Washer-dryers, still unreliable?

[ChrisR]

These things are the worst of the washing machines as a type for reliability, but have they improved much? I often advise landlords to instal rented ones to save the decorations from all the condensation from washing being dried on radiators. I've had 3 or 4 at home over the past 20 or so years with mixed satisfaction.
Rental companies seem to use the Whirlpool ones. Ours at home is now a Zanussi which is a lot better than the previous Hotpoints .

One for Gees really - would you be happy to recommend them for heavy use in a shared kitchen, say?

 

[breezer]

for my tuppence worth, by design they are flawed. I shall explain

A washer dryer works be reciculating the same air through a heater, this hot damp air then goes down inside a condenser (separate compartment with cold water running down inside it to keep it cold)

the air now goes back through the drum and picks up more moisture and process starts again.

Problem is that in order for it to work properly there has to be lots of space in the washing being dried, easiest way to do that is to take out half the wash load (yes you have to run the dry cycle twice once for each load)

Now lets take the fan that blows all this air where is it? bolted on (in some fashion) to the outer tub, what does that do? it vibrates a heck of a lot, yes you can have anti slip fixings etc, but eventually they will work loose (marvelous) and where is that extra heater? that too is bolted onto the outer tub, wow! where does all the fluf go? (tumble driers have a filter) the fluf gets stuck on either the heater or the fan causing a premature end (again i say marvelous)

i won't even mention the poor engineer who has to fix it. to gain access into the tub you have to take the drying assembly off which takes more time (some thing white goods service engineers dont have) then you have to put it back (and make sure it doesnt leak water when its washing, none of that with a W/M

so lets sum up then.

You have paid a lot more money for a washer dryer than a just a W/M that can at best (usually) only dry half the load you just washed. Takes twice as long to dry each load, uses water to dry (remember the condensor) and if that wasn't bad enough they have an inbuit feature that says if the pump or motor fails you cant wash or dry now thats what i call MAREVELOUS!

The only advantage a W/D has it saves space, but you are paying for the privelage, so why not buy a good w/m and put a tumble dryer on top of it?

 

[evdama]

My euro'sworth.
We've had washer dryers for years and I would say there not quite as reliable as sraight washing machines but theyre not far off.We both work full time and with kids and animals to tend for theres not much time for anything so a WD on a night rate timer suits the purpose OK.Put the washing in at bedtime ,iron the ironables in the morning.Socks and pants are still toasty warm when waking up to Penny Smith.
mmmm-toast.
mmmm-Penny.
The worst are the british(welsh) made ones,Hotpoint hoover etc.
Our current one is a Candy(same company strangely) which so far has needed only (!) a fan motor and a control unit although the latter ,I suspect ,was the result of the spectacular barrel-roll off the sack truck and down the drive when we moved house.
Sh*t!
White goods dont like moving....
Incidentally the candy was bought from tesco .com and was ridiculously cheap at the time .Its proved to be the most reliable and also the quietest,highest capacity,economical and environmentally friendly machine weve had.
The warranty was supplemented by the free 12 month extra cover you get when buying with barclaycard.
As regards extended warranty-dont.
Stash your pennys into the building society and save for your next machine.
Same for pet insurance-Im not giving them a tenner a month for a scabby sheepdog-The money goes into a savings account.If shes ill she gets treated from this ,if shes not then Im not out of pocket.

 

[ChrisR]

Breezer: yes I know how they work, that isn't the point! Question is whether they are reliable enough for the intended purpose.

I for one don't have enough space for two machines, and with nodody in to do the switch-over, the WD is a godsend. Capacity isn't an issue, you just put them on more often - water & detergent use is less per cycle.

Similar objections could be made to combi boilers. But if you need one, they're vloody marbellous!

 

[Gees]

All I can add is DONT get a washer/drier. We do the whirlpool ones as mentioned above. Terrible to work on and not very good either. As far as drying goes there is no condenser but the outer tub is thich steel and as such acts as a condenser. The water is pumped away as normal by the drain pump. They DO have a fluff filter fitted as well. but not as good as a drier. Half load= correct you have to take 1/2 of it out to dry it a bit at a time.

Buy seperates....

 

[NickC]

I've got an Ariston washer dryer which is which is coming up for 4 years old. Only problem I've had was a water leak due to a split rubber hose.

Don't use the drying function that much as we prefer to hang stuff outside but find it handy for drying odd items.

If drying straight after washing it is better to dry half the load at a time.

My sister has an Ariston as well which is nearly 10 years old and no problems that I'm aware of.

 

[ChrisR]

I fully accept they aren't as reliable - that was my first line. But it wasn't the question!

Gees - how long would you expect one to last in fairly heavy use? And what fails regularly?

Just done a quick sum - where I live the real estate to stand a machine on costs several times as much as the machine..... hence having only one!

 

[breezer]

without naming brands i would say a one made (or is that failed) in wales 4 years if you are lucky with heavy every other day use, deffinently 2 years

 

[Gees]

How long is a bit of string
If a machine is cared for properly. Not overloaded, cleaned out every now and then. Filter kept clean, gunk cleaned from waste every now and then Etc. then a machine will last untill something "wears out" Usually brushes go first of course but drain pumps leak when the spindle bush wears out and bearings are rendered useless as soon as the rubber drum seal wears a bit and lets the soapy water into the bearings. Suspension struts and/or friction pads wear out or break off due to incorrect loading. Rubber hoses do sometimes split themselves but there is usually an underlying cause. Bra wires, coins, sewing needles, safety pins, credit cards, bus passes, Hairgrips etc. I have seen them all come from inside machines at some time or other usually having caused damage to something or other while they where in there. I can remember one occasion when a customer reported that the machine would not drain. Expecting to find the usual sock or two or a pair of undies in the sump hose I got the biggest suprise of my life when I pulled out a dutch cap female contraceptive device that was just the right sise to clamp over the sump outlet. I swear its true and its a one off but there you go. Some people will wash ANYTHING.