The Malber WD 1000 was featured in the latest edition of Fine Homebuilding. This system seems like a great thing: I don’t need to run a 220V line, I don’t need to cut a hole in the side of the house for a vent, and I use up only half the space separate washer/dryer units would take up. There are other units like this. Is there any downside? [I haven’t checked how there capacity stacks up against the average washer and sryer.]
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I don't have any specific information, but I'd have to believe the mechanism is more complex than either a washer or a dryer.
Also, if the dryer function is wired for 110V, it's either going to draw more current than a 220V dryer, which could require bigger wires, or it's lower wattage than a 220V dryer, which could extend the drying time.
Re: Combo units
I understand and agree with your interest in the combo units, here's a couple thoughts pro and con.
1. Pro: Many years ago (40+) my parents had a combo unit much larger than today's units and taller than the traditional washer and dryer. It worked great for the purpose for which they bought it . Because both parents worked,
the unit was in the kitchen to save going up and down to the basement, so the footprint was important.
they were there to hear when the wash and/or drying finished as they cooked or cleaned (multi-tasking before the term existed!)
the vertical, or upright, tub washed the clothes better than the traditional washer.
they didn't have to take wet clothes out the washer and into the dryer.
a wash started when my mother went to work was washed and dried by the time I got home from school. (It was my job to take the clothes out, fold and put away before they came home from work. If another load needed to be done it was my job to get it started.)
2. Cons:
When one one function "died", neither worked. (Like the old Hi Fi console units that had the TV, radio and stero turntable that all worked from the same electronics.)
You couldn't have two loads going at once (one washing, one drying)
The drying cycle was significantly longer than a traditional dryer (even w/ 220/240 service)
it was noisy (I remember hearing the metal buttons of the jeans scraping agaist the drum.)
the machine had a shorter lifespan due to it doing double duty.
In final analysis the machine did what my folks wanted with only a few minor unanticipated inconveniences. When it came time to replace the machine they went back to two units. I don't remember if it was because of dissatisfaction or because it was just the two of them by then and approaching retirement so time (and the footprint) didn't present the same issue. I do remember that my mother liked the lower "normal" profile of the the two of them but that's not an issue with the ones I've seen lately.
A footnote: When my wife and I seperated a few years ago I moved into an apartment that came with an over/under dryer/washer in the kitchen of my three room unit. I liked the set up so much that when I purchased my house I bought one. I put it in the bathroom for the same reasons my folks bought their combo unit. It works out great. I watch TV in the livingroom, check on the laundry during commercials, and fold the dry clothes as I sit and watch the show. (The down side is the cats like to lay and shed on the nice warm, folded, soft, clean clothes!)
That problem with the cats holds true no matter what kind of washer/dryer you get. In the summer I line dry our pool towels and I half-dry other clothes and finish them on a line. The cats have some kind of alert system that tells them when a basket of folded, line-dried clothes has been set down, and they move in. One of my cats doesn't like to wait for the finish and has been known to jump up and start kneading a shirt while I'm folding it. She also steals pairs of socks. I think the cats issue is one that laundry technology still isn't prepared to tackle.If a woman is to have a well-kept home, she must have power tools and a tool shed to call her own.
At a builders show I checked ou the LG all in one unit. Its 110 volt ventless and has a neat timer function. I am interested in getting on for an ampartment that can't vent.
http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/WD3274RHD.html?mv_pc=fr&WT.srch=1
Thats just a link, You can get better prices I am sure.
The secret is that during the spin cyclce, it spins the living spirit out of the clothes, leaving very little moisture to dry with. During drying, it condesnes the vapor and sneds it out the drain line.
These things are great for retrofitting, or if you are like me, have two foot think stone granite walls to vent thru, and no gas service or 220v. loine where you want the laundry center.