Washing Machines and Dryers – Buyers Guide

Important factors to consider:

• Wash settings and efficiency – are all your favourite wash cycle options included? Are they clearly labelled? E.g. load sensing – how much water and energy do you use / are you ok with using? Some machines are designed to use much less water and electricity than others.
• Spin cycle – fast wash is equally fast these days, regardless of whether you opt for either a top or front loading washing machine. Typically, fast wash takes 15-30 mins, as long as you don’t over-fill your load.
• Size – how much room do you have in your laundry area – make sure you measure. Also, consider whether you need to stack one machine on top of the other.
• Load capacity – typically this spans from 5kg – 16kg. The majority of people tend to do a lot of half load washes – if you find yourself doing that, then you potentially don’t need your next washing machine to be as large. Conversely, if you are finding that your typical family wash is taking up more than one full load per wash then you probably need to look at finding a larger machine.
• Washer/Dryer combo – is your washing machine a Washer/Dryer combo with both a washing machine and a dryer integrated into one appliance? Some people prefer to buy a Washer/Dryer which is perfect for covering both requirements, and with a minimum of space required e.g. small inner city apartments.
• Top or front loaded – see below.

Tumble dryers

When deciding your ideal clothes dryer, you need to take into consideration how often you use it on average, the amount of room and access to ventilation, its energy efficiency and what kind of environmental impact it will have.

Vented clothes dryers – these are the least complicated and least expensive options out there but unfortunately they are the more expensive to run. Their simple design means that they are comparatively light, light enough to be wall mounted to help you save space. But a good ventilation kit is required – it is important that vented dryers are positioned near an open door or near a window.

Condenser clothes dryers – the main advantage of a condenser dryer is that they use a heat exchanger to condense moisture from the exhaust air and then exit it into a tank or via a drain. The heat exchanger means there isn’t anywhere near as much condensation as what you have with a vented dryer.

Heat pump condenser dryers – tend to cost more than other types of dryer but are more efficient to run. Heat pump condenser dryers are not as quick as a vented dryer – they don’t operate with as much heat. That’s why they use less electricity and they are also gentler on clothes. There are also plenty of models that range up to 10 stars energy efficiency rating and some models have condenser self-cleaning capability.

Washer/Dryers

A washer/dryer takes up less space in your laundry. You can generally expect your washer/dryer to take up half as much room as having a separate washing machine and dryer.