Bosch washer-dryer not drying *at all* — what to do?

[FrustratinglyIrrational]

I recently bought a house with a 3-year-old fully integrated kitchen, including a Bosch washer-dryer (I know, separates are far better, and I wouldn't have chosen an integrated washing machine myself, but that's what was here), and the dryer seems to be worse than useless.

The first time I tried using the drying functionality, after running a 60C wash that seemed to work (i.e. everything smelled clean), the items came out stinking of damp.

I then realised that there was actually quite a lot of mould in the machine, e.g. under the seal and in the detergent drawer, so I gave it all a really thorough cleaning — I scrubbed and bleached everything, ran several empty washes at 90C with soda crystals in the drum, and separately with powder detergent in the drawer. And I always leave the door open when it's not in use, so it can dry out. But the next time I tried using the dryer, everything stank again. Worse, there seemed to be little bits of residue of some kind on the washing. I don't know if this was maybe due to something having been loosened up by all the cleaning, and not yet having been flushed out of the system. But it was quite unpleasant.

After that I ran another empty 90C wash, and since then I have just been washing things without drying them. It's difficult though, because I don't have enough hanging space, and really need to use the dryer for towels and underwear (a huge amount of laundry has built up due to having to re-wash everything that came out stinking).

Does anyone have any idea why the dryer is malfunctioning like this? I've read about washing machine filters, but I don't know what the situation is in washer-dryers, and whether the drying component has a different part that needs cleaning out (and could be causing this problem)? I'm also worried that because the washer-dryer is integrated, it'll be a complete nightmare trying to sort out any problems, so I'm hoping there's something I can try that doesn't involved taking the whole thing out.

A few extra points that might be relevant:

• When I did a small 40C wash yesterday (just wash, no dry), the items smelled of damp when I removed them, despite the previous (empty) wash having been at 90C. All my washes (without drying) since have been at 60C (towels, underwear), and those have come out fine, but most of my clothes will need doing at 40C, and I can't have them coming out smelly! I hope this was just a one off for some reason I've overlooked, but I'm concerned.
• One of the times when I tried using the dryer, and everything came out smelly, it had originally displayed an E20 error code ("unexpected heating"). This went away when I tried again, but left the outer cupboard door (the one attached to the machine) open. I don't know if this has anything to do with the problems mentioned earlier.

I've attached some photos in case they're helpful.

My incredible idea here would be arranging a visit from a repair engineer who specialises in domestic laundry appliances? Just a thought 😁

@Woodswoman

My incredible idea here would be arranging a visit from a repair engineer who specialises in domestic laundry appliances? Just a thought 😁

What a kind response you took the time to write out and post

How annoying OP, Bosch stuff is usually so good as well. I don’t know much about integrated appliances - is is a condenser dryer, or vented? Do the lint/fluff filters need checking?

@smmanf12 thanks for the sympathetic response! The manual says "Drying is achieved using the condensation principle. The condensate that is produced during drying runs via the Drain hose into the Drain tank." — I assume that means it's a condenser dryer..?

Do you know where I might find the lint/fluff filter? Is the kind of thing I'd need to pull the whole machine out to address?

• have you emptied the condensed water tank?
• have you located the condenser and emptied it out of all the fluff? (This is not the same as the water tank)

Ditto the filter, empty and defluff?

The attached image is the only part of the manual I can find that might be relevant, but I'm not sure how it would relate to the dryer being useless.

Hi, I don’t have the washer dryer but separate washing machine and condenser dryer by Bosch. I don’t think they are great. The seal on my washing machine has some black mould which is impossible to remove. I asked the Bosch man about it when he came round to look at my dishwasher, also Bosch and he want very helpful 🙄. Mine doesn’t smell of damp though, and the dryer does dry. I think the dryer has two fluff catchers, one in the seal just below the door, and one at the front of the machine.

My tumble dryer (not a washer dryer and not bosch, sorry) wasn't drying and the manual was unhelpful. I Googled the make and model and the problem, and there was a YouTube video about how to empty the condenser etc. Try that.

Yes, I’d say so. We have a condenser and the filter is just inside the door (but it’s not a washer dryer so yours might be in a different place). You may have tried this but if you put the model of the machine into YouTube, are there any helpful videos on there?

It's likely that the heating element needs replacing.

@Chocolatebuttercream thanks for the response! I haven't done any of those three things, because (a) I didn't know about all of them, and (b) I'm not sure where the condensed water tank/condenser/filter are located. It looks like at least one of those things is at the front of the machine (currently inaccessible behind the kick board, though I should be able to remove that), but I'm not sure which one(s), or where the others are. Any direction would be greatly appreciated!

Reasons we've had a washer dryer stop working include fans not working properly due to a cracked bearing and the condenser being clogged. They're tucked away deep inside and can't be cleaned properly so end up needing replacement.

We have a standalone condenser dryer, now.

@SpringSparrow thanks! I removed the black mould on mine by soaking strips of kitchen roll in bleach, and leaving them on the affected areas overnight. This is my go-to method for anything with hard-to-remove mould on it :)

I'm not quite sure what you mean about the locations of the fluff catchers. For the first one you mention, is that actually inside the machine?

Good idea re: YouTube videos — I don't know why I didn't think of that!

Seek help via google, hopefully some advice, if washer working, buy heated airer.
Or call engineer or replace?

The cleaning the drain pump instruction is likely the nearest you have to a fluff filter. You'll be surprised how disgusting it gets.

As it's a washer dryer and plumbed in, the dryer will drain into the waste pipe - there won't be a water tank. Clean the filters. Are you reducing the load when using the dryer? It's a maximum 4kg. If not, it could be that the dryer is not reaching a high enough temperature.

But if it is a condenser dryer and you haven't emptied the water tank then it's never going to be able to dry as the water evaporating off the clothes will have nowhere to go and will just condense inside the drum again. So if that's that, it's a quick fix.

Ah sorry cross posted with @wearetheheroes - doesn't sound like there will be a water tank.

Our condenser dryer isn't plumbed in and it won't work if the tank is full. It stops mid cycle too if the tank fills up.

I had endless trouble with my washer dryer (not Bosch). The engineer told me that you need to use the dryer regularly not just once in a while (no idea if that is true or not).

Are you sure the heating element is still working? I assumed ours was fine as the dryer was drying clothes, but it turned out that the washer had a separate element which had failed. I’d been running so many (what I thought were) 90 degree washes with machine cleaner etc but stuff still smelt fusty and as I couldn’t understand it. The smell was particularly noticeable after drying clothes - I guess all the mould/gunk in the machine was being heated up which made it smell even worse.

Okay, I've drained the water using the drain hose, and I've cleaned the drain pump (so basically the first two instructions in the the last image I attached). Is "drain pump" another term for "filter"?

(I think no more than 100ml of water came out when I drained it — does this mean anything, or is the draining step just to remove water from the drain pump prior to cleaning it?)

The drain pump didn't seem that dirty though. There was a 10p piece in there, and it definitely needed a clean, but nothing horrendous enough for me to think it would affect the washer or dryer. Though maybe I don't have a good read on this. I've attached some images in case others have more insight!

Rather than the metal fins in a condenser dryer, washer dryers tend to have a water cooled condenser and this becomes encrusted with hardened fluff and much less efficient, over time.

And as a pp said, thee is no tank for collected water - it's drained the same way as the washing water. Also a good point about only being able to dry a half load.

You have to take out at least half of your laundry load before drying. They usually only manage to dry a few things. They're next to useless IME.

Wrt the smell,keep doing empty boiling washes with a dishwasher tablet in the drum. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better and the first few just dislodge the smelly gunk.

A washer/dryer doesn't have a water tank/condenser tray, it drains out the water in the same way a washing machine does.

I have a washer dryer and the weight limit for drying is lower than washing. So you can't dry a full load. Have you tried spliting the load?