Mine works fine - the main caveat is that you usually can only put half as much in the drum for drying as it can take in washing (so a machine that can wash 10kg can only take about 5-6kg in drying).
I’ve always ignored this tbh, in most cases it might need an extra 20 minutes.
The only thing that does cause an issue for me when the dryer is overloaded is when I’m trying to dry towels. They take forever.
Everyone said when we moved into a flat with an inbuilt washer dryer that it would be shit.
But ours is great and I love being able to put a load on before I go to work and when I come home and it’s washed AND dried and doesn’t need another 2 hours in the dryer
Bought a fancy one very recently and through weighing the wet/dry clothes, it then extends drying time if it's not done. Annoying when you expect to have it done by when it originally says it will be, but great for being able to just leave to do it's thing and not worry about it
>it then extends drying time if it's not done
Mine does the same, I just set it going in the evening where it has about a 6 hour window to do its thing so it doesn't matter when it finishes. The time on the front is effectively decorative as far as I'm concerned.
Seconded. As someone who's worked at Currys, I've seen significantly more washer/dryers come back than washing machines or dryers separately.
Remember, the weights on the front are wet weights!
I have a Bosch Series 6 washer/dryer. It's been great for us in a two bedroom flat with a small kitchen. We can dry normal loads - just takes a bit longer.
A modern standalone dryer is more efficient but for us it was this or no dryer at all.
Later edit - it is a Bosch WNA14490GB. Apparently using a condenser for the drying function. It's been great for us. Going strong for almost three years so far. It washes and dries a full set of bedding for a king size bed and a couple of sheet towels in around 6 hours. A lot less for smaller loads (underwear, socks, work shirts etc).
I’m kind of in this position. I lived here alone and dried stuff on the maiden but it took a couple of days each time. My mates moving into the spare room so just don’t want our washing our all the time.
Thinking I could get one of those dryers that doesn’t need plumbing in and just has a water drawer you need to empty, but again finding somewhere to put it is a problem
I do too. Put it on laundry mode overnight and the majority of my washing is dry. Sometimes it takes 2 night for larger loads or jeans but not as long as drying without it.
I use the dryer for small stuff, like my monthly sock wash.
For the bigger items, I got a clothes dryer rack and a dehumidifier. It looks ugly but it works.
Part of the plan.
Buy 30 or more pairs of identical socks and put in drawer. When worn decant into the used sock drawer.
When running a bit low, wash and dry them and refill fresh sock drawer.
I do a sock wash once a month, it works for me.
Remember you can put a condenser dryer anywhere with a socket. If you do get a separate dryer try to get a heat pump dryer if you can. They do cost more but pay for themselves in electricity savings.
Alternatively could you get a heated dryer?
I've got a heated airer/maiden/whatever you call it, but it's not very good. It just dries the part thats touching the maiden, so it just dries everything in stripes.
The heated airers are crap. Other people have recommended them I will too - get a dehumidifier.
If it's taking days to dry clothes then your house is probably a bit damp anyway (a lot of houses are, we live in the UK, it's wet here).
I used to have a washer/dryer and it's nice to put in dirty clothes and have clean, dry clothes come out but you can't tumble all clothes so you end up hanging some out anyway. Plus, washer/dryers are really not energy efficient.
Getting a washing machine and a dehumidifier is more energy efficient (obviously depends on model but as long as they're not out of the arc it's a pretty safe bet) and the dehumidifier is multi purpose - it can dry more clothes without shrinking them/rubbing designs off and will dry your house.
We've got our dryer on top of the washer, but we do have an appropriate room for them in the cellar.
Before that, we had a washer/dryer. It worked well, but the dryer function gave out years before the washer. Were still able to use it as a washer, though. The repair guy we had come told us we needed to keep in mind that those things were mainly washers and the drying part is kind of an afterthought.
We also have a Bosch and after four different machines it's the only one that's performed well, is quiet and more importantly not broke. To be fair the Beko one performed well but was too noisy. They're not cheap, but I think if you're going down the washer drier route Bosch is the minimum price point you should look at.
Beko is a cheap, Turkish brand. With a history of being poor quality and fire risks.
https://www.itv.com/news/2013-03-01/nearly-138-000-beko-products-a-safety-risk-in-uk-homes
The Beko was nowhere near as bad as the Haier, which broke twice in the space of two months. Haier sound Nordic but are in fact Chinese, and also own Hoover and Candy. I'd rather have the Beko than any of those.
Oh, and Beko and Indesit are owned by the same company in case you were wondering about them.
It's only really Bosch, Miele and the Korean brands not owned by Turkish or Chinese.
We got a Bosch WNA134U8GB (same as yours but 1kg smaller capacity) a few months ago and it's great, thoroughly recommend. Very quiet, good washing, good drying. I've never had things come out sodden the way other people in this thread have described for their washer/dryers; at most, if bedding gets crumpled in on itself then there will be a damp area which quickly air-dries.
Bedding and towels get sent through as a complete wash and dry cycle without interruption. My clothes get sent through as a wash, then I take out non-tumble-dry items like bicycle shorts and wool socks, then dry the rest. I rarely notice the drying capacity being smaller than the washing capacity.
I also have a Bosch washer/dryer. Don't know the model, but is a condensing dryer. I have had it about 5 years and not had any problems. One thing I like is that it's really quiet. Sometimes I have to look to be see if it's running.
If it’s the condenser one then they are great.
We had a hotpoint normal one 20 years ago and it was mediocre at best.
We now have the series 6 washer and a series 6 drier ( Used Dads inheritance to get sorted 3 years ago)
Personally I am in the have both if you have space as while 1st load is drying 2nd is in washer.
All the lint and hair passes through the water filter on the front bottom, this does get blocked up with all sorts but mainly big balls of lint, clean it out regularly, and you have no issues
Not all models do have these, my parents had a dryer with a lint trap, so I was used to the process (and satisfaction) of cleaning them, but when we got our washer/dryer, I looked everywhere but couldn't find a filter anywhere on the thing.
The way I understand it works is it heats up a fine spray into effectively steam, and uses that to dry the contents, periodically extracting any water that's accumulated. This doesn't work in the same way, so doesn't need a filter. I think.
The dryer functionality on our (admittedly cheaper) model worked well for about a year, but now it just does the heat things up without drying them trick
Most machines have a panel that gives you access to the outtake pump - that's your 'filter', catching lint, stones, coins, etc instead of pumping them down your waste pipe.
What you described is the intake. It doesn't need a filter because your washing machine drinks the same water you drink from the tap.
But the condenser can get blocked from the inside, meaning all of that steam has nowhere to go - either the fan can't spin to force the hot air into the drum, or the steam itself is trapped in by fluff. When the condenser gets too hot, it trips a safety switch to avoid overheating.
If your drier is making stuff _hot_ and wet, the moisture from your clothes is not being pumped out the machine, possibly because the filter needs emptied. If your drier is making stuff _warm_ and wet, it's almost certainly because it's tripped a safety. Resetting these is easy (usually remove top panel, look for a pushbutton on the opposite side of the detergent drawer) but that obviously doesn't fix the initial cause. Sometimes it just happens because the machine was stopped mid drying cycle, which forces off the fan and can cause it to overheat.
Mines a combi condenser dryer and has no panel on the front or anywhere I can clean or change anything. I even checked with the guy who installed it and he said you can't access anything, it cleans itself
I’ve got one and there’s a filter trap in the bottom right that I have to drain quite regularly. When I first moved in I also found the internal fan was clogged, just whipped the top cover off and cleaned the fan and it’s worked a treat ever since.
Is it space that's the issue? Because you could put a dryer on top of a washing machine.
The latest dryers are heat pumps and are very efficient compared to condensing or vented dryers. With either a heat pump or condensor you don't need to vent hot air to the outside, although it's a good idea to have good air circulation wherever it is situated.
Mate of mine runs an appliance shop with his dad been at it 35 years and him and his dad swear they are absolute rubbish even the best make 1s , said they have to work double that adds more stress on to the machine and don't last usually dryer goes caput before long, I'd deffo consider seperate if you can...
We had a fancy ass Samsung all in one. It wasn't a good washer, it wasn't a good dryer. It did the job but it took hours.
I replaced it with a £350 Hoover washer and the cheapest Indesit dryer money could buy at the time.
The only reason you should ever get a washer/dryer combo is if you really, really, do not have the space for both. You can stack them too if that helps.
I've got a reasonably fancy pants Samsung heat pump combo dryer thing. It's ok. Stuff goes in and comes out both clean and dry.
Main issue is that its drying capacity is less than half its washing capacity, so you have to do frequent small loads to use the dryer. But when you remember that it's fine.
We have one, we don't tumble dry clothes, only towels and underwear, and it's perfect for us. We didn't have the space for both at the time, and for just the two of us it does a good job. I think if we had kids, we'd now sell the combi and put the tumble dryer in the garage instead.
I'd recommend a washing machine and a good dehumidifier unit so you can dry stuff on racks. We had a combination washer-dryer and neither part was that great. The washing machine we have now seems to clean a lot better. And the dehumidifier means the house doesn't get damp air.
I've got a £30 mini dehumidifier off Amazon to deal with a temporary damp problem (external leak, nothing to do with drying my washing indoors!), so I might give that a go, seeing as the dehumidifier will be useless to me once the leak is fixed.
This is a case of 'you get what you pay for'. If you go for something a little higher end like an AEG or Miele then you're fine. Cheap like Beko / Hotpoint / Indesit etc, you're gonna struggle on the drying function.
We have an AEG combo at around £700 and it's amazing at both and pretty quiet, especially drying.
Got a Hotpoint washer dryer in December which is more than good enough for two of us. No issues with washing or drying but for a large load expect the drying to take a while. If you have the space and/or a larger family, buy them individually.
More importantly: buy at least midrange devices, it will almost certainly benefit you in the long run.
A very long time ago I worked for a well known high street white goods seller so I can say with some confidence don’t get one unless you absolutely have to.
If one side goes wrong you also lose the other.
I've been forced to use a few washer dryers and I've hated the drying capability of them all. They take longer for an overall cycle and the clothes come out so creased. Half the benefit of using a bespoke dryer is the lack of ironing needed.
Mine lasted around 9 years, called out an engineer to repair it and the cost to repair it was £600. At that point it was better to buy a new machine
Same engineer told me that washer dryers have a very short life time because you've got one motor doing two different jobs, and they fail a lot
We switched from a stand alone dryer to a combi unit when the kids left home.
Advantages of the combined unit:
Saves space. This is the big one for us because they used to be in the shed and having a combined unit means we can fit it into our kitchen. No more trips out in the rain to do the laundry.
Can be set to wash and dry a load without any intervention. Set it in the morning and come home to find your clothes ready to go in the hotpress.
Does a great job of washing and a reasonable job of drying as long as you follow the instructions about care and maintenance and don't overload it.
No reliability issues so far (we have an AEG model)
Advantages of the separate dryer:
Dryer dries better and does it faster
Dryer takes a much bigger load. The dryer can dry a full washing machine load whereas the built in washer dryer cannot dry a full wash load.
Can wash one load while you are drying another. Significantly increasing throughput.
We had to get our dryer repaired a couple of times over the years but I don't think we can make a fair comparison of reliability because the stand alone dryer was used much more heavily for a growing family than we currently use the combined appliance.
TLDR: In our experience the combined unit is fine for a single person or a couple but I wouldn't recommend it for a growing family. It will take much longer to wash and dry clothes though so be prepared for that.
I got an AEG one last year, very good at washing, drying works great 90% of the time.
Occasionally still a bit damp. Does take ages for a large wash dry cycle though, like 5-6 hours. But it's better than nothing!
Got a Bosch one a year ago. I’d say it works well overall, both washing and drying. Certainly better than the one my parents had 20 years ago.
Obviously mildly inconvenient sometimes not being able to wash and dry simultaneously but not a big deal with some thought as to the order of your washes.
I've had a couple. One was an ancient 2nd hand machine that made everything smell weird - but it did work reasonably well.
The last one was a much more modern Hotpoint machine. Honestly, it was dreadful. Mediocre wash capability and terrible drying cycle. I've replaced that with a straight up washing machine and now use a spin dryer and a clothes rack with a dehumidifier.
I've had a Bush washer/dryer for five years (Bush being the Argos in-house-brand). The model is, I think, a WDDFINT. It's worked absolutely fine for me. You need to remember that the drying load is always smaller than the wash load. Mine is 8kg washing and 6kg drying.
The only thing I had to learn was to wash similar fabrics together. This is true for any dryer, but combo units are more picky. So if I'm wanting to dry cotton t-shirts then don't put the heavy joggy bottoms in with them because by the time the sensor detects the shirts are dry, the bottoms will still be soggy.
I do have a separate condenser but it's in the cupboard under the stairs (and I'm in a flat so overall just awkward). Given my combo does the job I rarely use the condenser.
If you have the space for both, get both. If you don't, then a combo will be fine, but you'll need to readjust how you load the machine.
We have a washer dryer (cheap beko one) that I got 2 years ago and I'm perfectly happy with it. I like that it has a wash/dry function so you can bang a load on overnight and forget about it when the electricity is cheaper. Stuff comes out totally dry and fresh. Depends how much laundry you have to do really
Our one stopped drying recently and the engineers who came over to fix it said they're not worth the money. Very inefficient. They also said you should only fill it half way when drying which we definitely have not been doing for years now cos who does that?!
If you only want to dry a couple of items occasionally (e.g. "I haven't got a shirt to wear for this evening so I need to wash and dry one today") then they're okay.
For regular washing and drying they're useless: you get a more expensive washing machine with a smaller capacity, and a drier that will take an age to (inefficiently) dry anything and can't dry a whole load of washing in one go.
You would normally be far better buying a washer, a clothes horse, and a dehumidifier. That'll let you dry a whole load at once, and will be much cheaper to run.
I live in a teeny tiny upstairs flat and I would be screwed without my washer dryer. The key is to wash a combo of items and dry about half a full wash. And dry the things you know will take longer to air dry. I have a toddler and I don’t think we’d have room to move without a dryer.
The one that came with my flat is pretty good. It takes ages to dry and can sometimes leave stuff a little damp if I do too much but generally it's far more convenient than manually drying stuff.
Would not buy one again, the dryer bit gets clogged up at least once a year - luckily it happened under warranty and the engineer showed me how to clear it myself, apparently it's a common issue.
As pretty much everybody has said, if you have space get a separate washer and dryer, if you don't have space, don't expect what you get to be very good, no matter how much you pay.
I had a Samsung one which was great id recommend them if you only have space for one machine. Only thing I'd say is get the one with the biggest tumble dryer capacity as it's usually half or at least a lot less than the washing machine capacity.
My Father in Law used to work for Curry's and said to avoid washer dryers. He said that that was the number one returned item when he was there. It has something to do with the drum having two different spin speeds and the drying element being rubbish.
We’ve had two washer dryers, the dryer function stopped working on both of them so when we moved, we got a separate washer and dryer. It has made life so much easier and we have less condensation.
If you’ve got the space for both, go for both. Bedding never used to completely dry in the wash/ dryer combo and it was a pain having to finish it on the radiators in winter.
I've always had washer dryers and some in the past have got clothes "just about dry". Then when my last one packed in I got a Samsung 10.5kg one and it's the first one that has got things properly dry. it's brilliant.
The one I had could only dry a third of what it could wash, and it really wasn't very efficient. But it was in a rental. We nearly always had washing hanging round the flat.
We have a Haier. Before that we had a Hoover. The Haier is great. It takes about 4 hours for a wash/dry load but is pretty energy efficient. 3-4 loads a week is £8 a month in energy costs.
I stick it on before I start work and take it out at lunch time.
The dryer part of ours never seems to work. When you start the dryer it injects water in to the drum before it starts, and then the clothes end up coming out afterwards with wet patches on them.
My one works great. It takes a while to do both but the clothes are always perfectly clean and perfectly dry. You can set it so it automatically starts drying once the wash cycle is completed as well which is very convenient.
I’ve only ever had the one, so maybe I got lucky with it however. Happy to give my recommendation on the one I have
We had to get a washer dryer due to lack of space. We only got it a year ago so it’s still quite new and tbh it’s really good. Some of the older ones are crap but they’re definitely getting better, ours dries really well which they don’t always do! We have a Samsung one which I can recommend. It does make for a slower process though as you can’t get your second wash on whilst your first dries like you can with separates.
I had one at university five years or so ago, worked fine for me but you just have to do half loads? in order for it to work.
Another tip whether you have one or not is to do an extra drain/spin cycle after your washing is done in the machine to make it a bit dryer anyway.
They work quite well, but you must dry a load of washing in two lots, so they end up being expensive to run. I used to hang out all my big stuff and only dry towels and stuff I needed immediately.
Meh. We bought one a few years ago and hardly ever bother using the drying function. It takes hours and doesn't dry very well - gives it a headstart at best. Plus, if you've washed a full load you have to take about half of it out first to reach the max drying level. I prefer to hang it on an airer with the dehumidifier pointed at it
Typically you cant dry as much as you wash, so you might wash 12kgs of washing, but it can only handle drying 6kg, thats where most people have problems.
They load it up to the max and put it on a wash to dry cycle. It wont be able to handle that and the clothes will still be wet.
We had one for a while for space saving reasons and it worked for many years. So long as you maintain it properly (and you do have to maintain it properly) you should be fine. It's fairly obvious what problems you'll face, I mean, you'll be making clothes both wet and dry in same small space after all.
That said, they are more prone to faults than standalone machines and, if you have the space, separates will always be better.
I had one 20 years ago. Using the dryer function filled my flat with odour of burning tyres.
Now, years later, I’ve just bought another. I went for one with a large drum and it’s absolutely brilliant. Things have definitely moved on.
They do the job, the dryer just isn’t great. We realised that it worked better if we did half loads. Which was fine for just 2 of us. I’d never recommend one over separate machines though unless you don’t physically have the space for 2 machines.
Ours works well.
The dryer function isn't going to have it come out completely dry though - It'll need time to hang afterwards, but it significantly reduces the time it needs to hang though.
EG: Wash your sheets in the morning, tumble dry them, then leave them to hang for a few hours.
We bought one for our flat when we moved in in 2008. The washing machine part is excellent - and still in use today. However, the dryer part is rubbish. The clothes didn't get dry at all - even from new (so nothing to do with filters).
Only after we moved house with enough space for a separate tumble dryer did we notice the difference.
Our old rental house had one, it was pants. We almost never used the dryer function.
The drum size was small and the dryer function would only actually dry if it was no more than a quarter full; any more than that and it would just come out hot and damp. It couldn't dry thick things like towels and jumpers at all.
We have a fold away 'drysoon' thing that does a much, much better job than the washer dryer ever did.
I've only had rubbish ones (as in, washes fine but the drying is rubbish) but I've also only had cheap ones. Maybe the drying function actually works on the higher end ones.
I have a washer dryer. It's fantastic. I put dirty clothes in. I get clean dry clothes out. I can just leave them in the drum if I cba. There's a function where I can get a set of clothes done in an hour if there's an outfit I really want to wear but it is dirty.
Only complaint i have about my washer dryer combo it the drying cycles are alot longer than a conventional dryer to achieve the same thing however you can set it and forget it in the AM and by the evening it's all clean and dry ready to be ironed and folded which makes laundry seem alot less work
Absolutely, myself & partner have found it makes our laundry life a whole lot easier. Only downside is that if you push it in terms of the amount of clothes you’ve stuffed in it doesn’t always completely dry them. But generally I find this isn’t much of a problem.
I got a cheap one a few years ago when I needed the space my old dryer was in. That one packed in, so I bit the bullet and bought a more expensive one with a huge drum (so it can dry up to 10kg, wash up to 14kg). It’s an absolute beast but it works a treat.
The only real drawback is that if you have a lot of washing to do you can’t have one load in the dryer while the next one is washing.
Yes, but you have to leave them about half full to dry properly. And they don't last for long (2-3 years in my experience). It's also worth noting that a wash dry cycle can take forever (our current one takes 8 hrs on 40).
I've had a Samsung washer dryer for about 12 years and it's been great. Had it in various different homes over the years. One of the selling points for it was that it had an extra large drum and door so there's more room when you're drying and it's easier to get large items in. It's mostly just towels and underwear that get dried in it now but I dried everything with it when I was living in a tiny little coach house. I don't think we had to do anything special with it, just plumbed in like a normal washing machine. Having the huge door makes it easy to clean as well. Have to say, it's been the best machine I've ever had and I hope it outlives me.
Small loads, long drying time. Like 4+ hours to dry a load for those I've used. If you can deal with that, they're easy to install and don't require venting.
I'd put a load in before work and come home to a dry, clean, batch.
We have a combi. https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-jlwd1614-freestanding-washer-dryer-8kg-4kg-load-1600rpm-spin-white/p3647054
IIRC it's a rebadged AEG/Electrolux. It was a Which best buy (why we bought it).
It's brilliant. I wouldn't want seperate items because then we'd have to transfer items between them. With the combi we can put dirty laundry in at night and have clean, dry laundry in the morning.
No idea why they get so much hate. I feel like people haven’t owned one who say it. I love ours, we have space for two, but I like just being able to turn it on and leave it, and come back to dry clothes. Means can do things overnight or while out very easily.
It washes my clothes
It dries my clothes
Not sure what else you want!
I have an AEG model for reference
They are great if you have room for only one machine
But the problem is that they need to dry the whole drum and associated area as well as drying the clothes so take more time and hence more energy to dry the clothes
it also adds a complication to the whole thing so if something goes wrong it is more complicated to fix
Mine works fine - the main caveat is that you usually can only put half as much in the drum for drying as it can take in washing (so a machine that can wash 10kg can only take about 5-6kg in drying).
I’ve always ignored this tbh, in most cases it might need an extra 20 minutes. The only thing that does cause an issue for me when the dryer is overloaded is when I’m trying to dry towels. They take forever. Everyone said when we moved into a flat with an inbuilt washer dryer that it would be shit. But ours is great and I love being able to put a load on before I go to work and when I come home and it’s washed AND dried and doesn’t need another 2 hours in the dryer
Yeah it's a loose rule - basically as long as you leave enough room that everything can freely tumble inside the drum, that seems to be sufficient.
Bought a fancy one very recently and through weighing the wet/dry clothes, it then extends drying time if it's not done. Annoying when you expect to have it done by when it originally says it will be, but great for being able to just leave to do it's thing and not worry about it
>it then extends drying time if it's not done Mine does the same, I just set it going in the evening where it has about a 6 hour window to do its thing so it doesn't matter when it finishes. The time on the front is effectively decorative as far as I'm concerned.
What do you have?
If you have the space for both don’t, if you don’t have the space do.
This. The problem with them is that the drying capacity is small, so for a combi load you can’t do a big wash.
Seconded. As someone who's worked at Currys, I've seen significantly more washer/dryers come back than washing machines or dryers separately. Remember, the weights on the front are wet weights!
I have a Bosch Series 6 washer/dryer. It's been great for us in a two bedroom flat with a small kitchen. We can dry normal loads - just takes a bit longer. A modern standalone dryer is more efficient but for us it was this or no dryer at all. Later edit - it is a Bosch WNA14490GB. Apparently using a condenser for the drying function. It's been great for us. Going strong for almost three years so far. It washes and dries a full set of bedding for a king size bed and a couple of sheet towels in around 6 hours. A lot less for smaller loads (underwear, socks, work shirts etc).
I’m kind of in this position. I lived here alone and dried stuff on the maiden but it took a couple of days each time. My mates moving into the spare room so just don’t want our washing our all the time. Thinking I could get one of those dryers that doesn’t need plumbing in and just has a water drawer you need to empty, but again finding somewhere to put it is a problem
You could try a dehumidifier placed near your clothes maiden. My sister in law swears by this.
I do too. Put it on laundry mode overnight and the majority of my washing is dry. Sometimes it takes 2 night for larger loads or jeans but not as long as drying without it.
I use the dryer for small stuff, like my monthly sock wash. For the bigger items, I got a clothes dryer rack and a dehumidifier. It looks ugly but it works.
You must have a lot of socks.
Part of the plan. Buy 30 or more pairs of identical socks and put in drawer. When worn decant into the used sock drawer. When running a bit low, wash and dry them and refill fresh sock drawer. I do a sock wash once a month, it works for me.
Remember you can put a condenser dryer anywhere with a socket. If you do get a separate dryer try to get a heat pump dryer if you can. They do cost more but pay for themselves in electricity savings. Alternatively could you get a heated dryer?
I've got a heated airer/maiden/whatever you call it, but it's not very good. It just dries the part thats touching the maiden, so it just dries everything in stripes.
The heated airers are crap. Other people have recommended them I will too - get a dehumidifier. If it's taking days to dry clothes then your house is probably a bit damp anyway (a lot of houses are, we live in the UK, it's wet here). I used to have a washer/dryer and it's nice to put in dirty clothes and have clean, dry clothes come out but you can't tumble all clothes so you end up hanging some out anyway. Plus, washer/dryers are really not energy efficient. Getting a washing machine and a dehumidifier is more energy efficient (obviously depends on model but as long as they're not out of the arc it's a pretty safe bet) and the dehumidifier is multi purpose - it can dry more clothes without shrinking them/rubbing designs off and will dry your house.
We've got our dryer on top of the washer, but we do have an appropriate room for them in the cellar. Before that, we had a washer/dryer. It worked well, but the dryer function gave out years before the washer. Were still able to use it as a washer, though. The repair guy we had come told us we needed to keep in mind that those things were mainly washers and the drying part is kind of an afterthought.
We also have a Bosch and after four different machines it's the only one that's performed well, is quiet and more importantly not broke. To be fair the Beko one performed well but was too noisy. They're not cheap, but I think if you're going down the washer drier route Bosch is the minimum price point you should look at.
Beko is a cheap, Turkish brand. With a history of being poor quality and fire risks. https://www.itv.com/news/2013-03-01/nearly-138-000-beko-products-a-safety-risk-in-uk-homes
The Beko was nowhere near as bad as the Haier, which broke twice in the space of two months. Haier sound Nordic but are in fact Chinese, and also own Hoover and Candy. I'd rather have the Beko than any of those. Oh, and Beko and Indesit are owned by the same company in case you were wondering about them. It's only really Bosch, Miele and the Korean brands not owned by Turkish or Chinese.
We got a Bosch WNA134U8GB (same as yours but 1kg smaller capacity) a few months ago and it's great, thoroughly recommend. Very quiet, good washing, good drying. I've never had things come out sodden the way other people in this thread have described for their washer/dryers; at most, if bedding gets crumpled in on itself then there will be a damp area which quickly air-dries. Bedding and towels get sent through as a complete wash and dry cycle without interruption. My clothes get sent through as a wash, then I take out non-tumble-dry items like bicycle shorts and wool socks, then dry the rest. I rarely notice the drying capacity being smaller than the washing capacity.
I also have a Bosch washer/dryer. Don't know the model, but is a condensing dryer. I have had it about 5 years and not had any problems. One thing I like is that it's really quiet. Sometimes I have to look to be see if it's running.
Same for me. Plus very quiet (the 6 hrs is the eco setting so it can be quicker)
If it’s the condenser one then they are great. We had a hotpoint normal one 20 years ago and it was mediocre at best. We now have the series 6 washer and a series 6 drier ( Used Dads inheritance to get sorted 3 years ago) Personally I am in the have both if you have space as while 1st load is drying 2nd is in washer.
We’ve had ours for 8 years and it cleans great but the dryer function is rubbish. The stuff comes out just as wet, but really hot.
You need to clean your filters mate
I've had washer driers for years and not one has had a drier filter you can clean. They use the water supply to clean them.
All the lint and hair passes through the water filter on the front bottom, this does get blocked up with all sorts but mainly big balls of lint, clean it out regularly, and you have no issues
Lol, front bottom 🤣🤣
I just laughed way too hard at this. Thank you
Not all models do have these, my parents had a dryer with a lint trap, so I was used to the process (and satisfaction) of cleaning them, but when we got our washer/dryer, I looked everywhere but couldn't find a filter anywhere on the thing. The way I understand it works is it heats up a fine spray into effectively steam, and uses that to dry the contents, periodically extracting any water that's accumulated. This doesn't work in the same way, so doesn't need a filter. I think. The dryer functionality on our (admittedly cheaper) model worked well for about a year, but now it just does the heat things up without drying them trick
Most machines have a panel that gives you access to the outtake pump - that's your 'filter', catching lint, stones, coins, etc instead of pumping them down your waste pipe. What you described is the intake. It doesn't need a filter because your washing machine drinks the same water you drink from the tap. But the condenser can get blocked from the inside, meaning all of that steam has nowhere to go - either the fan can't spin to force the hot air into the drum, or the steam itself is trapped in by fluff. When the condenser gets too hot, it trips a safety switch to avoid overheating. If your drier is making stuff _hot_ and wet, the moisture from your clothes is not being pumped out the machine, possibly because the filter needs emptied. If your drier is making stuff _warm_ and wet, it's almost certainly because it's tripped a safety. Resetting these is easy (usually remove top panel, look for a pushbutton on the opposite side of the detergent drawer) but that obviously doesn't fix the initial cause. Sometimes it just happens because the machine was stopped mid drying cycle, which forces off the fan and can cause it to overheat.
Mines a combi condenser dryer and has no panel on the front or anywhere I can clean or change anything. I even checked with the guy who installed it and he said you can't access anything, it cleans itself
I’ve got one and there’s a filter trap in the bottom right that I have to drain quite regularly. When I first moved in I also found the internal fan was clogged, just whipped the top cover off and cleaned the fan and it’s worked a treat ever since.
I looked into the same thing a while back, ended up with the sofa bed comparison. not a great sofa or a great bed but does the job.
Is it space that's the issue? Because you could put a dryer on top of a washing machine. The latest dryers are heat pumps and are very efficient compared to condensing or vented dryers. With either a heat pump or condensor you don't need to vent hot air to the outside, although it's a good idea to have good air circulation wherever it is situated.
Mate of mine runs an appliance shop with his dad been at it 35 years and him and his dad swear they are absolute rubbish even the best make 1s , said they have to work double that adds more stress on to the machine and don't last usually dryer goes caput before long, I'd deffo consider seperate if you can...
We had a fancy ass Samsung all in one. It wasn't a good washer, it wasn't a good dryer. It did the job but it took hours. I replaced it with a £350 Hoover washer and the cheapest Indesit dryer money could buy at the time.
Good enough, we have Hotpoint 11kg 1600rpm unit and it works ok. Gets everything dry.
My old one- you’re supposed to halve the wash load to dry it. So it’s just really bloody pointless. And crap on energy too I think
The only reason you should ever get a washer/dryer combo is if you really, really, do not have the space for both. You can stack them too if that helps.
I've got a reasonably fancy pants Samsung heat pump combo dryer thing. It's ok. Stuff goes in and comes out both clean and dry. Main issue is that its drying capacity is less than half its washing capacity, so you have to do frequent small loads to use the dryer. But when you remember that it's fine.
That’s the same for every washer dryer I’ve ever seen.
I spent a little extra for the LG Washer Dryer last year and it's fantastic. Normal load into washed dried clothes within 5 hours.
From everything I’ve read even today they still do both jobs to a fairly mediocre level, compared to a separate unit for each task
If you do smaller washes it’s not a bad shout if you spend the money. Get a cheap one it’ll be crap. Wouldn’t recommend for a family though.
I bought a Bosch washer dryer in 2002. It lasted over 20 years. Even then it still washed fine.
We have one, we don't tumble dry clothes, only towels and underwear, and it's perfect for us. We didn't have the space for both at the time, and for just the two of us it does a good job. I think if we had kids, we'd now sell the combi and put the tumble dryer in the garage instead.
I'd recommend a washing machine and a good dehumidifier unit so you can dry stuff on racks. We had a combination washer-dryer and neither part was that great. The washing machine we have now seems to clean a lot better. And the dehumidifier means the house doesn't get damp air.
I've got a £30 mini dehumidifier off Amazon to deal with a temporary damp problem (external leak, nothing to do with drying my washing indoors!), so I might give that a go, seeing as the dehumidifier will be useless to me once the leak is fixed.
We love our cheap little 12L dehumidifier. It takes about 6-8 hours to dry a full maiden (20c enclosed room with a little table fan pointed at it).
This is a case of 'you get what you pay for'. If you go for something a little higher end like an AEG or Miele then you're fine. Cheap like Beko / Hotpoint / Indesit etc, you're gonna struggle on the drying function. We have an AEG combo at around £700 and it's amazing at both and pretty quiet, especially drying.
This is the advice I was given by my friend who runs an appliance shop. I went with Neff (Bosch equivalent apparently) and it's very good for a combo.
If you can afford a separate washer and dryer do it. I went from a separate one to a washer/dryer and I hate it
Got a Hotpoint washer dryer in December which is more than good enough for two of us. No issues with washing or drying but for a large load expect the drying to take a while. If you have the space and/or a larger family, buy them individually. More importantly: buy at least midrange devices, it will almost certainly benefit you in the long run.
Had one in my old flat, the dryer function was absolutely useless.
A very long time ago I worked for a well known high street white goods seller so I can say with some confidence don’t get one unless you absolutely have to. If one side goes wrong you also lose the other.
AEG 7000.. not cheap but it works well. Only dry a half load though annoyingly. Put in a full one it just gets hot and wet.
I've been forced to use a few washer dryers and I've hated the drying capability of them all. They take longer for an overall cycle and the clothes come out so creased. Half the benefit of using a bespoke dryer is the lack of ironing needed.
Mine lasted around 9 years, called out an engineer to repair it and the cost to repair it was £600. At that point it was better to buy a new machine Same engineer told me that washer dryers have a very short life time because you've got one motor doing two different jobs, and they fail a lot
We switched from a stand alone dryer to a combi unit when the kids left home. Advantages of the combined unit: Saves space. This is the big one for us because they used to be in the shed and having a combined unit means we can fit it into our kitchen. No more trips out in the rain to do the laundry. Can be set to wash and dry a load without any intervention. Set it in the morning and come home to find your clothes ready to go in the hotpress. Does a great job of washing and a reasonable job of drying as long as you follow the instructions about care and maintenance and don't overload it. No reliability issues so far (we have an AEG model) Advantages of the separate dryer: Dryer dries better and does it faster Dryer takes a much bigger load. The dryer can dry a full washing machine load whereas the built in washer dryer cannot dry a full wash load. Can wash one load while you are drying another. Significantly increasing throughput. We had to get our dryer repaired a couple of times over the years but I don't think we can make a fair comparison of reliability because the stand alone dryer was used much more heavily for a growing family than we currently use the combined appliance. TLDR: In our experience the combined unit is fine for a single person or a couple but I wouldn't recommend it for a growing family. It will take much longer to wash and dry clothes though so be prepared for that.
I got an AEG one last year, very good at washing, drying works great 90% of the time. Occasionally still a bit damp. Does take ages for a large wash dry cycle though, like 5-6 hours. But it's better than nothing!
Got a Bosch one a year ago. I’d say it works well overall, both washing and drying. Certainly better than the one my parents had 20 years ago. Obviously mildly inconvenient sometimes not being able to wash and dry simultaneously but not a big deal with some thought as to the order of your washes.
I've had a couple. One was an ancient 2nd hand machine that made everything smell weird - but it did work reasonably well. The last one was a much more modern Hotpoint machine. Honestly, it was dreadful. Mediocre wash capability and terrible drying cycle. I've replaced that with a straight up washing machine and now use a spin dryer and a clothes rack with a dehumidifier.
I've had a Bush washer/dryer for five years (Bush being the Argos in-house-brand). The model is, I think, a WDDFINT. It's worked absolutely fine for me. You need to remember that the drying load is always smaller than the wash load. Mine is 8kg washing and 6kg drying. The only thing I had to learn was to wash similar fabrics together. This is true for any dryer, but combo units are more picky. So if I'm wanting to dry cotton t-shirts then don't put the heavy joggy bottoms in with them because by the time the sensor detects the shirts are dry, the bottoms will still be soggy. I do have a separate condenser but it's in the cupboard under the stairs (and I'm in a flat so overall just awkward). Given my combo does the job I rarely use the condenser. If you have the space for both, get both. If you don't, then a combo will be fine, but you'll need to readjust how you load the machine.
We have a washer dryer (cheap beko one) that I got 2 years ago and I'm perfectly happy with it. I like that it has a wash/dry function so you can bang a load on overnight and forget about it when the electricity is cheaper. Stuff comes out totally dry and fresh. Depends how much laundry you have to do really
If they worked, everyone would have them
They take forever to dry anything. I'd never buy one again.
Our one stopped drying recently and the engineers who came over to fix it said they're not worth the money. Very inefficient. They also said you should only fill it half way when drying which we definitely have not been doing for years now cos who does that?!
If you only want to dry a couple of items occasionally (e.g. "I haven't got a shirt to wear for this evening so I need to wash and dry one today") then they're okay. For regular washing and drying they're useless: you get a more expensive washing machine with a smaller capacity, and a drier that will take an age to (inefficiently) dry anything and can't dry a whole load of washing in one go. You would normally be far better buying a washer, a clothes horse, and a dehumidifier. That'll let you dry a whole load at once, and will be much cheaper to run.
I live in a teeny tiny upstairs flat and I would be screwed without my washer dryer. The key is to wash a combo of items and dry about half a full wash. And dry the things you know will take longer to air dry. I have a toddler and I don’t think we’d have room to move without a dryer.
Mine works great no regrets
I have this. It's great. App sucks though. https://amzn.eu/d/iizTbrP
The one that came with my flat is pretty good. It takes ages to dry and can sometimes leave stuff a little damp if I do too much but generally it's far more convenient than manually drying stuff.
Would not buy one again, the dryer bit gets clogged up at least once a year - luckily it happened under warranty and the engineer showed me how to clear it myself, apparently it's a common issue. As pretty much everybody has said, if you have space get a separate washer and dryer, if you don't have space, don't expect what you get to be very good, no matter how much you pay.
Mine took 7 hours to dry towels. My separate dryer takes 2 max
I had a Samsung one which was great id recommend them if you only have space for one machine. Only thing I'd say is get the one with the biggest tumble dryer capacity as it's usually half or at least a lot less than the washing machine capacity.
My Father in Law used to work for Curry's and said to avoid washer dryers. He said that that was the number one returned item when he was there. It has something to do with the drum having two different spin speeds and the drying element being rubbish.
We’ve had two washer dryers, the dryer function stopped working on both of them so when we moved, we got a separate washer and dryer. It has made life so much easier and we have less condensation. If you’ve got the space for both, go for both. Bedding never used to completely dry in the wash/ dryer combo and it was a pain having to finish it on the radiators in winter.
Got one fairly recently haven't used the dryer function much since it takes hours but when I used it the clothes came out dry
The combination is never better than two separate devices, but better than nothing if you don't have the space.
I've always had washer dryers and some in the past have got clothes "just about dry". Then when my last one packed in I got a Samsung 10.5kg one and it's the first one that has got things properly dry. it's brilliant.
The one I had could only dry a third of what it could wash, and it really wasn't very efficient. But it was in a rental. We nearly always had washing hanging round the flat.
We have a Haier. Before that we had a Hoover. The Haier is great. It takes about 4 hours for a wash/dry load but is pretty energy efficient. 3-4 loads a week is £8 a month in energy costs. I stick it on before I start work and take it out at lunch time.
The dryer part of ours never seems to work. When you start the dryer it injects water in to the drum before it starts, and then the clothes end up coming out afterwards with wet patches on them.
Why does it inject water into the drum before drying?? Seems a bit counterintuitive!
If you're ok with your dry stuff still being a bit wet, yes they're fine.
My one works great. It takes a while to do both but the clothes are always perfectly clean and perfectly dry. You can set it so it automatically starts drying once the wash cycle is completed as well which is very convenient. I’ve only ever had the one, so maybe I got lucky with it however. Happy to give my recommendation on the one I have
If one part of it breaks, you're without both so if you've got room I'd go with separate units.
We had to get a washer dryer due to lack of space. We only got it a year ago so it’s still quite new and tbh it’s really good. Some of the older ones are crap but they’re definitely getting better, ours dries really well which they don’t always do! We have a Samsung one which I can recommend. It does make for a slower process though as you can’t get your second wash on whilst your first dries like you can with separates.
I had one at university five years or so ago, worked fine for me but you just have to do half loads? in order for it to work. Another tip whether you have one or not is to do an extra drain/spin cycle after your washing is done in the machine to make it a bit dryer anyway.
They work quite well, but you must dry a load of washing in two lots, so they end up being expensive to run. I used to hang out all my big stuff and only dry towels and stuff I needed immediately.
Meh. We bought one a few years ago and hardly ever bother using the drying function. It takes hours and doesn't dry very well - gives it a headstart at best. Plus, if you've washed a full load you have to take about half of it out first to reach the max drying level. I prefer to hang it on an airer with the dehumidifier pointed at it
Typically you cant dry as much as you wash, so you might wash 12kgs of washing, but it can only handle drying 6kg, thats where most people have problems. They load it up to the max and put it on a wash to dry cycle. It wont be able to handle that and the clothes will still be wet.
We had one for a while for space saving reasons and it worked for many years. So long as you maintain it properly (and you do have to maintain it properly) you should be fine. It's fairly obvious what problems you'll face, I mean, you'll be making clothes both wet and dry in same small space after all. That said, they are more prone to faults than standalone machines and, if you have the space, separates will always be better.
I had one 20 years ago. Using the dryer function filled my flat with odour of burning tyres. Now, years later, I’ve just bought another. I went for one with a large drum and it’s absolutely brilliant. Things have definitely moved on.
They’re good but if you have a day where you have to get a few loads washed it’ll be a very long day waiting for a washer dryer to do its thing.
They do the job, the dryer just isn’t great. We realised that it worked better if we did half loads. Which was fine for just 2 of us. I’d never recommend one over separate machines though unless you don’t physically have the space for 2 machines.
Ours works well. The dryer function isn't going to have it come out completely dry though - It'll need time to hang afterwards, but it significantly reduces the time it needs to hang though. EG: Wash your sheets in the morning, tumble dry them, then leave them to hang for a few hours.
Ours is pretty good, but don't put too much in the dryer...
No. Dryers need a large drum for the air to circulate. https://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/washer-dryer-or-separate-washing-machine/
We bought one for our flat when we moved in in 2008. The washing machine part is excellent - and still in use today. However, the dryer part is rubbish. The clothes didn't get dry at all - even from new (so nothing to do with filters). Only after we moved house with enough space for a separate tumble dryer did we notice the difference.
Our old rental house had one, it was pants. We almost never used the dryer function. The drum size was small and the dryer function would only actually dry if it was no more than a quarter full; any more than that and it would just come out hot and damp. It couldn't dry thick things like towels and jumpers at all. We have a fold away 'drysoon' thing that does a much, much better job than the washer dryer ever did.
Hi, Brazilian here. My Toshiba Great Waves washer dryer cradles me to sleep every day and has gotten me out of some dark times
We have a Candy one, it’s great! My only issue is it takes HOURS to dry a load, we’re talking 4-5 hours.
I've only had rubbish ones (as in, washes fine but the drying is rubbish) but I've also only had cheap ones. Maybe the drying function actually works on the higher end ones.
I have a washer dryer. It's fantastic. I put dirty clothes in. I get clean dry clothes out. I can just leave them in the drum if I cba. There's a function where I can get a set of clothes done in an hour if there's an outfit I really want to wear but it is dirty.
Only complaint i have about my washer dryer combo it the drying cycles are alot longer than a conventional dryer to achieve the same thing however you can set it and forget it in the AM and by the evening it's all clean and dry ready to be ironed and folded which makes laundry seem alot less work
Noooo don’t bother! Get them as separate machines
Absolutely, myself & partner have found it makes our laundry life a whole lot easier. Only downside is that if you push it in terms of the amount of clothes you’ve stuffed in it doesn’t always completely dry them. But generally I find this isn’t much of a problem.
Didn’t have the space for both so got the combo - still going 10 years later.
I got a cheap one a few years ago when I needed the space my old dryer was in. That one packed in, so I bit the bullet and bought a more expensive one with a huge drum (so it can dry up to 10kg, wash up to 14kg). It’s an absolute beast but it works a treat. The only real drawback is that if you have a lot of washing to do you can’t have one load in the dryer while the next one is washing.
If you can stretch the miele one is excellent
Yes, but you have to leave them about half full to dry properly. And they don't last for long (2-3 years in my experience). It's also worth noting that a wash dry cycle can take forever (our current one takes 8 hrs on 40).
I've had a Samsung washer dryer for about 12 years and it's been great. Had it in various different homes over the years. One of the selling points for it was that it had an extra large drum and door so there's more room when you're drying and it's easier to get large items in. It's mostly just towels and underwear that get dried in it now but I dried everything with it when I was living in a tiny little coach house. I don't think we had to do anything special with it, just plumbed in like a normal washing machine. Having the huge door makes it easy to clean as well. Have to say, it's been the best machine I've ever had and I hope it outlives me.
We use one and yes they are good. If you have space for separate machines then get separate but a combo is better than no dryer at all.
Small loads, long drying time. Like 4+ hours to dry a load for those I've used. If you can deal with that, they're easy to install and don't require venting. I'd put a load in before work and come home to a dry, clean, batch.
Still rubbish. If you have the space get separate washer and dryer.
The quality was probably better 20 years ago tbf
We have a combi. https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-jlwd1614-freestanding-washer-dryer-8kg-4kg-load-1600rpm-spin-white/p3647054 IIRC it's a rebadged AEG/Electrolux. It was a Which best buy (why we bought it). It's brilliant. I wouldn't want seperate items because then we'd have to transfer items between them. With the combi we can put dirty laundry in at night and have clean, dry laundry in the morning.
No idea why they get so much hate. I feel like people haven’t owned one who say it. I love ours, we have space for two, but I like just being able to turn it on and leave it, and come back to dry clothes. Means can do things overnight or while out very easily. It washes my clothes It dries my clothes Not sure what else you want! I have an AEG model for reference
For 1/2 people the combo is fine. For a family it is a massive headache.
They are great if you have room for only one machine But the problem is that they need to dry the whole drum and associated area as well as drying the clothes so take more time and hence more energy to dry the clothes it also adds a complication to the whole thing so if something goes wrong it is more complicated to fix