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I have a Bosch condenser dryer and it has caused no condensation. I've had a few problems over the 5 or so years I've had it. The connection between the timer knob and the timer inside has broken twice but you can get the bit from someone other than Bosch and do it yourself. It also needs the condenser itself cleaned very regularly which is a messy job, otherwise the heating elements trip out which entails removing the back. Not mentioned in the handbook either. I don't know whether all condenser dryers need this regular cleaning, if they do, I'll go back to a vented one next time. Otherwise, I'll buy Miele next time.
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I have a Bosch condenser dryer and it has caused no condensation.
Does the door have a seal?
Is this the feature that makes the difference or don't any condenser dryer doors have a seal?
--
L\'escargot.
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Nick - please, please, pretty please - where do you get that bit ?
I have a bosch and have been banging my head again a brick wall trying to get the plastic ratchetty thing that the knob attaches to. Bosch have sold me the knob, the linkage and now deny that the damn thing exists. - although they say it might if I spend £100 on a new panel.
They have made it an absolute certainty that I never buy a bosch appliance again. Miele next time.
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Our Hotpoint (TDC62 - I think) only produces the steam room effect when drying bath towels.
It came into it's own when I redecorated and needed to strip the wallpaper!!
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I'd like to join in, please! Amazing timing... I have never owned a tumble dryer becuase I've considered them an ecologically unfriendly waste of money when we (yes, we!) can simply hang washing up to dry, but with the arrival of the twins and with this a dramatic increase in washing and ironing, the missus has made a plea to reconsider.
If it wasn't for the babies needing my attention, I would have asked exactly the same question last night! It's a condenser type that would be required because of location.
Cheers.
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Escargot, we had conversations with several salesmen, one of whom had a showroom full of Hotpoints, and they all suggested we should look anywhere rather than Hotpoint.
SjB, we would n't be without the tumbler. Yes, you can hang the washing out, but tricky when the weather is as wet as it has been the past month.
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IanS
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This month's Which lists both types in the following order for reliability after 6 years.
AEG/Electrolux 98%
Meile 92%
Tricity Bendix 90%
White Knight 90%
Zanussi/Electrolux 90%
Bosch 88%
Creda 88%
Indesit 88%
Whirlpool 88%
Hotpoint 86%
Hoover 84%
It lists the Miele T234C Novotronic as the best buy for a condensing tumble dryer.
We have had a cheaper Bosch for 3 years without a problem.
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Our last dryer was a Whirlpool (IIRC). The door seal on it was useless and over time failed. This caused hot air to escape which in turn affected the plastic clip used to hold the door in place. This slowly warped resulting in the door not sutting properly so more team escaped than went through the condensor.
We got rid as it eventually caused other non replaceable plastic bits to warp.
We replaced this with a Zanussi which never worked properly so we took it back and paid a bit extra for a Bosch Classix condensor and it's excellent. Dries much quicker than our previous machine. The condensor can be cleaned quickly by removing it and running water through it.
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Our Hotpoint (TDC62 - I think) only produces the steam room effect when drying bath towels.
We put our towels in an old fasioned spin drier ( with it's built in pump).
Speeds up the drying process and we then pop them into a simple, small, cheap vented, 3Kg load tumble drier.
A cheap external condenser completes things.
This is obviously not very practical in a kitchen but works well for us.
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SjB, you can still hang stuff out to dry if the weather is good - especially heavy items - but finish them off in the tumble drier. Having one will also dramatically reduce ironing. Having only had children one by one, I cannot imagine how your wife has coped without one!
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Thanks for the advice to my 'parasitic' post. We are lucky to have a large house with large, warm, kitchen, so drying the increased washing hasn't been an issue despite the damp weather, and to my surprise, neither has been an increase in humid fug inside the house. It is the comment about ironing that is bang on the money, and also the time spent hanging up loads of fiddly items. The missus stopped her midwifery work when the babies arrived, and to be fair, even bonding aside it was a good job she did because of the time she spends on the latter two tasks! Seems only fair that I reconsider my stance and open the wallet.
On the strength of superb AEG fridge, freezer, and washing machine that are now approaching twelve years old without missing a beat, I'm not surprised to see this company at the top of the tree, even outdoing the strengths of Miele (whose products my parents have purchased since the early seventies and experienced the reliability that this name is famous for).
Cheers, All.
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SjB if your wife's doing multi washes every day, check out the tall models. We just bought an Ariston which has large storage capacity underneath pushing the porthole up to chest height. It makes a huge difference to the chore of loading and unloading (so I'm told). It has a big door too and takes 7 kilos. It's so quiet, you can't tell it's on and it's really funky-looking.
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Thanks, BBD; will investigate.
To ask another question; given our excellent experience with AEG and their top ranking in the test, does anyone have experience of the AEG Lavamat Turbo (ha ha) 12830 washing machine / condenser tumble dryer? On a general note, does combining two jobs in one machine result in two compromised jobs?
Looking at prices, the differential is not a lot compared to buying a good pure condenser dryer, and a combined machine helps for two other reasons; firstly, I get to keep my dedicated beer and wine fridge without a walk across the driveway to the garage, and secondly, as written our AEG washing machine is now coming up to 12 years old and so despite 100% reliablity won't be in the flush of youth.notch
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I had a whirlpool washer / dryer for seven years that I only lost in a divorce. Very happy with it. It's good if you don't have much space, but the thing about having two machines is you can get a production line going. I'd opt for two in your situation. Beer tastes better if you have to earn it.
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>>youth.notch
eh? where did the "notch" come from?!
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Do not buy a combined machine.
1/ The performance is compromised and they dont dry as well a dedicated machine
2/ Not flexible. Many a time Nicole has been washing AND drying at the same time. (ie first load is in dryer while second load is in machine - dont forget you dont wash all the clothes in the same wash)
3/ Complexity - A tumble dryer (even a condensor) is a fairly simple beast. A combined macine is not.
I have a Bosch Washing machine, never been apart tho suprisingly the paint on the front panels is peeling off and its going rusty. its 7 years old
The Creda condensor dryer blew its thermal cutouts 1 day after warranty expired, and I take it apart every year for a service. (they get hellishly fluffed up) Its now 6 years old.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I will not buy any multi function devices. They all seem to involve unacceptable compromises and suffer from the part failure issue. If one part fails you end up throwing away some good bits!
Examples not to buy include
fridge/freezers - neither part is ever big enough
printer/scanner/fax - I have only ever seen problems, particularly with the telephone/fax answering on HP in particular
wash/dryers -
or any 'integrated' kitchen appliances (other than a gas hob, which actually is following my no multi function devices logic anyway).
integrated appliances cost more and quite often are part of package deal giveaways using 3rd rate kit!
If you buy recognised brands it is always easier to get spares at a reasonable price if you do all your own maintenance.
Based on personal experience, Bosch /Hotpoint seem a reasonable compromise on price/reliability. (At one time they came off the same production line, but I am not sure that is true any longer). That is the kiss of death, I expect everything will now start to fail
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pmh (was peter)
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TVM are you my doppelganger? We posted the same philosophy at almost the same time, I had not seen your reply otherwise I would have not bothered with mine!
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pmh (was peter)
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Thanks, Guys. Seems my "does combining two jobs in one machine result in two compromised jobs?" was correct, and I have to earn my beer! (As will guests, who currently are able to open the fridge door and choose at will from the twenty or so different brands! :-)
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"choose at will from the twenty or so different brands! :-)"
Yeah you're smiling now matey, just wait till it gives you gout!
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"choose at will from the twenty or so different brands! :-)" Yeah you're smiling now matey, just wait till it gives you gout!
:-)
Seriously, I actually drink very little (fact) and can go several weeks without even one pint, but when I do have one, I like a choice, and I like to be able to offer a choice!
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We had a Zanussi washer/dryer from 1990 until 2003 which only suffered one minor fault at 14 months and was repaired by Zanussi at little cost (just outside warranty period). The machine cost £499.99.
However, I wouldn't buy a similar dual purpose appliance today as the general public still wants highly featured machines at pretty much the same price they paid 10 years or so ago.
Hence the arrival of a Miele washing machine to replace the Zanussi, whose bearings began to sound noisy. There was no point in replacing them in a 13-year-old machine.
The Miele cost the same price and has never missed a beat to date; it's virtually guaranteed a life span of up to 20 years or more depending on overall use.
Why did we not buy another Zanussi? Because of the reason mentioned above; most appliances at the lower end of the market these days are built to meet a shop price point .
You should be able to buy a condenser tumble dryer which can be directly connected to a drain.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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SjB just to confirm your decision (I hope) not to go for a combined machine be aware that in most cases the wash load is larger than the drier load, meaning you have to remove some of the wash before drying. As your house is large, then the drier does not need necessarily to be with the washing machine. As it generates heat it is quite good in a conservatory, if you have one! Nearer the garden for hanging out too.
As said above, basically you are asking one machine (motor) to do two jobs thus lessening the life of both functions.
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Thanks, deepwith.
I am indeed unlikely to go fo a combined machine, but those that I had looked at typically had 5-6kg wash and 2.5-3kg drying capacities.
Yes, we have a conservatory, and using it is an option that we discussed last night, but intention is to keep using it as the family room rather than as a second utility room. On even quite mild days it already gets very snug, and despite a bronzed roof, in the summer searingly-so (we learned quickly why it has a built in air conditioning system and thermostat, but with my ecological hat back on, so far have managed to use the room simply by opening all the windows. In fact, if the system works on the same principle as car air conditioning, I wouldn't be surprise if the refrigerant has leaked out as the seals will be dry by now through total lack of use!)
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L'esc / SJB,
Dont rule out a combined unit.
TVM / pmh,
I used to subscribe to that theory though when we had twins 13 years ago we did not have the space for seperates and bought a Ariston washer dryer which was excellent for 9 years until it was replaced by another Ariston washer dryer 4 years ago, at this point we had space for seperates however we had another unit put in our utilty room where the dryer would otherwise be.
Both were / are condensor, neither steamed up the room etc, the latter offers "A" class wash programmes, yes there are a couple of compromises, it takes a little longer to dry than a seperate dryer and you cannot dry quite as much as you can wash however these are all outweighed by the USP of a washer dryer, that you can put a load on to wash and come back to dry and ready to iron/put away/wear laundry - brilliant on occasions!
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as written our AEG washing machine is now coming up to 12 years old and so despite 100% reliablity ....
Lucky you.
Just had the motor changed AGAIN on mine.
The first five years of aggro was " solved" with the comment "Oh they have now found out the main board does not like mains surges so the improved version should fix it"
That stopped it going into fast spin with a drum full of water.
Recently the pump started leaking - the impeller gland was the source. Nowt wrong with the motor but whole new unit was £75 - not impressed with that design .
I would not buy another one.
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We have Indesit washer and drier. The drier has been problem free for the past five years and the washing machine has just had a problem with the main board. After three visits from engineers Indesit have just sent me a new machine and no charges - our machines are used hard, doing at least two loads a day and we did not take out the extended warranty - just put the money aside for replacement! Thank you Indesit.
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We've got one of these and it's great :
tinyurl.com/yff957
Be prepared for the jump in electricity bills you'll get if it's in frequent use.
In fact the combination of the tumble dryer, the boiler, a radiator and this :
tinyurl.com/y75o5a
means that our utility room can dry a whole load of washing at once!
--
Soupytwist !
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and this : tinyurl.com/y75o5a
We have used one for the past few years too, also aluminium, from Betterware or Kleeneze I think, though if so I see it's no longer listed on either of their websites. Cost about £15 and came witrh two sets of wall mounts so it can easily be used both inside and out without the use of tools. Good product, despite my scepticism when SWMBO ordered it.
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To answer your specific question, we have a Zanussi which doesn't cause any condensation whatsoever.
And it is a combioned washer/dryer which suits us - I can see many other posts suggesting avoiding them, but if you've only got room for one appliance then you have no choice!! The drying works perfectly well. The only other comment I can make is that we have had it repaired every year so I always ensure I have a current maintenance agreement.
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We had a Hoover combined which lasted for 12 years. It was replace by a Zanussi which lasted 4 years and was constant trouble (especially electrical). We've opted for separate machines since.
Man at John Lewis advised that a combined machine could not be expected to last more than 4/5 years (due to all the reasons outlined by TVM etal above) - however a "good brand" stand alone tumbler should last 12 years and some can do much more.
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IanS
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sjb - your wife is ironing baby clothes? Why? I don't know if it's because we use a dryer year round, but one thing my wife wouldn't have considered doing during her last nine months of maternity leave was iron baby clothes.
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sjb - your wife is ironing baby clothes?
Indeed so!
Why?
Same reason most people wear ironed shirts, but it's turning in to a full time job, hence the request for a TD.
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Same reason most people wear ironed shirts,
You mean, so they look good in business meetings? Are you sure you're not putting too much pressure on these kids? At this age shouldn't they be starting on the shop floor learning a trade?
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Get a TD asap - ironing of baby clothes should then become a thing of the past. She can then put her energy into more useful activities such as peeling grapes, or sticking sugar crystals together to make sugar lumps :-)
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Don't listen to em SjB, ironing baby clothes is therapeutic.
We have a peasant who comes on Thursdays to do all of ours but I sometimes do my lads little clothes. They're so damned cute.
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It pays to get a professional .....SWMBO used to do the ironing whilst watching the F1 on a Sunday so probably three hours work.
We have now found a lady who does ironing for us at £8 an hour , she will manage around 20 shirts or T shirts in that time , collects and delivers as well so she is worth every penny .
She is not an exploited East European but a very pleasant divorced middle aged UK lady who wants some pin money.
Because she is twice as fast and efficient at ironing as SWMBO who hates the job and also works full time I am happy to pay and the arrangement is beneficial to all .
Likewise I have found a cleaning lady - similar cost for a couple of hours a week.
This leaves SWMBO to do the things she enjoys and creates happiness and harmony in the helicopter household.
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>>creates happiness and harmony>>
You mean SWMBO doesn't like you using four letter words?
Such as dust, iron, cook and wash..:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I married 'for better, for worse' absolutely NO mention of ironing. Husband does anything he wants ironed, children learn, as soon as they are old enough to be safe, that if they want something ironed they do it themselves. This proved very useful for older son when he joined the army cadets and already knew how to iron! I no longer iron bedlinen since the arrival of tumble drier.
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