Washer Dryers

Washer Dryers

A washer dryer combo does both jobs in one machine and one footprint, which makes it the right answer in an apartment, a utility cupboard, a small kitchen or anywhere there is space for one appliance rather than two. There is one thing to understand before buying, and it catches most people out: the dry capacity is always lower than the wash capacity. A machine described as 9kg and 6kg will wash 9kg of laundry but only dry 6kg of it, so a full wash load has to be split in two before the drying cycle, or taken out and finished on an airer. Pairings here run 7kg wash with 4kg dry at the compact end, through 8 with 5, 9 with 5, 9 with 6 and 10 with 6, up to 10.5 with 6. Choose the pairing by how you actually use it: if most washes get dried, a smaller gap between the two numbers matters more than a large wash drum. Spin speed is the other figure worth reading, because 1400rpm removes noticeably more water than 1200rpm and shortens the drying cycle that follows. Beyond that, look for auto dosing, which measures detergent per load and is the feature owners mention most often as worth having, and for Wi-Fi if you want to start a cycle on a cheaper night rate. Drying in a washer dryer is condenser rather than heat pump, so running costs per cycle are higher than a dedicated heat pump dryer. If you have room for two machines and dry frequently, separates will be cheaper to run and faster overall.

Hoover covers the widest span with the H-Wash and Pro Wash ranges at 8, 9 and 10kg wash with 5 and 6kg dry, several with Wi-Fi. Bosch supplies the Series 4 at 9kg and 5kg and the Series 8 with i-DOS auto dosing at 10.5kg and 6kg, and Hisense the 5S Series autodosing machines at 10.5kg and 6kg in black and white. Samsung brings the Series 5 Ecobubble at 8kg and 5kg, Haier the X Series 5 at 10kg and 6kg, and Beko, Blomberg, Electrolux and Candy the 7 to 8kg compact end. For separates, see washing machines and tumble dryers.

A washer dryer combo is bought on space rather than price, so the reduction that matters is the one that moves you up to auto dosing or a better wash to dry pairing rather than the one that saves the most euro. Prices are live all year, so see what is reduced now on tumble dryers on sale and across laundry on sale.