I’m looking at washers and dryers for the new house, and need a little advice. Has anyone ever used one of these combo machines that washes and dries in the same unit? I know that they are fairly commonplace in Europe, but not so much here.
I gather that, because they use a condensing system to dry, they take up to 4 hours to do a load of laundry. I also gather that this still uses less water and energy than a conventional washer/dryer pair.
Now, that seems like a long time, but since I often put in a load of laundry then walk away and forget about it until the next day, I have to wash the load again because it has been sitting there damp all night. So, perhaps this is the way to go? Plus, never underestimate the attractiveness of a cool and unusual new gadget where I’m concerned.
What do you think?
I actually talked to someone who has one. He has it as a secondary machine in his RV and doesn’t recommend it as your primary machine. His complaints about it are that no matter what you wash, it will take approx. 4 1/2 hours to complete the wash/dry cycle, the machine can not dry the same capacity as you wash, it works better with 1/2 loads, which seems to defeat the purpose or conservation and your clothes usually end up looking like “beef jerky” – it’s great on undergarments or socks but if you are washing shirts, jeans, etc. then you have to iron afterwards. There is no dryer duct, it dries with a evaporation effect, which is why it takes so long. He has a front loading stackable in his home and says for the price and the conservation of space he does not find the combo to be the way to go for your home laundry unit. My suggestion, if the energy/water conservation is your main goal, is to get a washer and then hang your clothes out on a line – you can get a retractable line unit so there wouldn’t be anything unsightly in that beautiful backyard.