Our 8 year old Zanussi washer/dryer is on its last legs.
We are looking for a replacement but I’ve no idea at all what to go for. Our needs are rather basic. There’s just the two of us and being retired we spend all our time at home and going for walks. Our attire consists of simple comfortable clothing. I’ve no desire to dress like the dapper man about town. So it’s very thin cotton lounge-type trousers and very thin flimsy T-shirts for me. Chosen for their supreme comfort. My wife wears jeans and a blouse top.
So no finicky specialist items of clothing to wash - and no demasnd for large loads.
Our requirement is for a relaible and easy machine to operate and one that does a good job rather than anything fancy. We would pay nore for an up-market machine if this was justified
but would be just as happy with a basic budget model if it fitted the bill.
The dryer part of washer dryers seems to be a weak point. We have a Miele and the dryer part packed up very quickly. We had it fixed and then it developed something that means it doesn’t progress from wash to dry. Rather than paying yet again, we bought a Samsung heat pump dryer that lives in our attached garage. If there is the space to do this, separate machines may well be better. Being retired means that it’s easy to get stuff on the line to dry most of the time, with the dryer being used more or less only in winter. The small drum of integrated machines makes them inherently compromised in the drying department.
Actually latest dryer technology uses both condenser and heat pump. You have to get the water out of the air before it goes round again, otherwise nothing gets dry!
Yes another vote for Miele washing machine. Current one is coming up 20 years old, its been 100% trouble free although my domestic goddess says its getting time to think about a replacment.
We don’t have a drier, the prefered drier is out in the garden,
With refrigeration/air conditioning technology there’s always a hot coil and a cold coil whether it is a tumble dryer, fridge or air conditioning unit.
On a tumble dryer the condensing is done by the evaporator and the heating is done by the condenser.
It’s much more efficient than using a resistive heating element and mains water through the condenser.
Best to have separate machines in our experience. We bought an LG washing machine 4 years ago………it is now rusting around the draw. If you google……there are class action lawsuits in the U.S against LG. I used some hammerite🥺
We had a Bosch dishwasher…….it never cleaned well. We visited a number of shops and the innards could have all been the same? Except the UK built Hotpoint with a 3D additional spray system, we have been impressed. And since bought their UK built heat pump tumble dryer for this coming winter.
Paid £1k for a Miele 19 years ago. It’s still magnificently silent; washes brilliantly and has never broken down once. Don’t go for their cheaper models as the plastic bits will break. The ones above the £500 to £800 range have metal whete otherwise there would be plastic and that’s the key.
We are on our 2nd machine in 40 years, and the first one went to a local housing association to help someone less fortunate, worth every penny, the boss wouldn’t have anything else.
To make room in the kitchen my washer and dryer was installed within the cloakroom, the dryer on top with a special adaptor pull out drawer unit to sit in-between which is very useful.
I like the idea of keeping the washer and dryer separate, and out of the kitchen which here forms part of my music room
As most have said try to have separate machines if possible purchased a Samsung washing machine a couple of years ago very very pleased with it superb quality for the money.
Our washing needs are very similar to the OP.
We bought a Hotpoint washer dryer 14 years ago for about £300 and it’s still going strong and we’ve never had a problem. I would just get a cheap one from John Lewis - they have LG and Samsung for £5-600 with a 5 year guarantee. Miele are roughly double that.
We’ve had Zanussi since we’ve been married which is 35 years. Always been good but the current one is a pile of cr*p and I would never buy another. Several repair engineers have told me that Zanussi have gone way downhill.
Thanks to all. I can see the logic of separate machines but just not an option here due to space unfortunately.
Miele is clearly a favourite and I was sold. However just had a look at their webiste and they only do three models of washer/dryer. Two are over £1600 and one over £2K! That does seem a little steep. Perhaps it shouldn’t as we’ve spent £4K on mains blocks for the hi-fi. But that’s different. They float my boat and washer/dryers don’t! Also the Miele’s are smart machines with App control which is just not required by us. I can see the value for people who are out at work all day though.
Not necessarily dead against paying for a Miele but is it really worth so much compared to something around half the price?
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