Best washer dryer combo machine

[Wickerandwool]

I'm looking to get a combination washer dryer but I'm not sure which one to go with. I have heard some are rubbish at drying. Plus loads seem to have a poor energy rating. I understand that the overall rating will be lower because of the drying element but some also seem to have a poor washing rating. So I'm looking for one that dries well and also has a A rated washing cycle. Thanks for any help!

Bought a Hotpoint one recently ( downsized new kitchen fitted) and wished we hadn’t bothered. It is great as a washer but didn’t have any success with drying. It took ages and the items would be very warm but wet.
We had a utility before we moved so plenty room. Just a small kitchen now so one integrated appliance.
We had to buy a dryer for the shed. My advice would be do your research. Asking on here a good start! I should have read reviews on AO site.

Thanks for your reply! Yes, that's what I had heard, that the drier aspect isn't worthwhile. But I'm hoping someone will come along that has found the perfect washer dryer! Right now we have a utility room but will soon be moving and won't have space for a dryer in the new house.

I really wouldn't bother,they're all useless even the Miele we got broke and they replaced it with separates. The engineer said that's what they get called out to the most. I've used a few different brands as they tend to put them in holiday cottages and they take hours to dry even half a load. Totally impractical.

Samsung.

Yes combined washer dryers take longer and have less capacity but imo it’s better than nothing.

When I had mine I would take out anything that doesn’t need tumble drying (gym gear synthetics etc) then the rest of the load would dry in 3-4 hours instead of 2 days in winter. I would also stick towels in for half an hour, that way they are fluffy and then dry quicker on the rack.

We have a Neff that came with the house. It seems to wash and dry effectively, but is expensive. We have a Beko dryer in the garage, which is fine.

We had one (bosch)----. Got rid for just the washer. It developed faults very regularly. Just a washing machine and a heated airer now - no space for a dryer. Life is much easier

We’ve had a Samsung, Bosch and Miele over the years. All were fine. It goes wrong when you put a full wash on then put it straight on to dry when actually the drying capacity is half the wash capacity so you either need to just do half loads or take out at least half and hang it up.

I love my Samsung, it’s got an extra large drum, digital display and a little pipe to siphon off water into any container if the filter gets clogged (important).
I never do a combined wash/dry with more than half an hour drying, then pick out anything synthetic as they are usually dry enough after half a hour. The digital countdown is helpful for timing this.
I’ve never had separate machines, even the 6 years I had a cloth nappy wash every day! Don’t know why people think they’re rubbish, I’d much rather have the space than 2 machines.

We have a Samsung one at the moment, it dries well and we haven't noticed a huge increase in electricity consumption. Had a Neff one before that, lasted 12 years before the drum went.

It depends how much washing you've got to do.

If you want to rely on it to do many kgs of drying it is probably not the best option. I have only used mine a couple of times in an emergency, but it is useful to have and not broke down, it's a Zanussi.

I don't have so much washing and have a big house relative to the number of people in it, so just have a couple of dehumidifiers and they manage to dry the washing fine. You can also make sure you get a washing machine with a high spin speed, and maybe consider the option of a spin dryer, but they probably take up just as much space as tumble driers.

If you don't have the space maybe consider a stacked option if you have industrial quantities of washing to do.

The problem is always that they can't dry as big a load as they can wash (ignore the fact that many people overload the wash cycle as well). I don't have space / or the need for separate drier, I can usually, by keeping an eye on the upcoming weather, get the washing at least partially dry outside. So I only use the dry function on my machine if I've run out of other options, but the there is only me here and I've plenty of clothes, bedding, towels etc. My opinion would be different if there more people or I was the apocrythal Mumsnetter who changes the bedding 3 times a day.

years ago, we had a tiny kitchen and we spent an absolute fortune buying an ariston washer/dryer “it didn’t go on and on”, it was jolly expensive to run, and it didn’t dry OR it dried everything to a crisp and you couldn’t iron it!

a few years ago, I saw a hoover washer/dryer, and I thought they must have moved on £500 paid, dishwasher moved to the tumble dryer place, it lasted 2years! It took four hours to dry stuff!!

I don’t often use a drier, we have an outdoor line in a lean to, I like to put towels, flannels etc to get them fluffy, but unless it’s really cold I don’t use them.

My advice is buy the biggest washer you can get, we have a 14kg one, and buy a 12litre dehumidifier from Lidl for £70, I have a very small 3kg compact must be over 50 years old tumble dryer in the cellar, for the towels and real real emergencies niw.