My first question is do you have reliable Blomberg service in your location? There are only a few blombergs sold in my area and service is hard to find if you live more than 10 miles from the dealer. The same question with Electrolux--service available? I assume you're considering the compact Electrolux? Some good reviews for those here on the forum. I have found that the sales people at the BigBox stores don't really know much about their products. I would take any salesman pronouncements with a grain of salt. Manuals are available on line. Take time and read before you buy. I was amazed at the incorrect information my BigBox salesman told me was true. Also many problem front loaders have manufacturing defects or installation errors. Check your build quality when your chosen machine arrives and run a load of towels with that first rinse and spin test. You'll be able to tell a lot from the noise, if any, and any dancing on the floor (unbalanced load) in time to send it back with the installation crew.

Servicing was the first thing I checked on. I live on a small island & there is only one service place that comes here, but they are authorized service dealers for both Blomberg & Electrolux. Hence my dilemma, they both seem to have good reviews, I can get them serviced & they are both the same price & size. My only qualm was the Blomberg plugging into the dryer, which is why I was leaning to Electrolux. Also I have an Electrolux gas stove which I love & has performed flawlessly for 7 years (hope I didn't just jinx it)

Thanks for the tip about reading the manuals online, I will do that.

How reliable is your electrical service? Do you have the electrical spikes and voltage drops that are common in my rural area? Do you have to have separate 220v or 240v lines for the Blomberg? I know some of the European appliances require that, Asko, I think? Could a surge transfer from one appliance through to the other and possibly damage one or both? How would a surge protector work for one appliance plugged into another? I believe you can just plug the Electrolux washer into the surge protector and into the wall. My high end washer was saved by the $20 surge protector when the power spiked during an electrical storm we had last year. You may be more vigilant than I am in unplugging electronic appliances when they are not in use. Something to think about.

We do have quite a few electrical blips & outages. We haven't had a problem with the LG but I did plan on buying a surge protector for the washer if I bought the Electro. I don't know anything about surge protection on 220/240v, I will look into that also. I do have a separate 220/240v plug. In my last house I had a Miele which they both plugged into a special box that plugged into the 220/240v plug, I would assume that would be the case with Asko as well.

You've certainly touched on things that I hadn't thought about.

Mfrog, maybe I missed it but what happened to your Miele?

We left it in the last house. It was a stupid mistake, the person that bought the house would have been happier with a low end stacker. We thought because it was a trendy high end neighbourhood it would attract the right buyers... like I said "stupid mistake"

Well hopefull those people know how to take care of a high end machine like that.

If you have a dryer vent AND the run to the outside is short AND you are willing to have machines that don't look alike I would consider getting a vented dryer as drying times will be shorter. I probably would have bought the Blombergs but the one servicer that I could find was not trustworthy (same guy sells speed queens so that took them out of the running too) I ended up with the compact Electrolux washer, love it, and GE compact electric dryer (love it but not everyone does).

practigal, I replaced the horrid LG with a used Samsung vented dryer, which does work quite well, but seems to leak fluff out the side... a lot of fluff, so I figured on replacing it as well. I didn't think about 2 different brands, but I don't really care if they match, it would have been nice. Can you give me a quick review of why people don't like the GE? I'm in Canada & went to the SQ's site & they don't appear to sell them here. :( I'm still on the fence between the Blomberg & Electrolux.

I believe Speed Queen is called Huebsch or something like that in Canada. I have a SQ dryer and like it a lot, but I don't think it would fit in your space. I think you have to evaluate each brand by product. I understand GE makes a decent refrigerator, but I wouldn't recommend them for laundry equipment: poor build quality and even poorer customer service. I learned this the hard way. Whirlpool makes a fine vented dryer; my last dryer was a whirlpool. It was 11 when it went to live with another family who could make the needed repairs themselves. You probably already know that whirlpool and maytag are the same company: whirlpool. I go for functionality in my appliances. Washer and dryer are different brands and both are appliance white so they sort of "match." Good luck in your search.

Some machines just roll all of the clothing into a ball. It doesn't seem to be happening with every machine just certain and not very many machines and no one knows why. So if you end up with one that rolls everything into a ball you are pretty upset, otherwise you're very happy.

Thank yous for posting Southernlivin. I was hoping for some real life experience as I am still leaning toward the Electrolux. The time for drying doesn't bother me too much as I had a Miele before and it took quite a while to dry.

Another consideration to add to the mix is that the Blomberg dries with heat pump technology rather than standard condensing. I don't claim to understand the difference, but a heat pump is reputedly more efficient and effective. Blomberg review.