to pay upwards of £900 they all have their problems, mainly long drying times.  The only exception seemed to be one Bosch at £850.

Thanks yeah we have one in rented but I wasn’t sure if it’s just because it’s a cheap one. It’s not too bad to be fair, if it’s a large load of towels I air dry some and finish them all in the dry cycle. Works ok! I had a look on which but I have no idea where to start, hoping to get some suggestions on models and makes that are best. Don’t mind spending £900 on a decent one. 

Thanks for your response :-)

hpsauce86

theoretica said:

Is the washing machine on all the time with lots of small loads?  My experience of a combi was it would only dry a half load at a time, so you either needed to do lots of little loads, or take half out.  Separate machines that will take big loads might be more convenient and efficient.

Thank you, it varies! But mainly smallish I suppose. I tend to only use the dryer for things like socks and towels and pjs etc that can take a bit of heat. Sheets I tend to air dry and then put in the dryer when they are almost dry. So the washing machine element gets used loads more than the dryer truthfully. I’m hoping someone suggests a great combi and I can have a cleaning cupboard. (Can you tell I’m a FTB and very excited/obsessed with Pinterest and smart storage!? My partner thinks I’ve lost the plot) 

Emmia

We have a John Lewis branded combi - bought 7 years ago and has been working well since. I think it was £400-£500.

rach_k

We have a fairly standard Hotpoint washer-dryer.  I wouldn't waste the space moving to separates, even if we had loads of room.  We're a family of four who uses barely any disposable stuff so probably do more washing than the average family.  We had two kids in cloth nappies at once when they were little so that was a LOT of washing!  I don't dry everything in the dryer but most loads will have some stuff that stays in to be dried. 

I think the key thing for us is having a big enough machine - ours is 9kg of washing and I think it's 6kg of drying, which is fine for us once I've taken out the stuff that needs air drying.  You might need to plan ahead a bit e.g. I try to spread the main loads throughout the week and I'll do stuff that doesn't need drying the machine first, so it can be hung while the second load goes on.  It'll do 2 loads of properly dirty stuff with drying in a day, or 3 quicker washes with drying.  I don't think we've ever needed to do more than 14 loads per week, even with babies in nappies or toddlers in muck!