Opinions on a Combo Washer Dryer

• 

  Pelicannn on 27/11/2024 - 11:47

  +4

  Be aware there are some pretty decent arguments for never buying a combo washer dryer. Main reasons being:

  1. Jack of all trades, master of none.
  2. Significant water usage (due to the way they work, a lot of combo washer/dryers use water during a drying cycle) making them expensive to run.
  3. The size of load you can wash is not the size of load you can dry. This seems obvious but you can’t put in a full load and expect to pull out a full dry load. It just won’t work.
  4. More expensive and difficult to repair, and more likely to be less reliable in the long run (from what I’ve read anyway).

  If I was going to buy one, I’d be spending a little more and going for some German reliability like Bosch or Miele.

  • 

    rynnethia on 27/11/2024 - 11:51

    Yeah, we've done our research here, which is why we wanted to go with one with a longer warranty period. We may consider just purchasing only a washer if our dryer can be fixed, but for now keen for just one appliance as my partner (who's responsible for laundry) is very bad at checking up on the laundry after wash. 🥲

    • 

      A-mak on 29/11/2024 - 13:12

      I have a Combo Chiq WDFL8T48W2. Went from a top-load old washer (limited space so combo appealing).

      Mine was very easy to install, just adjusted the feet to make it level, install 1 cold water hose (no hot water connection which was disappointing), install waste pipe. It did come with wall mounts but I just have it on the ground.

      Can't comment on water usage, I just pay water in my rent. It sounds like it uses way less water than my old top-load (to be expected).

      I literally set it to mixed clothes and then auto for drying and regardless of size of load (even an overfull load) the clothes come out clean and dry. Apparently the auto drying uses a sensor for humidity of the drum to determine how long it should spend drying. I believe the max time is 3hrs for drying, generally finishes sooner. No complaints.

      Haven't owned it very long (less than 1 yr) so can't comment on reliability but seems solid enough.

      Downside is no lint filter, lint seems to get stuck to the rubber seal around the door; have had to run a clean cycle. Purchased some wool dryer balls and chuck them in with the load to help (they also come out dry on a full load). No hot water connection.

      Uses around 2kwh per load (washing+drying, as low as 1kwh and as high as 2.5kwh).

  • 

    lunchbox99 on 27/11/2024 - 12:48

    +3

    Also… can't run both functions at the same time. You can be washing and drying 2 loads simultaneously with separate devices.

    I imagine most people buy combos for space reasons or laziness ie you hit start and come back 3hrs later to a clean, dry load.

    • 

      larndis on 28/11/2024 - 12:56

      -1

      More like 6 hours later

• 

  dragonos81 on 27/11/2024 - 11:49

  Personally, I wouldn't get a combo washer / dryer again. I used to have one but it was impractical; drying took a long time and I wasn't able to put another load of washing on. Right now, I don't even have a dryer and let everything air-dry.

  Anyone can install it themselves (assuming you got power and plumbing in the place you want to have it).

  • 

    rynnethia on 27/11/2024 - 11:52

    Yeah, unfortunately we've noticed (maybe it's our apartment?) that air drying sucks for us. My clothes which come out of dryers seem to be a lot less creased.

    I think we're more worried about the lugging it around aspect, was considering getting a trolley, but seems like a lot of hassle. ._.

    • 

      SlickMick on 28/11/2024 - 14:49

      a heatpump dryer is the way to go, but they are heavy. We put on floor of bathroom because too hard to get onto bench in laundry.
      There is nothing to install: just a powerpoint for each, a water connection and drainage for washer.

      But if you're set on a combo (despite all the advice against), I presume it would need to be vented also.

• 

  gargdada on 27/11/2024 - 11:51

  I went through this a few months ago. Tried an LG years back—clothes always came out wet, ugh. After tons of Reddit surfing, Bosch washer-dryer combos came out on top for drying performance. I got the 10/5kg model for $1500—pricey, but worth it. Six months in, I’m happy with it!

  Downsides? Combos don’t match standalone washers/dryers in options, and most are condensation dryers—not as efficient as heat pumps but gentler on clothes than vented ones. Oh, and they’re heavy! You can’t lift them; you have to walk them into place.

  For my other house, I grabbed a second-hand Bosch combo on Marketplace for $400. After a good clean and some Aldi MoldAway, it works like new!

  Installation? Not hard, but moving them is a workout. Good luck!

  • 

    rynnethia on 27/11/2024 - 11:54

    We were hesitant with getting second hand washers, is it a good idea? We thought the transport was gonna be tough, and it wouldn't have that much life left.

    • 

      gargdada on 28/11/2024 - 00:24

      hire people on marketplace to deliver it for 100… boash combos specially are made like a tank and last forever.. used one i bought was 8 yrs old.. running solid.. and i'm a very rough user.. continous loads etc.. happy with my purchase but yeh in combo you do miss a lotttt of "options" as dial has space for only limited features.

      I do agree with the tech guy that any washer or combo is a pain to repair if they go bad hence we went for "bosch" quality

• 

  joka on 27/11/2024 - 11:56

  I think the argument against a combo (anything) is that if one fails, both have effectively failed and need to be replaced. Love those CRT TV and VHS combos of the 90's.

• 

  nubix on 27/11/2024 - 12:00

  +1

  Absolutely love our Bosch combo, been running great for >5 years now, much quieter than our Samsung combo.

• 

  try2bhelpful on 27/11/2024 - 12:41

  We stayed at a few Air BnBs in Europe and not one of them had a combination washer dryer. If these things worked well I would expect them to be popular with Air BnBs properties.

  • 

    MS Paint on 27/11/2024 - 13:42

    +1

    Did you get a discount by paying the owner outside Airbnb?

    Asking for a friend.

    • 

      try2bhelpful on 27/11/2024 - 15:03

      +1

      No but I got direct phone numbers for next time.

• 

  mrsi on 27/11/2024 - 13:48

  +1

  We have a combo Bosch and I love it. Loved combos ever since I started living in an apartment. But there's only two of us and I'm organised, I never need to do consecutive loads. Love being able to put sheets on and come back to them dry. Same with towels. I don't generally dry clothes in it though, but I wear delicate stuff. Don't overload it and it's not an issue. I pull the sheets out and hang them over a chair for 20mins to air finish the slight dampness and then they are fine to go straight on the bed.

  If I had kids, or lived in big houses with plenty of room, it might be different.

• 

  altomic on 27/11/2024 - 14:50

  +1

  I had a LG 10 kg combo for 10 years.
  the dryer was so subpar that it was virtually useless and only used a handful of times initially and resulted in frustration at its slowless and mediocre drying.

  I've since gone for a separate washer (haier) and dryer (electrolux).
  the evaporative dryer is very good.

• 

  ZippyRoo on 27/11/2024 - 15:00

  I have an LG combo washer/dryer. The washer is fantastic, but like what everyone else already said, the dryer is not suitable for our needs. It takes hours to dry, and uses a ton of electricity. We don't do multiple loads all the time, but there are many occasions where we needed to do more than one load, and we've had to resort to waiting for the dryer to finish. 3 years in, we rarely use the dryer now, it's only for emergencies and I used it to dry my kids' down jackets once.

• 

  Capo93 on 27/11/2024 - 22:50

  Appliance repair tech here, they’re useless, don’t waste your money. They’re a nightmare to fix when they break, they take hours to dry, they are very fiddly and need to be very specifically to get good results. Like for example, the cycle that does wash/dry you will find is a small capacity cycle

• 

  deandownunder on 28/11/2024 - 08:48

  Separate washer and dryer the way to go. LG washers have a direct drive inverter system,we have found ours to be very reliable. Have had a Fisher&Paykel heat pump dryer(broke down twice). Recently purchased a Beko heat pump dryer with a 5 year guarantee and really happy with it. Beko are one of Europe's largest and make some items for Bosch.
  Appliances online will deliver free and install for a small fee.

• 

  ExtraGuac on 28/11/2024 - 09:34

  We have the ChiQ one (the more expensive model I think?). Have had it over a year with no issues. We don’t use the dryer much anyway for environmental reasons and it generally just being bad for the life of your clothes. But it is handy to have for drying sheets and towels that take up a lot of space to hang (we live in an apartment), especially in winter. I also like that it can dry immediately after washing so you can put a load on before you go out and come back to dry laundry. So yeah if you’re not a heavy dryer user it might suit you, I appreciate the space saving not having two machines in the apartment too (we wouldn’t have space for a standalone dryer anyway).

• 

  toniteddy on 28/11/2024 - 13:02

  I have the Electrolux eww12753. I've had it for 7 years now. no issues. the dryer is handy when needed during winter. but most of the time I'm line-drying anyway.

• 

  Gnilgorf on 29/11/2024 - 15:10

  Alrighty, 2 cents from someone who transitioned from bachelor life to married life with a kid.

  Owned a Electrolux 7.5/4.5k washer dryer combo. Bought this cause I used to live in an apartment and with it, the usual space constraints.
  Washing was good, Drying was so so. But hey, back then, it suited my purposes fine as I barely used the drying function.

  This eventually turned into the missus and I's laundry machine, and eventually to the family unit. With the dyer getting used more and more heavily (Thank you Modern Cloth Nappies).
  And eventually we found the sweet spot in wash dry settings that got pretty good drying results most times. There are some bulkier things which would never get dried. It also was a life safer for our young family as it meant we didn't have to stop, unload the washer, reload the dryer in amongst a billion other things having a baby entails.

  Eventually this unit died after 7 years of use (with 1 repair at the 6 year mark). At this point my wife hooked on the convenience, so we initially invested in a 15/9 kg Haier. Never again. Drying component was dead on arrival. It was HEAVY, that I struggled to move it around. Which, to answer your query, any typical 600w unit is easy enough to move and install by yourself. Would still recommend investing in a small dolly to make life easier.

  We got this replaced with a Bosch 10/5 and it has been extremely reliable and doing a great job drying (although it can be quite long depending on the load size).
  Got the Bosch for its reliability and its soooo quiet.

  Note all these units I DIY installed, but got them delivered to the point of use. But thats more an issue due to an incompetent install and delivery team.
  Its generally just putting on and screwing right the hoses, and make sure your drain pipe goes to the sink / drain hole.

  TLDR:
  - Easy enough to DIY install.
  - All the units you've gotten are light enough to DIY move around. Get a dolly if it helps
  - Everyones milage may vary. Find one which suits your use.