Yeah, this is probably the least interesting thread ever, sorry.

Our 7 year old budget Beko is on its last legs – the drum bearing is rough as a bear’s arse and I suspect it’s not really worth what it’ll cost to repair if we have to call out a plumber. Plus since MiniMonkey has arrived something a bit bigger would be helpful.

So we’re after a new washer dryer, and I have no clue what to look for or what’s good. A bigger capacity than we currently have (6kg) would be good, as efficient as possible and quiet would be nice too.

Any suggestions? Features we should look for? What’s the best out there? Budget is probably around 600 quid but could be pushed if it’s gonna be worth it.

Probably no help at all but washer dryers in general are considered really unreliable and not very quick drying compared to a separate washer and dryer. If you don’t have the space for separate machines then this would explain your washer/dryer question.
As a side note my wife does an awful lot of washing using other people’s machines at work and she bought a Bosch washer and tumble dryer for our house. Not super cheap but works well.

OK, so no actual individual recommendations, but whatever you get, find out if it has replaceable bearings. Many these days require the whole drum assembly changing, which makes them uneconomical to repair once outside their guarantee, and you just might get unlucky with an unexpected mid-life failure. Piss poor from an environmental perspective, but there it is.

OTOH, if your basic Beko has lasted 7 years, maybe get another one of them!!

Ah now that’s worth knowing about combined washer / dryers. In our current house there’s no room for both, but we are planning on moving next summer so it might be worth just getting a washer for now and adding a dryer when we have more space. Or getting another heated drying rack, which we have one of and had been brilliant.

The bearing issue was something I’m aware of (struggling to find exactly what our current machine has, but it looks like it’s a fair bit more than just a bearing to change, which by the time we’ve added in the cost of getting someone to do it makes it completely uneconomical).

I’ve heard good things about Bosch and AEG, I think. And Miele, though they’re definitely at a premium.

I bought a Miele earlier this year. Cost £1000 but came with a 10 year warranty special offer and £200 cashback.

Miele WCE 320 with 10 yr warranty

The reason they do that offer from time to time, is that they are engineered to last longer than that and they can be repaired.

10 year warranty offer

Has a 1 hour power wash mode, which is great. Super quiet as well.

This year by Bosch washer died after 10 years service. Foolishly replaced with a Hoover washer/dryer as they had a good a cashback offer on – it’s awful, chucks up random error codes, doesn’t drain on some washes and wash temprature reset on some programmes when you close the door.

Wish I bought another Bosch…

Had a Miele washer dryer for 25 years. Never even had to replace one part on it. Amazingly reliable.

Our 7 year old budget Beko is on its last legs – the drum bearing is rough as a bear’s arse and I suspect it’s not really worth what it’ll cost to repair if we have to call out a plumber.

I fixed my old washing machine – can’t remember the brand, but it was a budget thing – myself – the spider holding the drum on broke and the bearings were trashed. The whole outer drum with bearing assembly complete with bearings was only about 50 quid, though that varies. It was pretty straightforward tbh. Take the back off, undo a few nuts, remove old drum and spider, bolt on new one with replacement drive-belt. If you can buy the

The second time it went I bought a Bosch, which has been really good. The way it seems to work with washing machines is that the basic bearing / motor assemblies and build quality are consistent through the range, so it makes more sense to buy a basic Bosch than a top-end Hoover, if that makes sense. How many niche wash programme options do you really need?

A meely 25 years old will probably be so inefficient and noisy, imagine driving a mid 90’s car

OP I also cant fit both a washing machine and dryer, but instead got a washing machine and dehumidifier. load up the clothes horse and put the dehumidifier on for 1 to 2 hours and the clothes dry really well, even in the depths of winter.

The dehumidifier is also useful in the winter to help stop condensation on the windows as some of our home isn’t warm enough or ventilated enough.

A meely 25 years old will probably be so inefficient and noisy

The fact that it uses a bit more electricity and water to do the job than a new one, will be offset by the fact that it has lasted so long and hasn’t been sent to landfill and a new one built.

A washing machine and a condenser dryer? The condenser dryer can be put anywhere with no vent needed, it collects the water in a tray you empty after each load. We got hotpoint ones in a nice graphite grey colour. Washing machine is a 9kg drum and the dryer is an 8kg, suits what we need just fine. With 4 kids they get used loads, nearly 5 years old now and no issues whatsoever.

I bought a Siemens washer dryer a year or so ago, partly as it was well reviewed by Which? and partly as it was on sale at the time (think £650ish). I was intending to buy a John Lewis re-branded machine but this was a bit cheaper at the time.

It’s been great, way quieter than my previous Zanussi (although that lasted me over 10 years so no complaints). Can’t say there’s any must-have features, I just need it to wash well at 40c and dry well (which it does). The fluff clean programme is nice (fluff from the previous load that dried ending up on the next load of washing used to bug me on my old machine), I’m sure you could do it with a short cold cycle anyway though

I have a Bosch Washin Machine thats at least 10yrs old, has been to Australia and back(emigrated) and is still working well(will probably die now I have typed that).

Next one will probably be another Bosch.

Just replaced our 7 year old Samsung Washer dryer with a Bosch as it was the Which? best on test. Far quieter, uses very little water and significantly quicker too.

Which? regard these as Best Buys slightly above your price point: John Lewis JLWD1614, AEG L7WEG841R and Zanussi ZWD91683NW, with the JL scoring best. The LG F4J6TM1W is a best buy at £600 but slightly less impressive than the other 3.

That lot should keep you busy!

Direct drive motor for quietness and long life. Bought an LG last year. Eerily quiet if properly balanced, very efficient, 10kilo capacity and washes well. 10 year warranty on motor and 5years on all other parts. Does a full load in 1 hour.

+1 for dehumidifier, which has other uses too.

Had a Miele for over 15 years, family of I’ve people.

Will buy another one when / if it eventual dies.

We have an LG washer-drier (we don’t have room for separates) – its excellent. Comes with a yuuuuuge guarantee on the motor: 10 years I think.

One thing to bear in mind is that lots of washer/driers are slightly larger than standard size these days. A pain in the arse if you need to squeeze it Ito a fitted kitchen, but great if you don’t, as you get significantly better load capacity.

I bought a Zanussi washing machine 19 years ago. It’s used almost every day and it’s still going strong. Haven’t had to repair anything on it. Every other appliance I bought during that kitchen makeover in 2000/2001 has long since taken the final journey to the skip. We have a separate condenser drier.

Can’t comment on reliability yet, but we got a new Electrolux WAGL6E300 (catchy name!) a few months ago.

After years of what I regarded as a ‘normal’ washing machine, having something with a bloody big drum (9kg) and a very effective 1hr wash cycle, + having a 20minute wash cycle for doing post ride cycling kit… game changer!

So, my tuppence worth – get a dedicated machine with a Gert big capacity, its AMAZIN. Who new I would be so excited by a washing machine.

7 years is barely run in for our Miele. It’s had one service in 17 years (dampers were worn). They all do a fast 40C wash, which is all most people need. Buy one up from the cheapest you can. I think ours was £600 all those years ago. I never give it a moments thought.

As mentioned, the most energy efficient is the one you have already. Same applies to cars.

Cheers all, much appreciated.

We ended up going for an LG that was on sale – can’t remember the catchy name, I think it had a WS in it. Had all the features we need and was on sale and well within budget.

We did consider stretching to something like a Miele but in the end decided that we might want to change to separates in a few years anyway, so midrange made more sense.

Previously had a Bosch built in and now a Siemens iQ700. Really happy with the Siemens, good performance, quiet and I love the fact there is a reservoir for liquid soap and conditioner that it uses to dose automatically. Saves a bit of faff.

AEG 13 years old and works perfectly

We just replaced our 10 year old Samsung with the latest model. Something went wrong in the electrics, would cost more to fix Than what it was worth.
The new one is a good bit bigger & remembers the last setting you used so you don’t have to go through setting it again.