The One Thing Nobody Tells You
A washer dryer will wash 8kg of laundry and dry 5kg of it. Some wash 11kg and dry 6.
That gap is the whole story of this decision. It means that at the end of a full wash, you have to open the door and take half the load out before the drying cycle can run — then dry the second half separately. If you were expecting to load it in the morning and come back to dry clothes, that is not what happens.
Plenty of people are perfectly happy with a washer dryer anyway. But almost everyone who's disappointed by one is disappointed for this reason, so it's worth being clear about it before you spend.
We sell both. Here's the honest comparison.
The Case for a Washer Dryer
It takes one appliance space instead of two. In a flat, a galley kitchen, or a house with no utility room, this is often not a preference but a constraint. A second appliance slot simply doesn't exist.
It's cheaper to buy than two machines. A Hoover H3D485TE 8kg/5kg at £399 does both jobs for roughly what a decent standalone washing machine costs on its own.
One set of plumbing. One water feed, one drain, one socket. If you're fitting a kitchen from scratch, that's a real saving on the installation as well as the appliance.
It's fine if you don't tumble dry much. If drying is an occasional winter thing rather than a daily routine — you mostly line dry or air dry — the capacity gap barely registers, because you're only ever drying small loads anyway.
The Case for Separate Machines
You can wash and dry at the same time. With separates, one load is drying while the next is washing. With a washer dryer, everything is sequential — and a combined wash-then-dry cycle typically runs three to six hours. For a family doing a load a day, that's the difference between laundry being a background task and laundry being a queue.
Full capacity, both ways. A 9kg washing machine and a 9kg dryer means one load in, one load out. No splitting.
Heat pump drying is far cheaper to run. This is the big one, and it's often overlooked. Standalone heat pump tumble dryers recycle their own hot air and use a fraction of the electricity of the condenser or vented drying built into most washer dryers. A Montpellier MHP8SDW 8kg heat pump dryer at £479 carries an A++ rating. Almost no washer dryer comes close, because there isn't room inside the cabinet for heat pump technology alongside the wash system.
When one breaks, you still have the other. A washer dryer is one machine doing two jobs with more moving parts and more heat cycling. When it fails, you lose both functions at once, and repairs tend to cost more.
They last longer. Combining both jobs in one drum means more heat, more wear and more running hours on a single set of components.
Our guide to heat pump vs condenser tumble dryers covers the drying side of separates in detail.
Running Costs: The Honest Numbers
Drying is where laundry electricity goes. Washing a load uses relatively little; heating air to evaporate several litres of water uses a great deal.
Ranked from cheapest to most expensive to run per load:
- Heat pump tumble dryer — recycles its own warm air, uses roughly half the energy of a condenser. Slower cycles, but far cheaper.
- Condenser tumble dryer — middling. Heats fresh air each time and condenses the moisture into a tank.
- Washer dryer — typically the most expensive per kilo dried. Many older designs also use mains water to condense the moisture, adding to your water bill on a meter.
If you dry most of your laundry rather than hanging it out, separates with a heat pump dryer will save you money over the life of the machines — enough to make up the higher purchase price. If you dry occasionally, that maths never gets a chance to play out and the washer dryer is the better buy.
How to Read the Numbers on the Listing
Washer dryers are quoted with two figures, always in that order: wash capacity / dry capacity.
- 8kg / 5kg — the Hoover H3D485TE at £399. Washes a full family load, dries a bit over half of it.
- 8kg / 6kg — the Montpellier MIWD8614 integrated at £599. The narrowest gap in the mid range.
- 9kg / 6kg — the Samsung Series 5 at £630, or the slim-depth version at £629 if your space is shallow.
- 11kg / 6kg — the Samsung Series 7 at £999. Note how the gap widens: a big wash drum doesn't mean a big dry capacity.
Spin speed matters more than you'd think. 1400rpm removes noticeably more water than 1200rpm, and every litre spun out is a litre the dryer doesn't have to evaporate. On a washer dryer especially, a fast spin shortens drying and cuts the bill.
Integrated Options
If you want the laundry hidden behind a cabinet door, both formats exist. The Montpellier MIWD8614 at £599 and the Smeg 7kg fully integrated washer dryer at £1,110 both fit behind a door.
Worth knowing: integrated laundry appliances run a little noisier in practice than the spec suggests, because the cabinet transmits vibration through the units. A solid floor and a properly levelled machine make more difference than the quoted dB figure.
So Which Should You Buy?
Buy a washer dryer if:
- You only have one appliance space, and no realistic way to make a second
- You're one or two people, doing two or three loads a week
- You mostly line dry or air dry, and tumble drying is a winter fallback
- Budget is the binding constraint today
Buy separate machines if:
- You have a utility room, or space for two under the worktop
- There are three or more of you, or there are children
- You tumble dry most loads year-round — the heat pump running cost saving is real and compounds
- You want laundry to overlap rather than queue
Our rule of thumb: a washer dryer is a space decision, not a laundry decision. If you have the room for two machines, buy two. If you don't, a good washer dryer is a perfectly sensible appliance — just go in knowing you'll be splitting loads.
Before You Order: Four Checks
- Measure the aperture — width, height and depth including the door and any hoses behind. Slim-depth models exist for a reason. Our measuring guide has the full checklist.
- Check the drying capacity, not just the wash capacity. It's the number that decides how the machine feels to live with.
- Check whether the dryer needs venting if you're buying separates — heat pump and condenser dryers don't, vented ones do.
- Floor and levelling. Laundry appliances on an unlevel or springy floor vibrate, walk and get noisy. Worth sorting before delivery, not after.
Our Recommendations
- Tight budget, one slot: the Hoover H3D485TE at £399.
- Best washer dryer for a family: the Samsung Series 7 11/6kg at £999 — the largest wash drum we stock in this format.
- Hidden behind a cabinet door: the Montpellier MIWD8614 at £599, or the Smeg integrated for a premium kitchen.
- Separates, cheapest to run: a good washing machine paired with the Montpellier MHP8SDW heat pump dryer at £479.
Browse the full laundry range, or read our guide to choosing the right washing machine if you've decided on separates. Still unsure? Tell us your space and how much laundry you do and we'll tell you straight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't a washer dryer dry a full wash load?
Clothes need room to tumble in hot air to dry. The drum that comfortably washes 8kg of wet laundry can only tumble around 5kg of it loosely enough to dry properly. It's a physical limit, not a manufacturer cutting corners.
How long does a wash and dry cycle take?
Typically three to six hours end to end, depending on load size and fabric. A separate washing machine and tumble dryer running in parallel will get through the same laundry in roughly half the time.
Are washer dryers expensive to run?
Per load dried, generally yes — more than a condenser dryer and considerably more than a heat pump one. If you tumble dry most days, that difference adds up meaningfully over a year.
Do washer dryers break down more often?
They do more work with more components in one cabinet, and heat cycling is hard on parts. It's reasonable to expect a shorter life than a washing machine used for washing alone, and repairs tend to cost more because there's more inside.
Can a washer dryer be plumbed anywhere a washing machine can?
Yes — the same cold feed, drain and socket. Condenser-style washer dryers don't need external venting, which is why they suit flats and internal kitchens.
Is a heat pump washer dryer available?
They exist but are rare and expensive, because fitting heat pump technology alongside a wash system in one cabinet is difficult. If low running cost is your priority, separates with a heat pump dryer remain the better route.
Does spin speed affect drying?
Significantly. A 1400rpm spin removes more water than 1200rpm, so there's less for the dryer to evaporate. On a washer dryer it shortens the cycle and cuts the electricity used.
What if I only have one space but a big family?
Look at the largest wash capacity you can fit and accept that you'll split loads for drying, or consider stacking a washing machine and dryer with a stacking kit if the ceiling height allows — that turns one footprint into two appliances.
