Washer Dryer Advice

[Sara113]

Our washer dryer is only a couple of years and has broken down, out of warranty. It’s going to be expensive and time consuming to replace as we could have to wait up to a month for the part.

We’re wary of sinking more money into something that failed so quickly, but obviously a new machine would be more expensive.

Are all washer dryers horrible? We’d love to have separate machines but simply don’t have the space for them. We barely have space for the one machine.

We can’t dry clothes outside and while we use a clothes horse inside, it can only hold so much. I’ve looked into the Lakeland one but I don’t know where we’d put it. Even the smaller clothes horse always seems in the way. I’ve even considered a ceiling airer but there’s no place where it wouldn’t get in the way.

I’d love to hear from someone who has a washer dryer that they don’t hate. Any brand or model recommendations would be appreciated.

I love my Miele washer dryer but it's not a cheap option. Long lasting though so cheaper in the long run. They are supposed to last for 20 years.

@Mosaic123 thanks, I’ve heard mixed things about Miele washer dryers. Which one do you have and how long have you had it?

Don't get a hotpoint. Nothing but trouble with ours

I recently bought a Zanussi 7kg Lindo 1000. The main reason was to fill a shallow space behind a cupboard door. There were cheaper brands available, but Zanussi appliances have always lasted well for me. So far so good. I am not one to dry every little thing but for towels it is fantastic! Duvet covers and sheets seem to come out quite crumpled so I hang them over an airer to dry and it doesn't take long. T shirts and thick flannel shirts I tumble on "iron dry" then hang on hangers to finish off... creases seem to drop out OK and they are much softer. The actual washing performance is good, very adjustable temperatures. Of course the length of programmes is ridiculous, but I believe all modern machines are like this. Having not bought a washing machine for years I was amazed at the cost, but found a good discount online ;-)

I have a Miele washer dryer WT2670. It's not an integrated one. It's about 8 years old. No problems whatsoever, except once when I stupidly washed something which disintegrated inside the machine (my MIL's ancient toilet mat - I was being kind). It was easily repaired.

I recently bought an AEG from John Lewis. It was under £600 and so far so good. Our previous machine was just a washer. It’s been a great time saver.

@BettaSplenden we avoided them the first time and got a Beko, which I’d also suggest people avoid! Sorry you’re has given you grief as well.

@CarolinePooter the length of the cycles are difficult for us since there’s only the one machine. It feels like we are running it all the time! I’ll keep an eye out for Zanussi though, thank you.

@Mosaic123 that’s useful, thank you! I’ve been thinking I’d be more willing to shell out for separate Miele machines if we had the space, but I wasn’t sure the combined washer dryer would be worth it.

@EleanorofCastile do you remember what sort of warranty you had on it? We are considering John Lewis for a new machine this time.

It has a two year service guarantee with JL. The model is a L7WBG741R which has gone up in price a a bit since we bought it in December.

Sometimes Miele offers 5 year or even longer guarantees. Ring their customer service section and ask.

I think we’d need a ten year guarantee to justify their prices 😂

I have seen them with 10 year guarantees but I see what you mean.

I bought mine because I had a different one before that which was not worth repairing after less than 3 years. The repair guy said the only make that lasts a really long time is Miele. Designed to last for 20 years apparently.

I'm on my second Candy washer dryer.

First one lasted about 14 years.

I've had no problems at all with it, and would recommend, despite being at the cheaper end of the market.

My DD has had an AEG for about 9 months. So far so good. None give the best wash or drying performance so you do have to compromise. Miele is a lot more expensive but I would suggest they would be reliable. In our flat we hae an Indesit. Has had a fault but still OK after 7 years. Cheap has een cheerful in this case but generally go for best reviews and quality. DD was keen on certain programmes being available.

Just a thought but could you stack a dryer on top of the washer - perhaps by relocating it to a corner?

@Mosaic123 I have heard good things about Miele separates but not the combined washer dryers so much, which is what makes me hesitate.

I’ve never even heard of Candy @TheRattleBag! I’ll bed to investigate them further, thank you.

@BubblesBuddy our Beko has good reviews in Which? and while not the most expensive machine, it was far from cheap. Our experience with it has made me wary now because we did our research and it still failed.

Truthfully it would be cheaper to replace the part, even if it meant waiting a month. But i don’t have any faith in the machine now and I don’t really want to give them more of our money, as petty as that sounds.

I’ve looked at the “utility” corner every day and tried to figure out if there would be a way. The current machine barely fits and we sometimes can’t open the back door. But even if we cut the workspace above our current machine, the boiler would be in the way and we wouldn’t be able to clear it.

I’m not sure what else to do short of taking everything out on that wall and having electrics and plumbing rearranged. I don’t even know if that would be possible.

Oops that last part was to @bouncydog!

The Bosch is the best according to Which right now. 75%. Around £750 though. All the cheaper ones have issues that might put you off. There is a Beko which is fairly highly rated but I do not rate them as make. In fact I would not touch them.

I had an Indesit for a number of years that I was very pleased with. When it developed a problem that I was told (possibly incorrectly) couldn’t be fixed, I bought the updated model. It’s horrible, noisy and doesn’t dry as well (though TBF, not too bad, just not as well as its predecessor) - my neighbour has a Beko which appears to be vastly superior. I think the problem lies as much with individual machines as brands.

I don’t trust Which? anymore after our experience. Yes, maybe it was some sort of one-off fluke, but it was a costly mistake and one that we can’t afford to have happen again. I definitely wouldn’t buy Beko again. Perhaps there are better models out there but I don’t want to give them anymore of our money.

I wouldnt recommend Beko - Which do have a strange way of deciding what to give good ratings to - they tend to look too much at all the functions and not so much at how it will last - a lot of brands used to be good like hotpoint (when they were made by bosch) candy indesit etc - they are not so good recently - quality reduced to keep price low - a washer/dryer is a complicated thing - best to stick with a quality make like Bosch Miele etc