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Condo-sized/compact washer/dryer options

T

TheKingEast

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Hi folks. I'm in the market for a compact wahser/dryer. I have a vent, but I only have 29 inches of depth to work with. My options are pretty limited for compact vented washer/dryer. Bloomberg, Samsung, GE are the only options I've run across with this configuration. The reviews for the dryer range from terrible (Bloomberg) to decent (Samsung/GE).

Given the limited options I considered ventless. More options but seems ventless dryers are known for taking a long time for drying clothes. I've looked at Miele, Electrolux and Bosch. Miele seems like the clear winner here, but it's also minimum $5K installed. So I'm looking at Bosch 800 series and Electrolux. Anyone have experience with condo-sized ventless dryers? Please share your experiences.
 
I have one and I’m not that happy with it. The dryer is terrible and I find it bad at dealing with pet hair on clothing.

I do like the convenience of putting a load of laundry on and forgetting it though. It takes 4 hours for a wash and dry, but I can be out for those hours and can come home to a completed load of laundry.
 
TheKingEast said:
Hi folks. I'm in the market for a compact wahser/dryer. I have a vent, but I only have 29 inches of depth to work with. My options are pretty limited for compact vented washer/dryer. Bloomberg, Samsung, GE are the only options I've run across with this configuration. The reviews for the dryer range from terrible (Bloomberg) to decent (Samsung/GE).

Given the limited options I considered ventless. More options but seems ventless dryers are known for taking a long time for drying clothes. I've looked at Miele, Electrolux and Bosch. Miele seems like the clear winner here, but it's also minimum $5K installed. So I'm looking at Bosch 800 series and Electrolux. Anyone have experience with condo-sized ventless dryers? Please share your experiences.
Click to expand...

I have an old-school laundry centre that is still working ok after 21 years. When it needed some repairs recently I thought about replacing it. Although I was tempted by the 25% off Ontario Energy Star rebate (that ran for quite a while), I stuck with what I have.

The reviews of those condensing dryers scared me away from considering them. I was going to get another laundry centre (GE this time) or squeeze full-sized LG stacked washer and dryer in my space.

If you decide to go for a condensing unit, I think LG WM1388HW/DLEC888W pair for $2100 at costco.ca (membership required) including delivery, installation, 2 yr warranty and haul-away is a good deal. The reviews seem similar to the German brands. (note: I think the dimensions of the units on costco.ca are slightly off, check lg.ca)
 
Tuscani01 said:
I have one and I’m not that happy with it. The dryer is terrible and I find it bad at dealing with pet hair on clothing.

I do like the convenience of putting a load of laundry on and forgetting it though. It takes 4 hours for a wash and dry, but I can be out for those hours and can come home to a completed load of laundry.
Click to expand...

Which brand to you have? I heard the Miele one is the best because it uses a heat pump. Still, I'm not sure how much I trust that.
 
Loved ventless - putting in a load to go overnight and in the morning it is dry!

If you don't have A/C it is pretty hard to get things like towels as dry as you'd be used to with vented models. For most items when I had the ventless, I'd hang them to ensure they dried fully. If I was 100% on the chest of drawers train, I'd worry about getting dry enough.
 
TheKingEast said:
Which brand to you have? I heard the Miele one is the best because it uses a heat pump. Still, I'm not sure how much I trust that.
Click to expand...
Sounds like Tuscani might have an all-in-one combo washer/dryer. Are you looking for compact stacked units?
 
TheKingEast said:
Which brand to you have? I heard the Miele one is the best because it uses a heat pump. Still, I'm not sure how much I trust that.
Click to expand...

Mine is Ariston.

Like I said, Im not happy with it - but I'm also not completely disappointed. I have heard of people in my building replacing theirs with a better brand and being somewhat happier, but still facing the same issues of clothes not fully drying and timing. If you are like me and run your laundry overnight, its not that bad. You also don't have lint traps to clean out as everything gets pumped down the drain. I do miss the days of being able to toss something in the dryer for a quick dry, and I miss the power of a regular dryer for removing lint and pet hair - but overall it does get my clothes clean and though clothes still come out damp, they dry almost instantly once you remove them from the machine.
 
A footnote. Include a drain in the laundry room, or a washer drain pan. In case of the washer hose or washer itself leaks.
bwYLvtc.jpg

From link.

Second footnote. Include accessible shutoff taps for the laundry, to reduce the water pressure on the washer hoses when you're not home.
46-Washing-Machine-Shut-off-Valves-300x300.jpg

From link.
 
Tuscani01 said:
Mine is Ariston.

Like I said, Im not happy with it - but I'm also not completely disappointed. I have heard of people in my building replacing theirs with a better brand and being somewhat happier, but still facing the same issues of clothes not fully drying and timing. If you are like me and run your laundry overnight, its not that bad. You also don't have lint traps to clean out as everything gets pumped down the drain. I do miss the days of being able to toss something in the dryer for a quick dry, and I miss the power of a regular dryer for removing lint and pet hair - but overall it does get my clothes clean and though clothes still come out damp, they dry almost instantly once you remove them from the machine.
Click to expand...

never heard of that brand before. If it’s the all in one then I feel your pain. I remember not buying a unit for that reason. Looked out on the balconies and you saw clothes hanging.
 
In July 2015, I bought a stackable (2 pieces) Whirlpool W/D that fit into a closet.It was the only decent combo I could find that would fit. It's very basic but works great even for the most delicate dedicates (I don't put those in the dryer.)

I use it a lot but I only wash a few items at a time, never a basket full, and never put anything heavy in it. For example, I wash one king-sized sheet and pillowcase at a time. I would never put two in. It cleans great, is pretty quiet and I got great service from the family-owned appliance store which delivered it and installed it for me, with the proper metallic dryer hose.

www.countyappliances.ca

COUNTY APPLIANCES

County Appliances is a locally owned and operated family business. Serving the community and surrounding areas of Toronto with appliances for three generations since 1953
www.countyappliances.ca

My only beef is that the plastic knobs have broken and are ridiculously expensive to replace.
 
I remember renting a unit at Panorama at Cityplace and all of the units have Ariston all-in-one washer and dryer and they were horrible. It took 4-5 hours to do a load and the laundry was never completely dry (slightly damp) and the capacity was very small (bed linens require two separate loads). It was on the damp side and the machine gave the laundry a slightly metallic/motor oil kind of smell.

The building has a common laundry room on the lower floor with a few commercial style washers and dryers but they were always in use day and night because of how the machines were in the suites and also they were not large enough to wash comforters and other large and bulky pieces of laundry.
It got so bad that I turned my den into a laundry room with a drying rack in the middle of the room to dry my clothes when I did laundry, also I sometimes took my laundry to my parents or friends to do it as it was much faster and does a better job — it felt like I was in university again!

The place I live at right now I have a full size Whirlpool washer/dryer, but that wasn’t the original plan. The units (except for the penthouse units) were supposed to have compact stacked Whirlpool washer/dryers and I asked the builder if I can upgrade to a full size but was told it wasn’t possible because of the size of the laundry closet. When I took occupancy I noticed that I got a full-sized washer/dryer but it was by mistake. Because I had so many deficiencies in my unit which the builder was not able to or refused to fix, they let me have the full-size washer/dryer as a part of a settlement (the builder was trying hard not to go into conciliation and have that on their Tarion record). Funny thing was that the builder also screwed the penthouse units by not providing full-size washer/dryers (these owners didn’t even know) and some of the 3-bedroom units were supposed to have full-sized fridges but never got them (and these owners were never aware of it either).
The compact Whirlpool washer/dryers in 95% of the units were really poor quality and many of them failed in the first 3-6 years and many had to replace them with better quality ones (same goes with the fridges).

My nextdoor neighbour replaced their builder’s washer/dryer with a stacked ventless Bosch and they have been very happy with it. It requires some periodic maintenance but there no need to empty the lint trap or clear out the trap in the vent.

Most residents don’t know that they have to not just empty the lint trap in the dryer but the trap located in the vent at ceiling needs to be cleaned out periodically. My full size dryer has a warning light to detect that the vent needs to be emptied but the other residents don’t have that feature on their machines and I have seen a lot of lint buildup that accumulates as far as the vent that exits to the exterior (saw lots of lint on balconies), which is a definitely a fire hazard.
 
When I lived in a condo, we had those ceiling lint traps cleaned on a regular basis and regularly reminded residents to do it. When my daughter moved into a condo, it was one of the first things we checked. It was packed full of lint. They are indeed fire hazards.
 
Interesting. I was considering a ventless Bosch (even Miele) for my house but broke down and got a full size. I certainly don't regret it, but the full size takes up a crap load of space.
 
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