Venting: Some (maybe majority nowadays) are ventless. The moisture evaporated from the clothes during drying is condensed out of the heated air and either a) is collected into an internal basin that is manually removed and dumped after the cycle is finished or b) pumped to a drain while the drying cycle progresses.

Capacity: Drying clothes generally requires double the drum size as washing to allow the tumbling clothes to billow and fluff and expose to the heated air. Thusly, best drying performance is had by running loads that are less than the full effective washing capacity of the drum ... or removing half the load when drying starts, then running the rest in a separate drying cycle.

Also, combination machines are not a new thing. They were on the market in the 1950s into the early 1970s. Most of the major manufacturers had them. Bendix/Philco called theirs "Duomatic." Green Acres TV show had a Maytag in the kitchen. GE undercounter units were popular in apartments. Kenmore was the last major brand to sell (full-size) combos produced for them by Whirlpool, I believe ending in 1971 or '72.

Short answer: yes, very slowly. A condo we stayed in in England had one. It took hours, literally hours, to wash and dry a small load. It was also under the counter in the kitchen.

ETA: just googled the question. One seller answered that it could take anywhere from 3 to 6.5 hours to run a load.

My sister had one at one time. Small loads that took hours and hours to complete. May not be an issue if it was run overnight?

I had one in our Airbnb in Seville and I was surprised. I thought it was fine.

If this is what the option is, I would take it as better than nothing. Particularly if the dryer is a condensing unit a cycle will take a really long time compared to two separate units, one, because it is a single load at a time, and two because the drying cycle is long.

I think it would be better than going to a laundromat, but he would have to do laundry almost on a daily basis for it to work out well, like start it before he goes to bed at night. We did laundry pretty much daily when we had the small units like this, but it was better than having to go to a laundromat or using a laundry room in a multi unit building.

The washer actually got my clothes cleaner than any other washer I have owned. They recommended running everything through once with no detergent, and paying at how much detergent was extracted and what color the water was (grey).

We have family in a coastal European apt who use one without complaint. Complaining wouldn't help, it's all there is room for, all she's ever known. She's washed/dried sheets, towels, clothing for her family of 4 many years. Laundry takes up much of the weekend. No complaints though about the condition of their clothing...it's clean.

+1 @bbstx. I had a combined washer-dryer when I lived in the UK and we’ve used them in Europe when we’ve rented apartments. Unless it was a small load, I usually needed to finish drying laundry on a clothes rack.

There are fewer and fewer laundromats around now. I've been looking at apartments near the train, so I suppose he could bring his laundry to Mom's Laundry, and get a free meal to boot, in exchange for, say, washing the outside windows.

That Kenmore (Whirlpool) combined unit at $570 (1971) is equivalent to $4000 (2022), which is significantly more than the same thing would cost now.

He is definitely going to need a good clothes drying rack. On this list, I have the Whitmore one. I could not live without it. I give outer garments the briefest of tumbles on the lowest heat setting and then finish drying on the rack. https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-clothes-drying-racks.html

My friends in Europe often have them. They have gone from hating them to being fine with them. Something changed with the units in the past few years, idk what though. When wondering about Euro specific appliances I peruse the UK board Mumsnet for some insight.

It certainly has to be better to have one than not, don’t you think?

I can’t imagine any son or husband of mine hanging anything on a drying rack. Not one of the seven of them, all professionals. Either things get washed and dried or sent to the dry cleaner. They have their shirts sent out.

My parents just moved into a continuing care facility. My mother is just about OCD with doing laundry, so we needed to find a place with appliances in the unit. The apartment has a small stacking unit in a closet. She LOVES it! Thought for sure she was going to complain. It is new, so don't know if they've improved over the years. It also vents into the building system. She likes it so much that she now wants to get one for our beach house. We've banned her from going into the basement to do laundry, so having one on the main floor would make her very happy.

They take a very long time, and are ventless.......but they work and clean clothes, and that's great for a situation where it's really the only option other than a laundromat. It's really not a bad idea to run a load overnight anyway, and I would prefer that to sending my laundry out.

:"a small stacking unit in a closet."

That's very different than a combo unit, which is one machine that washes and then dries the clothes.

Yes, most of these units don't have a place for for a stackable. So it goes under the kitchen counter where it is near water and drain.

Oops, Toronto Vet, you are correct. This is what I get for trying to bake a cake while also reading posts. I apologize and will stick to baking for now!

My very limited experience is that the drying is slow but competent. I have some experience with unvented, standalone heat pump dryers and the same comment applies - long cycles but competent.

You didn't ask but if your son is old enough to have an apartment, he's old enough to figure things out on his own. Let him learn from his own experiences and preferences.

The answer is NO do not consider this.

We are discussing how long a washer-dryer combo takes and we are all talking about it taking hours. Yet, my washing machine (an ordinary 6 year old Samsung front loader) is into its second hour of washing one load. It takes forever too. I guess it is all what you get used to. Anyone want to talk about the 3+ hour cycle on my DW. 🙄

My granddaughter has one in her apartment. It takes four hours to clean and dry a load. She was thrilled when it broke recently and is being replaced by a stacked unit.

My daughter recently got one- to replace a stacked W/D in her Master Bathroom. (previous owners put them in). I don't remember which broke but one did so they went for the combo unit. She also has a 20 plus year old top loader (Kenmore) in her basement which is the workhorse.

She is pleased with the combo unit but yes it does not have a large capacity and it takes hours. The family of 6 (new one just born) uses it to "supplement" the main laundry in the basement.

I think the amount of time it takes is the only downside., but yes they did know about it going in.

Someone mentioned emptying a tray. Off to Google how condensing dryers work!

While googling, you might find it helpful to look at this recently updated WireCutter/NewYorkTimes review, "Best Washer-Dryer Combo (but we don't recommend it," if you haven't already seen it.

Fwiw, the house next door to me was flipped. Previous owners took out w/d and put in an all in one w/d unit for the flip. New owners could be heard by us complaining about this all in one unit on a regular basis. The main complaint by the Mrs was "is it too much to ask to have a dryer that will dry in one to two hours?" "All I want is a regular dryer!" Anyhow, she trashed the all in one unit and got a stacked w/d and is a happy camper now. I suppose it's better than going to the laundomat, and perhaps not such a big deal if just one person though. The suggestions to run it starting at/over night sounds like a good idea.

"Yet, my washing machine (an ordinary 6 year old Samsung front loader) is into its second hour of washing one load."

Interesting to see this -- I moved into a place with a Samsung front loader, and it does take 2-3 hours to wash a load; I've seen the indicator read "8" minutes left for over 20 minutes! I thought this machine was broken, but maybe that's normal for Samsung. My previous front loader loads have always taken 60-90 minutes, depending on how large they were.

My new LG Washtower arrives on Friday :)

"I've seen the indicator read "8" minutes left for over 20 minutes!"

We used to call that Washing Machine Time when we had our old front loaders, Fridgedaires/Electrolux; the display would say 8 mins left, and half an hour later, it's still going.

Happy day on Friday for you TV!

My daughter had one in a rental apartment just as you described -- single unit under the kitchen counter. It took FOREVER (hours) to do a single load. She didn't love it but it still beat hauling bags of laundry to a laundromat by a mile. You have to plan ahead and not let laundry pile up (although she did). Heavy, bulky stuff (comforter, down jacket, etc.) required a trip to the laundromat every so often. No washing machine in her current apartment -- she does laundry in the basement, which still beats the laundromat.

Sounds a bit like the difference between having electric cooktop, gas, or induction. Oh, and eating out.

We have a Deco W/D that is vented to the outside. It takes a queen sheet set so its not too small. I put a load in at night and it’s dry in the morning — just have to get in the habit of not letting it pile up and having to suddenly wash everything all at once.

Is it one-step laundry? Like you put it in, press a button, and it washes and dries with no other intervention? (and does it FOLD?)

This is the very first time I've heard of this type of machine... interesting ᾑ4

DD1 had one in her last apartment. It was awful. Was too small. Took forever to dry, or didn't dry. Horrid. She moved.

We had one at the lakehouse and I HATED it!!! I think it was Samsung. I had the factory guy come out and he confirmed that it was all working 'per the factory specs' -which is great if you don't want your clothes even close to dry. Incredibly annoying to do laundry that way. I always had clothes draped over furniture to dry. We replaced it with a stackable front loader and it is a thousand or maybe a million times better.

We had one in our condo in Brussels Belgium. Quite common there. Awful. Took forever to semi dry. We used our spare bedroom for drying racks. It just took time. Never felt clothes got clean either. They might have improved the newer ones but I would take a stack w/d any day.

I lived with one for about 3 years between living in Ireland and an apartment back here in the States that had one. They do take a long time, but they had a setting to wash and dry together with no intervention, so you could start a load before heading to work and it would be done by the time you got home. The long times didn’t bother me.

It's striking to realize the prosperity Americans take for granted. Space/water/electricity are all abundant so the inconvenience of the time these machines appear to take up is not "worth it"--not everyone has such extravagant an choice to make.

I don't think it is an extravagant choice to expect I don't take all day to do two loads of laundry and to be subject to my machines. That has nothing to do with prosperity. It is not that it is inconvenient for me-I flat out dislike devoting time to just one household chore like that. I have other things I like to do or need to do, and I refuse to let a washing machine dictate my day.

Also, I would NEVER start a washer or dishwasher and leave it on if I am not going to be home. That could be a disaster.

armjim, I’m wary of starting things then leaving, too, although it does happen. I’ve never had a disaster, knock on wood.

Funny, I remember when I was in Europe when I was 20, the dorm had a small laundry room with a front-loader, which many of us Americans had not seen before. Unlike my current front-load, it didn’t lock during the cycles. More than once, someone opened the door. By that I mean, we each did it once! No, we didn’t learn from each other’s mistakes. Fortunately they don’t fill with as much water as a top-load, but still. Oh, and how could it happen? Well, if it’s paused between cycles it isn’t making noise, it was hard to see inside, and we were idiots.

Oh man - I leave machines to do work all day long while Im not home. I mean - sh*t happens. But if I was concerned about possible disasters that could happen from mechanical malfunction in my home, I wouldn’t run my boiler in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, hot water heater, internet router - anything electric, really. Livin life on the edge over here.

"I don't think it is an extravagant choice to expect I don't take all day to do two loads of laundry and to be subject to my machines.......Also, I would NEVER start a washer or dishwasher and leave it on if I am not going to be home. That could be a disaster."

Wow, you really don't trust your appliances! Do you run them overnight, while you're sleeping - that could be a disaster too, I guess. Do you have a water dispenser or ice maker in your fridge? Do you run your furnace while you're out?

I think overnight and while I'm out is the perfect time to run laundry machines (and dishwasher) - then I'm not wasting time waiting for them, and I won't be bothered by any noise.

And you're learning that it really is an extravagance we take for granted.

A combo unit is better than nothing — and far better than going to the laundromat. Try to get one with plumbed drainage. The condensation tanks can be a pain to dump. If he could get into the habit of running a load every weeknight as he was going to bed, and hanging up the dampish clothing as soon as he got up, he would be fine. Really depends how organized and on task he is. (My kids would let the load mold.)

I based my response on personal experience and experiences by people I knew who had them-not anecdotes. It is not interesting enough of a discussion for me to continue this part of the discussion. It is not what the OP was talking about and certainly did not want to start a thread within the thread.

I used to run my dryer when I was out of the house or at night while I was sleeping, until my step-son’s dryer caught on fire. He was leaving to go out for the evening and opened the dryer door to throw in something he had missed from the washer. There were flames in his dryer! Fortunately, he had a fire extinguisher and the presence of mind to use it! Since then, I don’t leave the house with the dryer running, nor do I run it while asleep.

"It's striking to realize the prosperity Americans take for granted."

People in other countries have the same "prosperity" and sometimes more (depending on how you want to define it). Urban living is urban living. Many living in apartments in NY city have to make due with less space and less convenience than many urban dwellers in Europe.

European washers and dryers (and by extension, Asian ones before they started making models for the US market). have long been smaller. With long cycles. They wash better while being more gentle on fabrics.

A family member abroad has a ventless heat pump dryer. It uses the "refrigeration cycle", extracting "heat" from room temperature air. Think of your fridge or an air conditioner, both are heat pumps that act the same way, with a cold section while expelling hot air, the heat removed to produce the cold section. Using the same "refrigeration cycle", a ventless dryer produces heat AND cold. Direct the heat into the rotating drum where the clothes are, then flow the warmed damp air past a cold heat exchanger where the water in the damp warm air will condense and drip out. Like the water that condenses on the outside of a cold glass on a warm day. That's how they work. It's a slow process but such products use less energy than both gas and electric clothes dryer types in use in the US.

I am another one that has never run a washer, dryer or dishwasher when I'm sleeping or away from home. When our three were very young, I was getting them ready to go visit one set of my grandparents half an hour or more away. I had turned on the DW. I was in one of their bedrooms getting shoes on and thought I heard water running. The hose had come loose and water had flooded the kitchen and was running down the basement stairway. Thank goodness I had not left the house yet! The only damage was the kitchen floor next to the fridge and it wasn't too obvious.

@bbstx I'm glad he had a fire extinguisher nearby. We have one on every floor and in the garage.

It's not done nowadays but some of the vintage condenser dryer designs used a cold water spray to cool the hot air, pumping much as 1/2 gallon of water per minute to the drain throughout the drying cycle.

It's common in Europe. I knew a few different friends who had them and they said they were so slow, it was easier to half-dry and then hang everything. I despise laundromats so I think that would be better than nothing.

But if there were real washers and dryers in the basement (shared with tenants), I'd way rather have that!

Elmer, thank you for that explanation.