Washer/Dryer -- Are they any good?

[MartinaLouise]

I'm thinking of buying a washer/dryer.... does anyone have one and if so what is it like? I've heard a couple of bad reports... please help.. Many thanks for reading...

[cascais]

hi martinalouise,

i have a washer dryer at home,
i think they are worth the money, we very rarely use the dryer as i prefer drying the clothes outside but they save an awful lot of space... and i couldn t live without it in the winter.
there are a few drawbacks that you are probably aware of :
-if your dryer is broken, your washing machine is broken too.
-our washer is a rated but the dryer is only c rated (energy)
-they are more expensive than washing machines
but all of this considered, i would buy another one any day if i upgraded ours (which i don t need to do at the moment)

hope that helps

cascais
ps: your added should probably be in the wanted section with advice on the title as i think the previous poster thinks you are giving yours away...

[nono]

Hi, I had one for years and found it brilliant. I was lucky as there were 2 seperate motors, one for the washer, one for the dryer.

[MartinaLouise]

hi all... thanks so much for the replies.... can I ask one last favour please, can you give me the make, model number etc... thanks again, I really appreciate your help x

[Mandolin]

Hi MartinaLouise, I have a Bosch excel washer dryer and it's great. Had a Siemens in the last house and that was great, and years before I had a Hotpoint and that was great too. No bother with any of them, the only drawback is that you can't dry a full wash load, you have to take some out (of mine anyway), but I only use it when I'm desperate (I usually dry outdoors). I got it to save on space and wouldn't be without one.
Mandolin

[summersun]

HI ... I had for many years the top of the range Hotpoint Aquarius WD71P.... and the poor thing was abused ... overstuffed and overused... according to my husband... but it never let me down for years upon years and a move from London to Ireland as well.... I would fully recommend them... but then when it finally died... the springs broke.... too much work.... i went to replace it ... and every shop i priced them in put me off of them... nothing but problems ... etc etc but all this came from MEN.... and i took their advice... and missed it ... very happy hubby with no dryer destroying the house... but finally got fed up of no dryer and bought a seperate one...

I googled washer / dryer feedback and also looked at boards.ie for feedback and which on line for feedback...


happy reading... and researching


Summersun xx

[Eibhlin ni Sheambrai]

I had one and thought it was useless. You have to unload the clothes after the wash as you can only dry about half the load. Also it never really dried the clothes as they were sealed in the drum, not the same as tumbling them in an ordinary dryer where they are tossed around and get full of static! In the combined w/d the clothes felt more like they were being cooked and never got totally dry. Eibh.

[Sky]

I hate them too. One other big drawback is that you cannot do a second wash while the first is drying in the blinking machine!
With 2 or 3 washes on an average day here, that would drive me bonkers.
Anyway I usually put mine on a big clothes horse every night and then they take only a few minutes to air off in the morning in the dryer. Would never go back to drying everything from soaking wet again as it cost a fortune and did the clothes no favours either. Only do that an odd time now if I really have to.

[cod&chips]

I have a washer/dryer. I can honsetly say, I've used the dryer on it about 5 times in 4 years....I find it makes everything smell very musty. I used to have the exact model in my last house and didn't find this at all but I'll never buy one again. If I need something dry in a hurry I might use it as a last resort but I usually just use the rads!

[Merienne]

I've lived in rented accommodation with two different washer/dryers. They were utterly useless! As some previous posters say, they don't get the clothes dry, just warm. I'm sure the ones where I lived were very cheap though, so a more expensive one might work better.

[propellor]

Originally Posted by Merienne

I've lived in rented accommodation with two different washer/dryers. They were utterly useless! As some previous posters say, they don't get the clothes dry, just warm. I'm sure the ones where I lived were very cheap though, so a more expensive one might work better.

more money does'nt always mean better;-) I repair (and have had!) quite alot of these things and if you want to use the dryer frequently go for separates, also the big problem with the combos is the drum size. Drum to big not good for washing cos the clothing thrashes rather than rolls, drum too small bad for drying as the the air can't circulate and remove moisture. Washer dryers are a compromise, separates are good, drying outdoors is always better(when possible).
Oh, Combos generally have a shorter life due to belt wear, bearing wear and, moisture damage.

hope this helps

jim

[MartinaLouise]

Thanks for all the replies. Think I'll go for a normal size washing machine and a smaller dyer as space is limited
thanks again for all your help

[okidoki]

you can stack them in your utility room!!!!

[Ruthy]

Tried them, hated them. They absolutely eat electricity (our bill more than doubled if used only a few times a week), clothes are much harder to iron cos they aren't drying hanging straight. Went back to a clothes horse in front of the radiator in the kitchen or utility, turn it around about half way. Clothes are much easier to iron, and electricity bill much smaller.

Ruthy

[cascais]

hi martinalouise,

sorry for late reply,
i also have a hotpoint aquarius (wd440)
beware though.. i find it a little noisy when spinning.. like a plane taking off !
other than that it's very good !

cascais