1. Being that washers have numerous internal water connections -- water valves and in-flow hoses to the dispenser, dispenser to tub, tub to pump, pump to drain hose -- plus bearings and seals on the drum drive shaft and pump, there are numerous sources for leaking other than the external plumbing connections.

2. Dryers are designed for exhausting direct to outdoors, through a 4" duct, and local plumbing codes also may come into play. Exhausting into a bathroom vent fan not only is a very bad idea, it likely would impede proper performance of the dryer.

There are plenty of full sized front loaders that clean clothes quite well and are energy efficient. Particularly the Korean brands, You can probably catch some Black Friday sales coming up soon and get a good deal for under $1300 for both.

However, there's no way I'd put them in a rental. No way would I EVER furnish a washer and dryer in a rental unless it was in the basement and coin operated. There's too much chance of operator error and abuse. The top complaints about all washers and dryers are always user problems, not machine problems. You don't want to have to give an intelligence screening to your tenants and have them pass an essay test before you let them use the machines. Keep it simple. They can go to the laundromat like most renters.

Every nice apartment around here comes with an in-unit washer and dryer.

Ditto where I live. I often had Roper or bottom of the line frigidaire where I rented (worst washer on earth is the cheap frigidaire), but the only places that didn't come with something were rental complexes where they wanted you to pay extra to rent them from them.

i don't know what your criteria are, but I have been very pleased with my electrolux stackable unit. it is super large capacity and very easy to use. i've been using it for about 2 months now so cannot talk to reliability, but so far so good (knock on wood).

Criteria = simple basic machine (no complicated computerized programming), fits in the space - 24 inchs wide if installed in one place, 30 inches if in another. And is not prone to leaking all over the place and causing extensive damage. The reviews seem to suggest that the small stackables are more prone to leaking than ordinary....??

Good grief Holly. Im an owner occupant with only one tenant - have had pretty good luck with my screening process, Providing an attractive well maintained place with a few simple amenities gives you a nice pool of applicants so you can apply really stringent criteria (income level, references, etc.) and not have to take the first humanoid life form to come along. You might want to try that.

I lived in an apartment that came with a stacked set of washer/dryers. Not front-loader, top loader for the washer. Rolled out from under the dryer. It was small capacity, but being single it didn't matter.

I know there are larger units available from GE/Kenmore that are not front loaders. Something like 3.0cuft or there abouts. Plenty large for a rental and not as costly. If you're worried about overflows, put it in a pan.

there are plenty of stackable units that don't suck

A few:

Bosch
Miele
LG
Samsung
Asko

None are cheap, and if you don't already have connections , I can't see how you'll recoup the expense in your rental cost.

Thans Xedos. Well the plumbing is another part of the equation, absolutely. Could go in a closet adjacent to an existing bathroom which may be overhauled in the next 5 years and need some reworking of the plumbing anyway.

Could it be attached directly and tie into the hot and cold water lines and drain? This may be a dumb question but Ive only lived in old houses my entire life and seen washers/dryers in the basement next to a utility sink - its not like a utility sink is required is it?

You can do something like this. No sink required, just hot/cold and and standpipe for a drain.

Here is a link that might be useful: ge machine

Those are actually decent machines. Several years ago my SIL decided that she absolutely had to have a sink in her tiny utility room and "downgraded" from separate side by side units to one of those combined machines. It's held up well through three adolescent boys and the heavy duty washing they create.

This post was edited by writersblock on Mon, Oct 21, 13 at 13:53

no sink necessary. It would be tied into you home's plumbing system and you won't see the connections.

FYI - closet installs are tricky since you need xtra room in order to get the unit into the closet AND make the necessary connections. It also make the shutoffs extremely difficult to get to should you have a leak and need to shut the water off in a hurry.

This is probably not pertinent for a rental, but I just turned a nasty unfinished laundry room that also housed furnace. electrical panel, etc. into a walk in closet. I moved the furnace under the house and created a small closet adjacent to the kitchen where I could install a stackable washer/dryer. This is in a large family home with a lot of laundry. I was worried about finding a stackable that was good, especially because I'd had consecutive bad experiences with front loaders and had returned to a top loader. But a stackable meant I'd have to try again. After endless headache inducing research, I settled on a Maytag Maxima XL. The reviews were consistently positive compared to every other machine I researched. It's been in operation for about six weeks now and I am thrilled. These machines are fabulous. Better than any (unstacked) I've ever had before. Probably overkill for a rental, but perhaps not, depending on the situation.

My neighbor has a couple rental properties and provides a washer & dryer at both. One house has a top-of-the-line (11 years old now, I refurbished them to like-new) Whirlpool Catalyst toploader pair. The other has a stacked Whirlpool Duet set (7 years old now) that was top-of-the-line (washer has Sanitary cycle with water heating).

Good quality stackable washers will not be that cheap. They'll all be front load. The old small combo single units are just as expensive as the front loaders and do about half of the laundry, half as well.

The FIRST thing you should do is to get a plumber in there to give you an estimate for the water and drain connections. It won't be as cheap or easy as you think. Washers are required to have a 2" standpipe these days rather than the old 1 1/2". That's all the way to the main drain, which could be prohibitive to do depending on what the home's construction is. The reason is that most modern washers eject water rather rapidly, and can overflow the smaller pipe size.

Also, if you are concerned about leaks, you should build the laundry closet (Make SURE there's actually enough clearance to connect things with a person as well as the units!) as a "wet room" with a floor drain. Like a giant shower pan with the washing machine sitting it int. You'll have to keep the trap wet to keep sewer gas out as regular maintenance and it's not a cheap choice to do it that way, but it is the SURE choice for someone who is concerned about leaks.

Is there no space other than the tenant's that could be turned into a communal laundry room? A basement or garage? That would alleviate your mind on the leaks, and give you more space to put in the less expensive units.

Thanks, GreenDesigns, excellent advice per my building inspector/husband. The 10+-yo one-unit stacked washer/dryer in our rental condo is leaking water from inside the washer. Today in mid-2018 I'm not seeing very good ratings for the few one-unit stacked washer/dryers, so now looking for two separate washer and dryer units that stack "and" will fit in the built-in closet, as in sjhockeyfan325's above pic. Any recent appliance recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

NOTE: just saw this on yaleappliance blog, "First, many people buy 2 pieces with the logic of having to replace just a washer or dryer versus the whole unit. However, 2 piece units are attached by a stacking kit. More often than not, the older stacking kits do not fit the newer units, so you end up replacing both anyway.

Do not buy two pieces with the thought of cheaper replacement down the road."