Washer dryers any good?

uchuff

uchuff

uchuff

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We're moving in to a new place in the next few weeks, our first time buy so need to get white goods.

There's space for a free standing washing machine in the kitchen, current plan is spend £400-£500 on an LG Direct Drive machine, should be a decent upgrade from the Currys Essentials that's in our rented house.

However, after the wet winter we have decided we would also like a Tumble Dryer. There isn't really a good spot for a vented one so if we were to get a separate unit it would be a condenser. It's not something we want to spend a lot on so was thinking of picking up a White Knight or similar cheapy - it's just a case of finding somewhere to hide it as there don't seem to be any cheap integrated condensers and they aren't the best looking things.

Alternatively, are washer dryers any good? If so maybe a single unit would be better. Have seen LG do some for a little more than the regular washing machines but complaints that it takes 8 hours to dry.

Which? seem to rate the AEG L75480WD. Would prefer silver to match the built in oven and the fridge freezer we plan to get.
 
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Our Indesit washer/drier is a good 7 or 8 years old now, for 4 of those years it was in a lot of use serving a family of 5. Never let us down!

I think the whole argument of less to go wrong with a separate one is rubbish tbh. They share the same components and no more likely to break down.
 
I'm interested in a washer dryer too. I was reading the reviews of the cheaper Indesit ones on ao.com but reviews didn't seem good for the dryer.

I currently have an old vented dryer but it's kept in a different part of the house as no dedicated space in the kitchen for it. Would not live without a dryer now as this dryer can dry things in 30 minutes which is good if you need an outfit drying quick for a night out or something.
 
From personal experience a washer dryer isn't as good as separate.

The way the drying part works differs from an actual tumble dryer, so I would say get a condensing unit.

In our new place we have a washer/dryer, its fine. But if we had access to the garage from the house I would have electrics and a proper condensing tumble dryer in there in a heartbeat.


Also another thing to keep in mind, the washer may was 7kg but the drying cycle you may find can only cope with say 4kg.
 
Datamonkey said:
Also another thing to keep in mind, the washer may was 7kg but the drying cycle you may find can only cope with say 4kg.
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This. There's often a limit of a half-load on a wash-dry cycle. Also bear in mind that if you make a lot of laundry, you can't dry one load while another is washing.

I was in a rented flat for around 3 years and the washer-drier failed three or four times in that period (in every case it was the thermal fuse that went, probably due to slight overloading). We now have separate washer and condenser drier and I wouldn't go back.
 
I have a Siemens combi job, does about 6-8 washes a week plus one drying cycle and hasn't skipped a beat in almost 5 years.
 
Washer drier as a last resort in my opinion, but if you do get one make sure you use the drier function regularly as elements can break down on insulation causing some odd behaviours.

My personal preference is
1) heat pump condensing, tad more expensive but coming down in price and much cheaper on leccy circa 400watts v 2400watts (you do have to be good with cleaning filters etc after cycle to maintain though)
2) vented drier, gas or electric quicker to dry stuff than condensing and no water res to empty.
3)Condensing drier, do what they say on the tin
4)washer drier

Simon
 
Got a Samsung Eco-bubble 8/5kg one. It has a 5 year warranty from Samsung, and a 10 year on the motor. Quiet as anything.
We had a Hotpoint for 10 years before that, but got a bit ropey near the end of it's life. The Samsung is fantastic - uses so little detergent, and seems to get most things iron dry in 30 mins
 
The LG direct drive washer dryer is excellent.

The only drawback with washer dryers in general is reduced capacity on the dry cycle as the drum is smaller

If you can spare the space feel free, but remember some of those cheap condenser dryers can be hideously noisy. I had a WhiteKnight dryer that would wake a dead stick, but my LG combo is nearly silent. You don't need to empty a reservoir on a combo either.
 
Condenser here, Indesit, I believe.
Have had it for about six years and works fine. We use a short dry cycle, so things often need hanging to finish off, but worked fine in a studio flat.
 
LG are excellent if you must have a washer dryer. Just check the depth you have available some of them are noticeably deeper than standard (660-680mm)
 
mattyg said:
Two drums
Two motors
Two control units
two doors

I could go on.

How is that less than one unit
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So what you are saying is? Having one running twice as much is better than two running half as much? I think probability will tell you that something running twice as much will have a greater chance of failing. I have the space and enjoy washing and drying at the same time.
 
Millwall.FC said:
So what you are saying is? Having one running twice as much is better than two running half as much? I think probability will tell you that something running twice as much will have a greater chance of failing. I have the space and enjoy washing and drying at the same time.
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Do you enjoy it? Like, really get pleasure out of it? ;)
 
uchuff said:
We're moving in to a new place in the next few weeks, our first time buy so need to get white goods.

There's space for a free standing washing machine in the kitchen, current plan is spend £400-£500 on an LG Direct Drive machine, should be a decent upgrade from the Currys Essentials that's in our rented house.

However, after the wet winter we have decided we would also like a Tumble Dryer. There isn't really a good spot for a vented one so if we were to get a separate unit it would be a condenser. It's not something we want to spend a lot on so was thinking of picking up a White Knight or similar cheapy - it's just a case of finding somewhere to hide it as there don't seem to be any cheap integrated condensers and they aren't the best looking things.

Alternatively, are washer dryers any good? If so maybe a single unit would be better. Have seen LG do some for a little more than the regular washing machines but complaints that it takes 8 hours to dry.

Which? seem to rate the AEG L75480WD. Would prefer silver to match the built in oven and the fridge freezer we plan to get.
Click to expand...

I have the big AEG washer-dryer. It's very quiet, and performs well in both washing and drying. If I had the space I probably would have gone for seperate units but having an all in one does have it's benefits too.
 
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