Washer and Drier - Together or Seperate?

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alasta

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#280024 23-Nov-2020 08:45

I'm moving into a small apartment next month and trying to figure out how I am going to dry clothes without a clothes line.

I currently have an LG front loading washing machine which I bought 8 years ago. The first option is to buy an LG drier and a stacking kit. LG don't specific which models of washer are compatible with the stacking kit so I assume that my older model will be okay but I will need to check.

Option two is to replace the washing machine with a combined washer/drier.

I live alone so capacity is not an issue. I think my existing washing machine is a 7kg.

Does anyone have any tips on the pros and cons of these two options?

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#2608775 23-Nov-2020 08:51

Might be in the minority here - as combo washer/dryer machines aren't always the best models available or the most effective/efficient either - but I enjoy the convenience of being able to put in washing at night or before going to work and having clean and dry washing a few hours later (or several hours later, depending on the auto-sensing dry cycle really).

rb99

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#2608776 23-Nov-2020 08:52

Other threads on the subject seem to favour separates, I think on the grounds of if it breaks you've got nothing instead of 50% working.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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chevrolux

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#2608777 23-Nov-2020 08:55

I have an LG washer/dryer combo and think its awesome.

To be fair, barely use the drying function, so the space saved of not having a whole other appliance is great.

I don't know what the measure of a good dryer is, but can chuck a couple sheets in there and they are dry in an hour and bit.

Jase2985

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#2608815 23-Nov-2020 09:38

My parents have a Samsung one and does the job but its massively slow to do a wash then a dry, think 3+ hours.

Also the dryer rating is usually well less than the washer rating so you cant wash a "full" load and then use the dryer on it.

chevrolux

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#2608883 23-Nov-2020 10:22

Jase2985:

My parents have a Samsung one and does the job but its massively slow to do a wash then a dry, think 3+ hours.

Also the dryer rating is usually well less than the washer rating so you cant wash a "full" load and then use the dryer on it.

LG is the same actually - rather than do a automatic wash/dry, it's best to do wash, and then manually start a dry. It's just that it waits at the end of the wash for ages before even starting the dry cycle.

heavenlywild

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#2608886 23-Nov-2020 10:26

If you have the space, a separate one for each function is best.

My friend who has a combo says the drying takes forever and the clothes are never properly dry.

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sittingduckz

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#2608891 23-Nov-2020 10:34

I have the F&P combo... washing is really quiet and does a great job... drying isn't great in mine. However F&P are going to replace it in Dec when they get new stock so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

I had a loan one (same model) for a short while during a repair and that dried pretty well, so I think some may be better than others. Does still take 3hrs +

I'm not a complete idiot, I still have some parts missing.

timmmay

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#2608895 23-Nov-2020 10:42

A front loader takes an hour or so, a separate drier takes maybe an hour for an average load or two hours for a large load, so 3h+ for convenience and a small size may be worthwhile for small volume households.

When I lived overseas I had a washing machine but no clothes drier, so used a laundromat. Drying clothes inside is a bad idea as it creates moisture and mould.

PolicyGuy

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#2608977 23-Nov-2020 11:26

Another advantage of separates is that you can have one load in the washer an another in the dryer at the same time

DjShadow

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#2608979 23-Nov-2020 11:29

timmmay:

A front loader takes an hour or so, a separate drier takes maybe an hour for an average load or two hours for a large load, so 3h+ for convenience and a small size may be worthwhile for small volume households.

When I lived overseas I had a washing machine but no clothes drier, so used a laundromat. Drying clothes inside is a bad idea as it creates moisture and mould.

We've been looking at changing to a combo machine, the dryer component is a condenser dryer so all the moisture is sent down the drain pipe

disillusioned

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#2608988 23-Nov-2020 11:46

PolicyGuy:
Another advantage of separates is that you can have one load in the washer an another in the dryer at the same time

If I had the money and the space, I'd just get two combos then! Wash and dry two loads at once haha

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ren1316

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#2609015 23-Nov-2020 12:37

I would choose 2 separate machines.

If you cant vent the drier to the outside, get the Heat Pump drier.

I am not sure if there are any Combo machine that use heat pump technology for drying.

Separates allow you to wash and dry at the same time and you can best in class for each.

lxsw20

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#2609079 23-Nov-2020 13:22

IME washer dryer combos are useless. They don't really dry your clothes, they just make them hot and damp.

MikeAqua

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#2609090 23-Nov-2020 13:39

chevrolux:

I don't know what the measure of a good dryer is, but can chuck a couple sheets in there and they are dry in an hour and bit.

For comparison, in our vented tumble drier I would expect two king size cotton sheets and four pillow cases to dry in <30minutes.

I've seen a lot of combos where the drier has less capacity. For example it may wash 7kg but only dry 5kg. So you can't wash and dry a whole load in one continuous cycle.

The combo units tend to use condenser type drying, which is slow and doesn't cope as well with bigger loads. Some of them use cold water in the drying cycle (the condenser is like a water to air heat exchanger)). In our apartment building water is charged per litre, so that would be a real issue.

If you are able to vent your drier, I would get a separate tumbler drier.

Mike

neb

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#2609146 23-Nov-2020 15:04

alasta:
Option two is to replace the washing machine with a combined washer/drier.

Consumer reviewed them a while back, the conclusion was to avoid unless you really had to go with a single all-in-one unit.

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