If you live in a cramped space but still want to do laundry
in the comfort of your own home, a washer/dryer combo may be a good investment
for you. That’s right- you read it correctly. There is a single appliance that
washes AND dries your clothes, saving not only space but also the cost of a
second appliance. Tech giants Samsung and LG each have several models of
washer/dryer combos on the market, and on the surface this appliance seems to
be the greatest innovation since the chocolate-covered peanut butter cup. But
how does this washer/dryer combo stack up against the traditional washers and
clothes dryers that come separately? Let’s look at some pros and cons:
Pros
The washing and drying performance of the combo roughly
match that of separate washers and dryers. You likely won’t be disappointed by
the quality of clean you are experiencing with a combo.
You can use the wash and dry functions separately; they
don’t have to be combined. In other words, if you are washing something that
should be hung to dry, you can just do a wash cycle, which makes it just as
efficient as a typical washer and dryer.
The purchase price and costs to run loads in the combo
washer/dryer are virtually equivalent to owning and using a separate front-load
washer and condenser dryer, so you’re not spending any extra money.
Though the drying capacity is limited, it mostly matches the
average load size people use in their regular washers and dryers.
Cons
A combined wash/dry cycle can last from over 3 hours to over
6 hours, which is more than double the average wash/dry cycle of a normal load
of laundry in a standard washer and dryer.
The dryer component of the combo washer/dryer can only dry
around half the capacity of the washer. This means that for a full load, the
whole thing will not likely get dry in one cycle.
Though they are touted for their space-saving features, some
combos are still too large to fit under a bench, so you will need to check
their exact dimensions prior to purchasing a combo for a specific location in
your home.
Bottom Line
In
the future, washer/dryer combos may be the ideal solution for small homes with
no room for both a washer and a dryer, as well as for individuals with mobility
issues who have trouble transferring clothes from washer to dryer. It will be
exciting to see what the future holds for the washer/dryer combo as technology
continues to improve. Who knows? Maybe one day our grandchildren will laugh at
our stories of the “olden days” with our separate
appliances for washing and drying laundry!
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