Washer-Dryer Choices

[HeijoshinCool]

Going to be buying a washer-dryer. LG, Samsung, or Electrolux.  Considering the all-in-one front-loading models as they save space, but not sure if there are compromises.

 

Anyone here tried them? Happy or regretful? Pros/cons? Why?

 

I have to say I grew up with mechanical knobs which lasted decades, not LED sensor touch control panels which I don't have a lot of faith in, so maybe there is something better than the front loaders. Just don't want the cheapo level of top loaders.

[david555]

Remind you those take a lot longer to dry , and only half of the loader weight , different than a separate dryer , so you can not dry a full load kg. in one time , or washing a half loaded machine...... then you can only do in 1 continues  run 

 

BTW why in hot Thailand to use a dryer, as when using a hanger type it dry quick in this 31 degrees Celsius , ..... unless not having a outside place / terrace .   

[CharlieH]

People use dryers so the clothes dont get bleached by the sun. Depends on fabric of course.

 

There is the old argument that "all in one" is slower and if it breaks down you have nothing. Two separate and you always have one if the other stops.

 

As for Brands, we have had a Sumsung for years and never ever missed a beat.

 

[IvorBiggun2]

9 minutes ago, david555 said:

why in hot Thailand to use a dryer

Exactly. Only thing that would be an advantage wouldn't need to iron the clothes. But electricity costs would rise.

[IvorBiggun2]

1 minute ago, CharlieH said:

People use dryers so the clothes dont get bleached by the sun.

We have a lean-to on the side of the house which helps to dry the clothes without direct sunlight. 

[stupidfarang]

Two in one I worry about if it breaks down, we have just purchased a new Samsung front load with heating abilty for hot wash, excellent machine, was originally 19,000 baht and I purchased it from Big C for 12,900 baht, they may still have some. The old top loader was cold wash only and I was never happy with it as feel warm or hot wash cleans the clothes better. The wife now agrees after using the new machine. Sold the old machine Samsung for 2,500 so very happy

[Robin]

I have tried these in UK, cannot remember the brand, but considered them to be next to useless.  Dryer uses a condenser, cooled by water supply, and is not efficient, but uses a lot of water when drying.  In UK I use a separate dryer, far quicker and more efficient.  In Thailand it is a very rare day when there is not some sun or some way of drying clothes naturally.   Waste of money in my opinion.  Wife and I manage with top loader, not auto front-loader.  What you need is a fast spin speed, hence top loader is better.

[ballpoint]

For a condo, with no outdoor drying area and limited space, a front loader all in one.  I'd get one that you can still add other clothes to once it's started its cycle, like a Samsung "addwash".

 

For a house, with an outdoor drying area, and more room, a top loader.  No need for a dryer.  The spin cycle does a very good job of removing a lot of moisture too.

Edited August 29, 2021 by ballpoint

[kwonitoy]

Samsung 14kg front loader all in one. Wonderful machine I wish I could take when I move.

I'm a single parent, when school was in, take mine and my sons clothes put them in the washer add soap, program it.

Have breakfast, take son to school, go the gym on the way home.

Return home at 10 am and clothes are washed dry and ready to put away

[david555]

1 hour ago, ballpoint said:

For a condo, with no outdoor drying area and limited space, a front loader all in one.  I'd get one that you can still add other clothes to once it's started its cycle, like a Samsung "addwash".

 

For a house, with an outdoor drying area, and more room, a top loader.  No need for a dryer.  The spin cycle does a very good job of removing a lot of moisture too.

In addition to that ,

a separate quality dryer from Samsung is not cheap , a Samsung only washing  + a Samsung dryer  costs much more than the price of a all in one ....., only keep in mind  the limitations .

 

As i go next year back living E.U. country i have to buy my whole housekeeping stuff  and i consider buying  the Samsung All in one too , against buying the separate dryer as that is serious costing more in total 

But for Thailand i do not see the need of needing  a dryer .....

Edited August 29, 2021 by david555

[tomazbodner]

The first washer I've bought was LG combo one. Can't remember model, but it had TROMM brand as well as LG badge. Was wonderful thing, washing very well but dryer while OK, obviously shrunk clothes and gave them unpleasant smell.

 

Next I bought Hitachi BD-S5500. Not as good washing machine as previous LG (no temperature setting, just hot/cold wash) but a magnificent dryer as it actually circulated hot air through the drum like a proper dryer would. However, it is large and does not fit under counter, so when I moved, I got the same as what pretty much everyone in this condo seems to have, LG again, FHD1057STB.

 

Hitachi has some modes (like soft for towels) that LG just doesn't. While Hitachi was nowhere near as good in washing stuff as the old LG, I actually see no difference in results compared to new LG. I guess the lowering of water use has gone too far.

 

Most annoying thing about LGs is that unless you use dryer, laundry is very hard. Softener amount makes basically no difference. Using lower spin speeds have their own challenges - 800 leaves clothes too wet so they dry to hardness again, and 1000 loses most softener smell and still doesn't turn out very soft. Anything above that and they'll be hard like a rock, which is annoying for towels.

 

Using dryer in LG produces that unpleasant condensation dryer smell, although clothes are very soft. I am using low temperature to minimise shrinking. Hitachi's dryer, on the other hand, left clothes smelling wonderful and soft. But they had a lot of static charge when removed from the drum.

 

LG can be app controlled, so you could download additional programs into the washer over Wifi and control it from phone. Not ideal, and many of the additional cycles like Duvet, are non-configurable. Duvet for example allows you to wash it but not dry it. Hitachi dried king sized duvet without any issues in wash+dry program, although both are ranked the same size (10.5/7 kg).

 

As such, if you have limited space and can only fit 85 cm tall standard sized box, LG isn't a bad compromise. It has many perks and it looks lovely. If you have some more space, and a lot more money (Hitachi is close to 100k vs 30k for LG, although you could get it down to 65-75k on sale), from using it happily for 3 years, I would say - get Hitachi. I don't know if they would be making "Heat recycle dryer" smaller models, and obviously the temperature settings would be awesome (place for heater is already there but they didn't install it, instead using hot air to heat water to ~55-60C), but if they put it in a box that can be installed under the counter, I'd go and grab it without thinking.

 

There's a lower cost option of Hitachi that works in the same way, but doesn't have direct drive motor that both this Hitachi and most LGs use, the Panasonic NA D106X1. I could see the temperature settings on the top of the door, so while the user interface is designed differently and belt-motor is used, the technology seems the same. It can be bough for ~45000 baht.

 

Images of the washers:

LG:

Hitachi:

Panasonic:

 

 

[samtam]

I live in a condo. Always have separate machines for washing & drying. Mine are both Samsung. I've only recently discovered the "wrinkle free" function on the dryer, which is handy as I fold most laundry since I went maidless in April because of the pandemic.

Any experience I've had with a combo has not been a success. I want the laundry washed, dried and folded within a couple of hours, not hanging around (literally) for hours. 

Edited August 29, 2021 by samtam

[lopburi3]

3 hours ago, CharlieH said:

People use dryers so the clothes dont get bleached by the sun. Depends on fabric of course.

Bought a dryer about 45 years ago and suspect was used a few dozen times (rainy periods).  Sun smell is much preferred by wife to fabric towels used in dryer.  As for bleached by sun still wear my Thai bus driver dress shirts from that period (and look like new (top loader Japanese models without destructive agitators).  Agree in condo an all in one unit might be preferred but in house see no need for dryer (we gave ours away few years ago).   As for front or top wife makes that a solid top only as wants to soak wash first.  

[Rimmer]

Troll post and replies have been removed

[Tanomazu]

4 hours ago, HeijoshinCool said:

Going to be buying a washer-dryer. LG, Samsung, or Electrolux.  Considering the all-in-one front-loading models as they save space, but not sure if there are compromises.

You are right to choose a front-loading model, they are almost always better than top-loaders, however, if you choose an  all-in-one then there are compromises in terms of quantity of clothes you can dry and a few other things.

 

Since in Thailand the best brands of washing machines are generally not available or too expensive any of the brands you mention would be fine. I used a Samsung and had no issues.

 

Ideally you should look for a separate warming-pump dryer, which are the best option, but all-in-one will do the job. You just can't put as much in it and it won't do the job as well in terms of drying.

 

A dryer is still a must in Thailand, if you don't want the brutal sun to damage the fabric. Tried sun-drying, but the fabric was so dried out that clearly a dryer was a must have option. Not to mention insects in Thailand.

[VocalNeal]

We have had two. First was Zanussi and the second was a Samsung. Both OK but the wife preferred Zanussi. Don't know why. Both had hot water capability. Now using a Hitachi top loader which apparently is not so good.

 

All were inherited from expats who left.

Edited August 29, 2021 by VocalNeal

[Airalee]

I had an Electrolux at first but ended up exchanging it for an LG FV1450H2B 10.5/7kg which I’m quite happy with.  If I had the space, I would have gotten a separate washer and dryer as it would be quicker to do multiple loads.

[HeijoshinCool]

Thanks everyone, good info. This will not be an impulse buy; lots of diligence due.

 

To each his own. Anyone who is a proponent of line-drying please stop by my house every Saturday at 10:45 a.m. (sharp) and feel free to hang my laundry. I will be harvesting from my garden for lunch, or peacefully drinking coffee on my back porch. Return at noon to remove clothing, place in basket.

 

Oh, and please leave the clothes clips. I have an old deck of cards and I'll clip them onto the bikes of the neighborhood kids.