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Original poster

Washer/Dryer - worth it?

17 replies

Sullwah · 16/12/2008 20:14

We have a washing machine but no room for a dryer.

My life is getting bogged down with laudry. That whole hanging on the airer and wait for it to dry and then put away routine is getting me down. Would a washer/dryer help?

Have looked at the Miele in John Lewis for about £950 pounds which they claimed is the best on the market - should I bother?

I can't even believe I have posted this. Has my life come to this?

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 16/12/2008 20:21

haha, i had one in our old flat and it was a godsend I have to say. we had no central heating and no garden though so it was the only way to get stuff vaguely dry without having a house full of clothes horses.

given a choice i would do almosty anyhting to fit separates in because they do work better than a washer dryer IMO.

ours took forever to actually dry stuff, and i never actually managed to put it on to wash and then dry because there would always be something in the wash that couldn't be tumbled,.

however, in our situation it was better than not having a dryer at all and I used to use it quite often to just start stuff off and then hang it onracks to finish, or vice versa

if I had to have one would def go for something like miele

ChristmasDisco · 16/12/2008 20:21

I have a washer dryer but have usually had 2 separate ones. Yes a dryer would obviously help you but you really don't need to spend silly money on one. We got a CDA one for around £500 which has been perfectly adequate.

weWITCHyouaGigglechristmas · 16/12/2008 20:23

ahhh, the joys. everyone else is doing christmas and here we are talking washing
never mind.

FWIW, I've finally killed my old washer dryer (Zanussi) - 12 yrs of hard labour and three kids, poor thing has given us well over its money worth. I loved mine on the grounds that :
space saving
put it on, and the whole load is washed and dried when you come back
no laundry hanging around!

But...
they tend to be smaller load capacity - which may/may not be an issue - and I'm not clued up on the one you're thinking of buying (sorry)
if you could get one around 5-6lb load size then it would be all your dreams come true

MmeHereWeGoAWassailLindt · 16/12/2008 20:24

My mum has a washer dryer and it is useless. IMO it takes an hour after washing to dry out the machine before it even starts on drying the clothes. It takes hours to dry anything. Mum often takes things out if the dryer and puts them on the screen which is a waste of time and resources.

Can you not put the dryer on top of the washing machine?

SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore · 16/12/2008 20:25

well, they work if that is all you can fit..but........use inordinate amounts of leccy, take hours to dry things and are loads less reliable than seperates. Having said that though if I was ever in a situation whereby I could not fit a tumble dryer anywhere (i would even have one in the bathroom/bedrooms before I went back to washer dryers) I would try wall mounting it get another washer dryer.

weWITCHyouaGigglechristmas · 16/12/2008 20:26

erm - meant kilos not lb

badgermonkey · 16/12/2008 20:27

We have the Miele one, and it's pretty good - certainly tons better than our old Indesit pile of rubbish. There's a quick half-hour-ish wash cycle which is great, and it does dry pretty well, but it takes a looooong time and only does half a load at once. Having said that, I have used it for all my washing when we lived in a smaller house, and it was OK. Now I just use it for towels and sheets and getting stuff done in emergencies, and it's definitely nice to have the option of using the dryer when I need to. In our old house there would have been no space for separates, so there was no choice, and it's a good washing machine in itself.

SparklyTinselBella · 16/12/2008 20:36

I've never got on well with washer dryers but I have a dryer stacked on top of my washing machine to save space

SantasgotOrangeKnickerson · 16/12/2008 20:39

yes, I have a Zanessi one from JL and it's great. I don't use it loads as a dryer but it's great to have the option

pinkspottywellies · 16/12/2008 20:43

I have a washer dryer but I very rarely use the dryer - as someone else said it's good to have the option. If I'm going to use the dryer I would sort the wash load into a smaller amount to dry and wipe out the inside and the seal around the door so that you're not steaming the water and drying that out too. I tend to only use a dryer to finish things off anyway [cheapskate].

Bienchen · 16/12/2008 20:45

You will have a huge electricity bill. If you do go ahead, make sure the washer spins very fast (min 1400rpm) to make sure clothes are reasonably dry before tumbling.

We have a Hoover washer/dryer, had it for about 4 years no problems, but have this autumn to use the dryer as leccy bill would be terrible. Am taking clothes to local laundrette for drying instead

nhframe · 18/12/2008 15:01

Personally I have a washer-dryer because I don't have space for separates. However, I work for Which?, and washer-dryers always come out bottom in our reliability survey for domestic appliances (21% need to be repaired within 6 years compared to 12% of washing machines and 10% of tumble dryers). If you do decide to get one, Bosch and Zanussi are the most reliable brands according to 13,000 of our members.

Nicola Frame
Which? magazine

littleboyblue · 18/12/2008 15:05

I have a washer/dryer but I don't use the dryer function. It's just crap. It takes hours to dry a load so I find myself putting in 4/5 pieces but it also costs a fortune to run.

flowerytaleofNewYork · 18/12/2008 15:10

Yes worth it. I have the Miele one and it has revolutionized my life.

Original poster
Sullwah · 18/12/2008 16:22

FTNY - really? - revolutionized your life? I need my life back ... its just one wash after another

Please tell me more .... do you dry everything or only some things in your W/D? How long does it take? Is it really irritating to take half the load out and dry it separately?

Its either the Miele one or totally gutting my utility room so I can get a dryer in. And I just can't decide.

OP posts:
flowerytaleofNewYork · 18/12/2008 19:30

Yes absolutely.

I dry most things in it. I take out bras and DH's non-iron work shirts but most other stuff goes in there.

I am going to be honest and say I don't take out half the load. I usually put it on for a wash then dry cycle, unless there is something in there that can't be dried, and fill it to 75% as a compromise. Works fine. I just come back to it all done and finished, fold it up, and that's it.

A full wash then dry cycle takes about 3 hours, sometimes less. It's 'intelligent' so it works it out as it goes, adjusting the time.

I love it. And I didn't fancy gutting my utility room either.

pushchair · 18/12/2008 19:38

I will add a thumbs down for indesit.Mine has needed repared twice and is crap at drying. I got a seperate recently and put it in my bedroom! Desperate!

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