LG also has several other interesting new laundry machines for 2015. The new front-load washers (shown here with the pedestal/drawer washer) have higher, more tilted tubs for easier loading and controls mounted to the door, better visibility through the window, and easier-to-fill dispensers. These include monster-capacity units (5.6 or 5.7 cu.ft. washer, 9 cu.ft. dryer), a heat pump evaporative dryer that qualifies for the new Energy Star certification for dryers, a 9.0 cu.ft. dryer with a two-way opening door that can either drop down (as on many Whirlpool dryers made for the last half century) or opened in the conventional fashion sideways. Some of the new machines work with a mobile app that lets you upload alternate cycles to the washer, check current status, run diagnostics, or be signalled over wi-fi when the cycle is complete.

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That thing is ridiculous, as is the stupid size game they're playing, including their new 5.8 or whatever cubic foot top loader that they claim can wash a king size comforter. Don't even get me started. I doubt these things will do as well as compact Euro front loaders do stuffed full, and they'll probably have balancing issues with small loads.

I do like the heat pump dryer, and the dryer with hamper door though.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Wed, Jan 7, 15 at 20:28

Finally! I think this could be the best thing ever! Almost all that I run is small loads and I am not so big that I need a monster machine for oversized clothes. Let's see if the drawer will be released independently of the monster washer on top of it...Why didn't they put a big dryer on top of it? Little dryers create lots of wrinkles...I really want to reclaim the real estate devoted to the w/d. There is no need for the enormous housing around the w/d, most of it is just empty space.

From what I saw these new smaller machines will be sold individually also. It says they will fit where the detergent storage drawer is on the older LG's so you can "update" them if you desire. You can see a video of that on You Tube.

I suspect that these will have to go on the floor due to their weight when loaded. LG could (should) make a special cabinet so that the washer can be out and running just below counter top level with a dryer just above countertop level, without having the whole thing flip forward onto the floor...it will be interesting to see what the final stats are. I could not find any information about what its capacity would be or that it is really for sale. It is certainly not for sale on LG's website. It seems like many products end up being introduced at CES but we never see them in real life.

These "pedestal" washers will retail around $500.00 and will be available most likely at the end of the first quarter. They will work with virtually any LG front load washer. Capacity is one cubic foot.

LG's installation instructions will likely nix installing it below the countertop in a cabinet, since LG would have no way of knowing how strong the cabinet is and it would have to be able to withstand the weight and vibrations of a washing machine full of water or during the spin cycle. But I'd think it shouldn't cause a problem mounted on a standard LG pedestal which is already designed to hold a much larger washer. That will only work if the bottom of the LG drawer washer is of the same design as a full-size LG washer.

1 cu.ft. capacity? For comparison that's about 2/3 the capacity of a typical European-size (5kg) 24"w undercounter washing machine, and less than half the size of the largest 24" wide washers. Or an old American top-loader filled 1/3 of the way. Small, but large enough to be useful.

I can't see many people with existing LG washers replacing their pedestals with these, unless they have some easy way to extend hot and cold water intakes and a drain to it, not to mention electricity if the washer is a 120 volt unit with internal heater - what if both machines try to heat the water at the same time? If the drawer washer doesn't heat its own water, it will have to be near a water heater or sink to have any chance of getting even a lukewarm fill. Also, most washers specify a dedicated circuit - that is, nothing plugged into the circuit except the main washing machine. That's particularly important for recent machines that usually have 1000-watt water heaters that when combined with the motor agitating the clothes use most of the available 1800 watts from a 15 amp circuit. Modern electrical code actually specifies 120 volt/20 amp circuits for the washer which could handle up to 2400 watts, but these are far from universal in existing installations.

Sliding top flap for the dispensers in this video at 1:32:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFu_FqAKE94

So can you stack a dryer atop this thing? Or build it under a countertop?

The mini washer connects to them main washer's water supply using Y-connectors. No heater in the mini - all you can select is warm or cold wash.

I doubt they could be stacked, since the dryer has a similar sliding mechanism for the water reservoir on top.

So how does it drain? Most newer US laundry rooms have a laundry box inset into the wall with a standpipe drain that isn't much wider than a standard washer drain hose; I doubt two drain hoses could fit in there unless the mini-washer uses a very skinny hose, like those found on some condenser dryers.

No hot water? So much for using it to clean my undies....

No, there's only a Warm Water button - I suppose you can run a hot wash using water from a tea kettle... ;-p

Some info about the new dryer with the drop-down door is now online. It appears like it doesn't open completely downward a la Whirlpool dryers, but rather about halfway, creating a laundry chute of sorts to make it easy to drop damp clothes into the dryer without leaning downward and tossing them in sideways, as seen in this video. But that's not all: the top panel also lifts up to reveal a couple of shallow compartments for, well, I don't know what.

LG EasyLoad DLE7700VE
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Whirlpool had a dual-access door (with a hidden lever under the handle for switching either side-swing or drop-down) for a short time (probably one model year) in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

Those compartments are supposed to hold dryer sheets or "that one single sock until the other one is found" - at least that's what the press release said. There was a picture illustrating it but I just can't find it now.