Apartment portable washer/dryer

March 3, 2005 6:21 AM

Apartment portable washer/dryers? Any insight, recommendations, pitfalls. I'm looking for something liftable by me (~100lbs?) that can hook into a sink and uses 100V electric. It should also work well. I'm looking at this one: thor , but it is 180lbs, so I'm looking around. Money isn't an object (within reason, under $1500). Any advice?
posted by pissfactory to home & garden (12 comments total)

I bookmarked this a while back when I amusingly thought I might still have any disposable income after moving.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:31 AM on March 3, 2005

I found this when I was looking at buying one for the apartment. Actually, now that I'm looking at it, it looks identical to the one you linked to, but it says this one weighs 165lbs. And it's $875 + shipping.

It doesn't meet the 100lbs criteria, unfortunately. I don't remember seeing one for less than that for weight, but that was a about a year ago so my memory is probably fuzzy.
posted by schnee at 6:32 AM on March 3, 2005

Do you have a good reason for wanting to lift this machine? Couldn't you get a heavier one like that Thor? It has casters for rolling it out of the way.
posted by pracowity at 6:48 AM on March 3, 2005

The LG clocks in at about 150-something pounds, and you can put a set of wheels on it to trundle it around, as well as a little adaptor for connecting it to the faucet.

The Supra is very similar, but is 180-ish pounds. It, too, can be connected to a faucet and wheeled.

You'll be hard pressed to find a ventless combo washer/dryer that is under 100 pounds. They are already quite small, it's unlikely there are smaller models out there.

If money isn't an object, surely you can pay someone to lift it for installation?
posted by majick at 7:37 AM on March 3, 2005

maybe not what you're looking for, but i use a wonder wash, a hand-powered no-electricity, low-water, low-detergent washing machine. costs about $50, takes about 5 minutes to do a load, and weighs only a few pounds.
posted by scottreynen at 7:45 AM on March 3, 2005

I was thinking of lugging it up and down apartment steps when I move around. I suppose even a compact 180 lbs. could be taken up and down the stairs on a dolly... also, I meant 110V electric, which I assume you knew. Thanks!
posted by pissfactory at 8:21 AM on March 3, 2005

Then for as often as you'll move (compared to how often you'll wash clothes), get the heavy washer and call friends if you need to lug it.
posted by pracowity at 8:39 AM on March 3, 2005

I have this, but it's only a washer. (works pretty well tho)
posted by amberglow at 10:07 AM on March 3, 2005

The Egg.
And the spin dryer.
posted by scazza at 2:00 PM on March 3, 2005

scottreynen, I never knew such a thing existed. Thanks for sharing.
posted by dejah420 at 6:16 PM on March 3, 2005

I went through this about a year ago, it's highly unlikely you'll find a washer/dryer combo under 150-200 lbs. This is because wet clothes can weight a good bit and the spin cycles in the wash cycle will generate a large amount of force to counter. Combo units tend to spin at a higher rpm than standard top loading washers because they need to get as much water out of the clothes as possible before starting the drying cycle. This is especially true with units that convection in the drying cycle.

I highly recommend the LG 3274, which serves two average humans very nicely. You can find the answers to just about any question you may have at the garden web laundry forums. The model we have cost around 1600 dollars new including extended warranty. It's convection drying and powered by standard AC provided it's properly grounded.

As the majority of apartment size washer/dryer combo's can be made to be portable via adapter kits and wheels. The other major consideration is the drying cycle. Convection dryers and especially standard AC (not 230 volt) take about 2-3 times as long as standard venting dryers. The heating element just doesn't output as much, even though capacity is lower.
posted by iamabot at 6:27 PM on March 3, 2005

scottreynen, you are my new hero. I'm with dejah. Never considered it and it's perfect for me and my girlfriend. Thanks!
posted by kamikazegopher at 1:13 AM on March 4, 2005