I totally agree. I’ve got a Miele dishwasher and one of the features is that I can start it remotely. After having had water damage from a heating system issue, the last thing I want is to have an appliance that uses water running while no one is in the house.
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Most European washers are smaller capacity and also work as condensing dryers as space is at a premium. Europeans don’t seem to do as much laundry as we do in the US. Washing jeans after each use? Nope. There is no king sized bedding either.
Which model whirlpool did you get?
Our dishwasher caught on fire when we were home. The biggest mess of that little episode was my husband using the fire extinguisher and spreading a fine mist of stuff all over our first floor. Plus, we had the firemen in their boots trudging up our front lawn, and at least they carried the unit out of the house. Not that it’s been 10ish years, it was kind of funny. Then, not so much.
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My 25 year old Kenmore has dryer finally died. We are limited by depth and after a lot of research we ended up buying a Speed Queen set. They will be delivered tomorrow.
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There are combination washer dryer machines that dry the load after washing it. The drying is typically more energy efficient (they may need only a 120V 15A circuit, versus a typical 240V 30A circuit), but that can mean longer drying times, even if a heat pump is used (and a heat pump can feel like an air conditioner on the outside of it). They may be attractive if space is limited, or you do not like moving the load from the washer to the dryer.
Would you be able to share the depth of the speed Queen? I’m particularly interested in the dryer depth. Our Maytag is from 1995, and since then there is that three inch or so bump out on all the dryers (I think GE makes one without it). Our washer and dryer are in a “closet” and we also are depth restricted.
The depth of the Speed Queen is 28 inches.
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Our Kenmore washer and dryer were replaced with 28 inch depth (I think- I measured from the top to the buttons on the outside) LG front loaders. Been 5 years now and no problems. I have them side by side on the floor in a closet.
In our detached accessory dwelling unit we have the combo washer dryer. It takes about 3.5 hours for a load. You have to be very careful to use like weight clothes in it or they do not dry equally. It’s good for the very small area and no vent, but I prefer my front load LG at home.
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3.5 hours to wash and dry one load? Yikes.
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Yep…and you can’t put another load in the washer while the first load is drying. Very often, I am washing something that is going to be line dried too. I think if I had two loads of wash to do, waiting 7 hours to be done would be way too long.
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Does a combo mean it’s one machine that does both - washes and dries? I’ve never head of this, I’m so confused! 
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yes
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I think if I ever had a combo unit (washer / dryer together), I’d have to get into a different mindset. Would need to do loads more often. Of course this might work for my daughter, who just uses her washer (between closet and bathroom) as a hamper… runs when full.
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I guess you have to carefully segregate clothes so they can have appropriate care when laundering ESPECIALLY for combo washing/drying. Some garments you have to line or hang dry even tho you can machine wash.
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There is a reason Europeans don’t wash their clothes after one wear…
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LOL - I guess I’m training for that (could be helpful if in a teeny place someday?). In retirement, we rack dry most things except sheets and towels. It saves a little bit of energy, and it adds moisture to our dry air. But mostly it saves us listening to the clunky dryer.
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Oh I have never heard on a one-machine-does-all situation! Suppose it could work right in certain situations but I’ll pass - my H seems to generate SO much laundry (he also has surprisingly taken on doing his own which is a WIN).
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The combo units are not common. I’ve heard of some US families that have TWO sets of washer/dryers (in one case there is an old set dedicated to the outdoor farm/horse riding clothes). I’ve only encountered combo units in Europe.
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They are very common in Europe where space in much smaller condos is at a premium.
Also, full size washers aren’t common in Europe. Miele made one specifically for the US market but discontinued it because the cheap Korean competition quickly took over that segment. So all Miele washers and dryers sold in the US for residential use are smaller capacity. When our full sized Miele washer croaked, I couldn’t get another one.
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