Advice please on washer dryers.

I know where you're coming from. I'm currently in a rental property with no outdoor drying space. Flat is supplied with a washer/dryer. I use the drying programme by itself, but only to finish off washing that has almost dried on a folding dryer. You can stop it when you want to. I don't like using it, as I'm sure it costs a fortune, but I have to say, that it is hotter than my own, currently stored, tumble dryer.

I had a zanussi washer drier for 16 years,only used the drier once,bought a drier from Lakeland,wonderful,well worth the money

Another yes vote here. Put my washing on overnight and it is washed and dried when I get up. Do prefer to hang it out but here in north Scotland days when I can hang it out before work and come home to it dry are not very frequent. However today is lovely and my second lot is on the line drying nicely. I hate having wet washing hanging around the house.

My condenser tumble dryer was one that needed to be fixed[Indesit] and, in the end I was offered a new Hotpoint one for £100; they had so many to fix it worked out easier for the company that had taken over. It's far, far better than the Indesit. You do have to clean the condenser on a regular basis, as it's both inefficient and dangerous if you don't. I bought my son a washer/dryer when they had the baby...I'll ask him if it works well.I usually put my washing next to a dehumidifier to dry. And, as one of lifes dinosaurs, I still have an airing cupboard.

I was getting worried about this as nobody seems to have a good word to say about them.
Mine's a Zanussi, which is fantastic, too.
It must be about seven years old, and still working fine. Hope this isn't jinxing it.

When you buy one, it gives you the amount you can wash and dry at any one time on the label, so you know it will not take a full load to dry.

I can if I want do a wash and dry following on from it, but I never have done, because I prefer to dry on the line.
When it's finished washing, take out what you want and leave half in for drying if you cannot dry outside.
I admit I tend to use the dryer to get rid of creases so don't need to iron. The dryer has a timer from 12 to 120 minutes but that's never needed. It also has two heat temperatures. I tend to just use the low one, because I usually wash towels when I can hang them out.

So that's two for Zanussi.

Hello - I have a wonderful Zanussi washer-dryer in UK, which is FANTASTIC - but here, at present in my holiday-home in France I have an Indesit (bought in England) which is pretty much hopeless - very slow wash programmes, (shotest one at 40 degrees is nearly 2 hours!!) does not spin very dry, and the Dryer part takes forever and does not really dry too well either. Go for a Zanussi if you can! Can honestly recommend - and mine in the UK is about 8 years old and still perfect. An excellent 59 minute wash programme at 40 degrees and just an hour in the Dryer part makes towels super fulffy

I join the "Never again" brigade. Had to remove half the clothes for the drying cycle, it took forever and cost a fortune. My friend had one of the early models and advised against but I thought they must be more reliable after a decade or so and I was wrong. Used the washer until it broke then replaced it with a standard machine and had managed to find space in a cupboard for a condenser drier.

I totally agree with all the adverse comments regarding washer/dryers they are crap. I inherited one with my flat and only used it once.

The washing comes out all creased and hot and there was a lot of condensation in the kitchen.

The washing machine part is great but I dry my clothes on a rack in the boiler cupboard.

they are rubbish! you cant dry a full load in them would never buy one again!

I heartily dislike washer/dryers they seem to take forever! I have a separate dryer, but even so rarely use it. I've found that by putting my clothes on hangers and hanging them on a clothes-horse, with my dehumidifier turned on, they dry beautifully and need much less ironing. Uses less electricity too.

Had one once, it was rubbish. I use my dryer to start off the drying process then continue with the Lakeland Dry Soon which others have mentioned. I bought my son & my daughter one each for Christmas & we all swear by them. I've got the biggest one, they now do a deluxe version as well & a cover (though I find an old sheet works fine). One thing I would say - be careful which room you use it in. I have it in the spare room (carpeted, curtains etc) & it's fine, but one winter I moved it into the conservatory - big mistake. The condensation it produced mildewed my wooden blinds!

Dd1 (a researcher by profession )researched them thoroughly recently as has tiny kitchen and would love a combo.
But decided against them Apart from anything else they apparently go wrong quite a lot
There is a Mumsnet thread about Lakeland and ppl are very enthusiastic about the driers I might buy her one !

Don't.
Better to buy a cheap dryer (not a condenser, the steam will be no problem in a garage) and put it in the garage if space is at a premium,
If her existing one has been recalled over safety concerns she should not be made to wait 6 months.
Maybe they are better than nothing, but they are usually expensive.
And 9 doors is no distance if you have a dryer at your disposal!

I had a washer dryer. It was awful. Never again.

Having once had a washer/drier because of limited space, I would say never again. The dryer was never as good as a separate drier. I would also never again b uy a condenser drier which I had to because of lack of venting availability.

I had to smile when I read your post I've been on the phone all week to make sure I was getting the washer dryer I wanted . My W/D has just given up the ghost after16 years I insured it as there is more that can go wrong with a
2 in1 but it's served me well and can't be repaired because the parts obsolete .ive found it to be really worth buying it was my second one.make sure you get a reliable company to insure it .

I had one of the early washer/driers and said I would never have another one. Sounds like they are not much better now apart from the Hotpoint maybe. The Lakeland drier sounds like a good idea.

I had one and said never again. Eventually we had separate ones and the dryer was in the spare bedroom - I just used to stick the vent pipe out of the window. At this house it is in the garage but I haven't used it since I came here.

i had a hotpoint washer/dryer for years but didn't use the dryer very often. living on my own i had plenty of radiator space [and a conservatory where the clothes airer lived].
however when my daughter and grandaughters moved in we used the washer/dryer on a daily basis [loads of washing to be done as my daughter just chucked things in black plastic sacks to be out of where she was - i had 11 black plastic sacks in my conservatory at one time]. so the poor washer/dryer was worked to death - it died a couple of months ago.
so my daughter shopped around and we've bought a later model hotpoint washer/dryer and it's wonderful. you can programme how long the drying cycle lasts which is so much better than the old one which had a fixed drying cycle.
we are so pleased with this machine and, quite frankly, wouldn't be without it.
i always tumble dry towels but the machine is so useful when doing the washing on rainy days - you can imagine the amount of washing four people make during a week!!
i have had separate machines but haven't got room in my kitchen for both as well as a dishwasher which i wouldn't be without - see remark about four people living and eating in the same house!!

I meant dehumidifier.

I really don't like my washer/dryer. It gets so hot it screws everything up, takes a age to dry as well. I do use it for towels in the winter though. Would never buy another one.

I hang my washing in the spare room with the humidifier running if it's raining It dries in about an hour and no condensation.

I have inherited a washer dryer in my new apartment. I have given up using the dryer because it just does not do the job. Instead I give the wash an extra spin and then dry it on a clothes rack. Unfortunately I don't have a garden to dry them outside . I woul not recommend buying one.

I vowed to never have a washer/dryer again. What a disappointment! They take aching ages.
Such a pity your daughter does not have room for an airer. Those Lakeland heated ones are so good. They do fold flat when not in use. Could she leave one up overnight in the living room or kitchen? Store it behind the sofa or under the bed when not in use? Or - get power in the garage and run a dryer out there. That's what my daughter does.

I've had a waher-dryer for over 8 years (not sure how long exactly, but moved here with it in Feb 2008). The drum rotates while drying. Seems quite efficient though I rarely use it for anything other than smalls as I don't iron & am wary of creasing. When it eventually goes to white goods heaven, I'll get another. With all the poor experiences related here, perhaps I should get the same make!
Have you looked at Which reports?

MY DS lived in a studio apartment - we called it a bedsit in my day - that was fitted with a washer/dryer. He didn't notice the time taken for a cycle as much as the astronomical cost of running it. He ended up using a launderette that offered a service wash while he was at work.