Washer / dryers - inherently bad idea?

[5foot5]

Until late 2015 I had never had any form of dryer. Washing went on the line in summer but mostly dried on a clothes horse in the kitchen.

Then we spent ££££s having the kitchen/utility redone and as part of that we bought a washer/dryer which went in the utility. Basically I didn't want my lovely new kitchen spoiled by still having washing about.

Anyway, within the first year the dryer developed a fault which got fixed under guarantee.

Last week the same fault re-occurred. It is now out of guarantee so the guy who came out charged us £120+ to fix it. Except it hasn't fixed it as the very first load that we put through failed on the drying cycle with the same error code

Furthermore the guy who came out told DH that he thought washer / dryers were a bad idea as thy had two different functions and were never going to work well in the same machine.

Well we haven't room for two machines and I am not having the kitchen changed again. But I do like having a dryer (when it works). But I am interested to hear other people's experiences with washer / dryers to see if there is anything in what he said or have we just been unlucky and picked a rubbish model.

I started a thread yesterday, because my washing machine has just died and I'm dithering about whether to replace with another washer or a washer/drier (and then dithering further about which one)

I have had one before, and no I don't think they last as long. But then again, white goods just don't seem to last as they used to. My recently deceased machine is nearly 20 years old.

A few years ago I had a washer dryer. Had. It didn't wash all that well and took ages to dry things.
One big problem was that the max load for the washer was more than the load for the dryer so if you wanted to dry you had to take out half the wet washing.
To be fair, this was a while ago and they may be better now.

I have a Bosch washer / dryer. It's a condenser washer/dryer which means that the moisture from using the dryer goes down the pipe under the sink. I only have a small kitchen, no room for separate dryer. I've had mine for just over 2 years & I haven't had any problems with it. It takes longer to dry than a separate drying unit does but it's fab, I'm really happy with mine, I was hesitant as I'd heard mixed reviews about washer/dryers, when this one conks out I will certainly buy another. Although mine was quite pricey, approx £650 it was worth every penny, Bosch tends to be quite a reliable brand I discovered through my research.

Washer/driers are a bit crap. When mine died I just got a washing machine instead and live without a drier

Didn't have room for both so got a washer dryer from John Lewis. It is great at both and very happy with it. Cost about £600 I think, but wanted the extra warranty and had good reviews. Main downside is that you can't do both at the same time so a lot of washing would take longer. But I only have 1 dc and mainly dry sheed's and towels, so not an issue.

I had a washer/drier once and the drier was useless, I ended up never using it, luckily I have space for both now but I don't think I'd ever get another one if I moved somewhere that didn't have space for both

We have a Bosch Exxcel washer drier. It takes about 60 mins + to dry a load but I only really use it to dry towels or in emergencies. We've had it ten years and the drier function only broke last month. It took 15 mins and only £60 to fix with a local engineer.

We had one was a bit crap broke just after guarantee ran out. Had separates since have the dryer in the shed.

I only ever used ours for towels and it took forever to make them slightly damp. We have a drier now and I can't believe how amazing it is. The difference in drum size is a big help I suspect.

I am now wondering if the washing function is also a bit shit and I should get a proper washing machine

We've had ours for four years, no problems but when we move we'll be getting separate ones as we now have a baby and a toddler and our washing volume will only go up.

It's fine at the moment but come winter it might get tricky to get everything dry.

We made do with a washer dryer for over 10 years. I caved, last September, when I could no longer keep up with the laundry because the weather wasn't good enough and found space for a standalone dryer!

Doubly glad of it because days when I've been able to hang laundry out and get it dry, this summer, have been few and far between. I've got a pile of delicates that I'm just going to have to wash and put in the bedroom with a dehumidifier because I'm never going to get them outside.

We had no end of trouble wit our last AEG washer dryers. Ended up having the first replaced under warranty and the second one only lasted 2 years before we gave up on it. The Siemens we now have has been a little more reliable and the repair guys come out in days, rather than the weeks we were waiting for AEG's. We've had no problems since I stopped needing to use the dryer, and fingers crossed we won't have any because the 5 year warranty I purchased with it runs out in a month or so (though it sometimes grunts more than I'm comfortable with when it empties)

I've had mine for 11 years. The dryer broke last week but I think it's a fairly good innings in this day and age.

We've got one and I never ever use the dryer part because it's so crap. Right waste of money. It washes clothes fine though.

We've got one and I don't use the dryer.as it's crap unless you only put about 3 items in. I use a Lakeland heated airer instead.
I didn't realise it was to do with being a combined washer/dryer though. Come to think of it it's not the best at washing either!

Averylongtimeago, that was my experience too, in a rental.

Not something I'd buy for myself.

Lakeland airer here too Betty!

Washer dryers are dreadful IME. They don't wash very well and the drying performance is even worse.

We had one in our old flat. Constantly broke. Eventually the landlady gave up and binned it and bought a washing machine only to replace it. Can you get a dryer and put it in your garage? That's what my in-laws did