Are you happy with you compact washer?

11 years ago

Background info:

My first front-loader was a compact one from Sears and I liked it a lot - compared to all previous top-loaders, that is. When we moved into this house 10 years ago, we got a Whirlpool Duet pair and I felt even happier because I could do large loads including king-size comforters. It was only two of us and I did 3-4 loads of laundry once a week on weekends. If I was too busy or out of town, I would even go for 2 weeks and it would all fit in the washer.

However, things have changed since DD was born. I don't think I need to tell you all the glory details about washing diapers and clothes stained in everything imaginable. :-) I also switched to "green" detergents and they are not very good at removing stains, so if I don't wash her clothes the same day, I often cannot get the stains out, even if pre-treating with stain-removers.

In short, I am now doing 1-3 small loads every day. Energy-efficient or not, it feels very wasteful to run a huge machine to wash 2-3 items and it does not do a very good job with small loads anyway.

In addition, our laundry room is very tiny and I have to do a lot of maneuvering when using my huge W&D.

So, I started thinking of switching to a compact 24" washer and moving the dryer to the utility room. BTW, I use the dryer only one-third of the time (mostly, for sheets and blankets) as I use my drying rack the rest of the time.

Will I regret going back to a compact washer? What is your experience?

This post was edited by eleena on Fri, Feb 8, 13 at 0:08

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Comments (3)

rococogurl
11 years ago
I've had 2 compact sets -- Bosch Axxis and Asko in the past 10 years. For what you are describing I think the Axxis might work well. For a compact, the washer drum takes 16-18 lb. of laundry, more than the Asko (which is the same size as the Miele).

We are two and do about 10-12 loads a week as I wash and dry everything separately. The Asko excels at getting out stains (blood and lipstick disappear) and yellowed fabrics are restored to bright white but the washes are very long; the Bosch was not quite as effective at that though it was not wanting and had shorter cycles. It did an excellent job on king size duvets and mattress pads.

If it still has the 190 degree (boil wash) that would be the talking point for the Asko. The Miele and Bosch machines only go to 165 -- significantly less hot. I personally like having that super hot wash for dish towels and cleaning cloths but I'm not convinced it's truly necessary except psychologically.

In the Asko, I like to split the king sheet set into two loads although sometimes they are all done together on the heavy cycle. I've done a quilted queen quilt and it was a squeeze. However, I've also done a diamond-quilted king duvet in the Asko - a squeeze but good results. Depends on thickness. The downside of the Asko IME is that it had about a 5 year life span and may not be able to be repaired as the company seems to discontinue parts needed to repair older machines.

If I need to replace the Asko I will likely go with a Miele vs the Bosch as I need a vented dryer and Bosch will discontinue those I am told (though by an appliance store person and I haven't independently verified that with Bosch). I could go with a Bosch condenser dryer quite easily. But I don't want to buy another set in 5 years. I have other Miele appliances and know their quality but need to find out more about the Miele performance.
sandy1616
11 years ago
I have a family of 5 and went from a full sized LG fl to an Asko set. I'm so much happier with the Askos. My LG didn't wash or rinse well when loaded to 75% "capacity" which is what my manual specified as the max. The Asko can be fully loaded and wash beautifully. So, I didn't truly lose much in terms of capacity. My king size, high thread count sheets and pillowcases fit in one load. I can't address mold issues as I don't have any with the Askos nor did I with the LG set. The Asko will run up to 7 rinses/flushes. My LG had 2 max. The Asko dryer will ball up my sheets but it will dry them completely without frying them. My LG dryer balled them up too but would practically scorch the outside but leave the middle wet.

I have two sets currently. One is 13 years old and has needed only a drain pump replaced. The other is 5 years old and hasn't needed any repairs. I am very careful with my washer and dryer and maintain them well.
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I understand your frustration over 2 inches and sympathize. I had a wall reconstructed with the studs sideways just to give me 2 extra inches and I have a bathroom closet that does not have any sheetrock inside, I used thin bead-board paneling just for the little bit of extra space. You might want to take the dryer down and see if you can have a hard, smooth, flat vent put in the original vents place. The metal vent should have less depth than the plastic tubing. For fire safety and efficiency it is usually recommend that the corrugated flexible aluminum and plastic vents be replaced with smooth metal vents. If you still need a little more room for the door I would consider removing the sheetrock if it is an interior wall and pushing the dryer back into the wall cavity. Good luck with however you solve this problem.
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lee676
11 years ago
Plenty of room in the larger 24" front loaders; I like them. Also they can slip under a standard kitchen counterop, and there are some are options that are hard or impossible to find in larger machines (240v fast/hot water heating with optional cold-water-hookup-only capability, washers that also can dry you clothes in one shot, and washers that take cabinet panels and blend into your cabinetry).

Are you happy with you compact washer?

Comments (3)

rococogurl

sandy1616

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