Comments on: Apartment portable washer/dryer

Question: Apartment portable washer/dryer

pissfactory — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 06:21:38 -0800

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?

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 06:31:39 -0800

I bookmarked this a while back when I amusingly thought I might still have any disposable income after moving.

By: schnee

schnee — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 06:32:54 -0800

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.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 06:48:14 -0800

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.

By: majick

majick — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 07:37:14 -0800

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?

By: scottreynen

scottreynen — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 07:45:04 -0800

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.

By: pissfactory

pissfactory — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 08:21:03 -0800

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!

By: pracowity

pracowity — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 08:39:30 -0800

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.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 10:07:04 -0800

I have this, but it's only a washer. (works pretty well tho)

By: scazza

scazza — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 14:00:14 -0800

The Egg.
And the spin dryer.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 18:16:26 -0800

scottreynen, I never knew such a thing existed. Thanks for sharing.

By: iamabot

iamabot — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 18:27:17 -0800

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.

By: kamikazegopher

kamikazegopher — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 01:13:14 -0800

scottreynen, you are my new hero. I'm with dejah. Never considered it and it's perfect for me and my girlfriend. Thanks!