To wonder if a washer/dryer works properly?

[Charliegirl21]

Years ago DH and I had a washer dryer. I am talking 15 years ago, it was pants. It washed ok but drying was rubbish.
Fast forward to now and we are having a new kitchen but very tight on space. Kitchen man has advised getting a washer dryer so not trying to fit in two appliances but I don't want to get one if the tumble drying doesn't work. Kitchen man says they gave come a long way and some of them especially Bosch are really good.
AIBU? Online reviews are really mixed.
Thanks.

[BackforGood]

Not had one myself, but one was already fitted when my sister moved to her new house. It was an absolute nightmare and she had it taken out and a lot of rejigging to fit separate one after about a month.
Her experience was you need to take 1/2 the washing out to dry it, as you can't dry a full load properly. So - even if you were around to do that, you then can't start washing the next load whilst the first load is drying (forgetting the 1/2 load from the first load sitting there waiting.....

[ebwy]

I use a cheap one, and it's great.
I check the labels when I load it (to make sure it's all suitable to go through the dryer) and then it washes and dries with no further interference.

[DoJo]

I have never used one which has worked - some older, some newer, but all pretty much equally ineffectual when it comes to drying. If you can get a vented one, that will be better than a condensing one, but you might still be disappointed.

[RedRoom]

We had a Miele one which was great and very reliable. We have separate ones now because we moved house and the buyer wanted the washer/drier leaving.

[whatadrama]

I had the Hotpoint Aquarius washer/dryer and it was useless.

The clothes snagged on something in the machine which meant clothing ended up with small holes in them and the dryer was pointless. You couldnt do a full load so had to take half out and when it was finally dry it was so creased and yucky it looked like it needed another wash

This was 6/7 years ago so maybe things have improved but things were so bad that i ended up ditching my well used and loved dishwasher so i had space for a separate tumble dryer.

[AMillionNameChangesLater]

I work for a company that sells washer dryers, i wouldn't buy one. They don't last as long as separate ones. Could you get a condenser dryer in a different room?

[Discogeek]

I think it may depend on how often you use the dryer function and what clothes you're drying.
I have recently got a new washer dryer after my old one conked out after 10 years. I use it to dry towels, bedding, school uniform, underwear and vests and babygrows when needed quickly and I love it. Clothes come out dry and crease free (unless I forget to take them out fairly soon after cycle has finished).
Mine is a hotpoint large load Aquarius bought a couple of months ago from john Lewis.

[Flossyfloof]

I haven't had one for years - I gave up because they just didn't last long enough. Can you see if Which have done any work on them? (They must have done).

[Stinklebell]

I didn't like mine. The dryer part died really quickly.

I got a condenser and put it in the bottom of the airing cupboard.

[WinterWinds]

I had one several years ago and it was pants!!

Took way to long to dry one load and with 5 DC's I ended up with a backlog of washing. Had to buy a separate dryer in the end and refused to ever go back to a combined washer dryer.

I'd be wary of Hotpoint Aquarius TBH, my last Tumble Dryer was a Hotpoint Aquarius and it was a complete and utter heap of crap. I had nothing but problems with it.

[goshhhhhh]

I had one & it was fab. Just loaded when in morning before work & dry when I got home.

[CrohnicallyChanging]

I have a hotpoint, it's around 7 years old now. I do use the dryer function on it, but it won't completely dry a load. However, I do find it's useful for setting it to dry for 30 minutes after the wash is done, just to take the worst of the wetness out before I hang it on the airer inside- it reduces the amount of condensation produced and means it dries within a day or so. Of course if I'm hanging washing on the line outside I don't bother.

[hazelnutlatte]

Ours is a Hoover one and it's not brilliant - it will only dry half a washload and lots of things come out very creased - also it is supposed to have a 'sensor dry' function where it senses when the clothes are dry and then stops - this really doesn't work, the clothes will be either still wet or so dry they are crispy!
I'd still rather have a washer dryer than no dryer at all though, couldn't do without it in the winter.

[popcornpaws]

I won't see by zannussi washing machines, I've had two in 23 years.
The second one is a washer dryer, not great, washing machine fantastic, dryer just not cutting it.
I bought a separate dryer and the difference is amazing, i should have saved my money in the first place and bought them separately.

[ouryve]

They're slower, but they work - though you will periodically have to get the condenser changed if you use the dryer a lot, as they fluff up. Need to get mine sorted, as drying is taking twice as long as it hsould, at the moment.

[WilsonFrickett]

I have one and it works well, but I only tumble once around once a fortnight in the winter - towels and sheets when it's been raining for a week solid and you just can't put it off any more. I think they aren't really built for heavier use, but it is great being able to get the damp off the sheets and towels and not have them strewn across the house.

So I'd say yes, but for occasional use only.

[PunkrockerGirl]

I had a hotpoint washer drier till recently. It was fine.

[sashh]

I had the Hotpoint Aquarius washer/dryer and it was useless.

I have one and I love it.

It's not true that 'you have to take half the load out' to dry. A washer dryer can only dry half of a full wash load so I just only wash a half load when I'm using the dryer part.

[BerryMojito]

I hated mine. The drier part died early on, leaving me with just a washing machine.

Have you got space to stack one on top of a washing machine? I think that would be first choice.

[HappyAsEyeAm]

I had a Hotpoint washer/dryer about 7 years ago. It cost about 300 at the time. The washing machine part of it was fine, nothing spectacular, but fine. The dryer was useless. It didn't even dry undies well, no matter how small a load I tried to dry. It was pathetic, and I did everything by the book like clean the filters, not put too much in etc.

When we moved house and got more space, we bought a separate washing machine (Miele) and dryer (Bosch). I love them both.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

I had one, ended up buying a seperate dryer.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

What you need is a stacking kit, so you can put your drier on top of the washing machine.

[mycatlikestwiglets]

The Miele one is good. I had a cheap one Indesit previously and it broke down about once every year. There's a good online guide I found which basically said to get separates if you have the space but if you want a combo, the Miele is the only one worth buying. It's super pricey though.

[aquashiv]

I had a hotpoint - aquarius or something watery. The biggest pile of shite I have ever bought. I ended up getting my money back all the engineers(and there were many) said that they are useless.

[ouryve]

A stacking kit's only any good if your only place for putting a washer isn't under the worktop, under the kitchen window and you don't need the worktop space.