- 2.7 cu. ft. Capacity
- 9 Wash Cycles
- 6 Dry Cycles
- 1300 RPM Spin Speed
- LoDecibel Quiet Operation
QUALITY
The build quality of this washer/dryer combo is inconsistent: On the plus side, the machine is heavy enough to stay put, and the drum feels so solid that you could wash bricks in it. Giving 10 years warranty on the motor is also a nice touch. On the other side, the entire front (including the secondary "glass" and shiny bezel around it) is made of plastic, the control panel gets hot (can't be good for the electronics), and I have observed kinks, such as a program starting in the middle maybe 1 out of 10 times, requiring an extra off/on.
THE WASHER
Frontloaders are only now making inroads in the US market, and if you believe "the internet", they are magical. I can confirm at least some of the claims in this specific incarnation: First, the washer is extremely frugal with all consumables involved: I'm down to 2 tablespoons of detergent and 1 of softener with no adverse effects; water is kept no higher than a puddle at all times, and the 1 hour cold cycle runs on a measly 0.1 kWh (or 3 cents for me). Second, the machine is easy on clothes: there are Delicate and Wool modes to give you an idea, plus I have successfully cleaned neoprene wetsuits (with special detergent), which are said to be shredded by agitators.
The major downside to the design is that the horizontal drum causes vibrations that many US homes cannot easily absorb. Consider my case, top floor of a pre-war walkup, woodbased building: even on medium spin speed, the contents of the fridge next to the machine would rattle loudly, and I only saw some relief after I bought Sorbothane Silent Feet. I'm fairly content now, but I still feel the machine should have better built-in vibration reduction, especially considering that LG is the company that showed off a washer operating on 4 glasses a few years ago!
THE DRYER
The dryer is the weaker part in this package. For starters, a full cycle runs for 4 hours (on top of the 1 hour wash), which makes this machine unsuitable for big family laundry days. There is no lint filter, so you'll have to pry things out of the seal afterwards, and one low-temp cycle eats up 1.5kWh (= $0.50), somewhat negating the overall efficiency advantage. And as if all that wasn't enough, I swear I see more wrinkles than before, with my Brooks Brothers "wrinkle free" shirts now coming out in MORE need of ironing than regular shirts!
Now all that said... if you can navigate around those issues (also see TIPS below), the advantage of the combo design begine to shine: all you have to do is drop in the dirties, set the timer, go to work, and come back to a readily washedanddried package! I've gotten used to doing this during the week, and found that I have more clean clothes available than before at any time, therefore donated some, AND gotten rid of my large dirtylaundry container! That was an unexpected triplewin in the space department for me, and worth the tradeoffs.
OPERATION
I find this machine easy enough to use, although there is room for improvement. Basically, you go from left to right: fill in the detergents, pick a cycle (cotton is the default), pick options (extra water, etc), select a dry mode, and press play. What irks me a little is that selections crossinterfere: for example, the machine may override your just-picked spin speed when you select a dry mode. Also, some drying combinations are missing: you can do time (30, 60, 120), dryness (damp, normal, extra), or "low temp", but no other permutations. For my wool pants or dive suits, a delicate wash cycle followed by 30 mins of lowtemp drying would have been perfect, but nope....
One nice feature worth mentioning: you can interrupt the program at any time, change any setting or open the door, and then resume. Even with the Extra Water option selected, nothing will pour out (like I said, frugal).
NOISE
This machine is specifically marketed as quiet, an important feature when you want to sell to urbanites who perhaps plan to sneak it into their apartment (usually forbidden) . And yes, the directdrive motor is a winner: all you get is a gentle hum at normal wash speeds. However, there are two problems (three if you count vibration, above):
The water inlet valves open/close/open/close/etc... up to six times each time water is added, and this triggered buildingwide "water hammer" events in my case. I used to think that this, too, was my building's fault, but I found that many people experience this with LG machines even in new construction. Thankfully, there is a solution to it: socalled "water hammer arresters" like this Sioux model help out a lot.
The pump that gets the water out is loud. That being a vague qualifier, I ended up measuring it (we've all got issues!): washing or drying registers around 60dB, but when the pump comes on, the sound level jumps to 70dB. For comparison, these numbers happen to be the range of human conversation: it's like someone speaking very softly (60 dB), then suddenly borderline shouting (70 dB). This keeps happening during the 4hour dry cycle as well, not just the washing.
TIPS
After a couple months of use, here are a few practical tips I'd like to pass on:
Use powder instead of liquid detergent. You'll be able to do a prewash this way as well as use the timer feature. The softeners is ok in liquid form and won't drip down.
To save on electricity and ease ironing, make sure you pick the fastest spin speed possible, then shorten the dry cycle. For business shirts or synthetics, I'm getting away with as little as 30 min drying time.
To run the dry cycle by itself: select "drain and spin" on the knob, set your dry option, then unselect the spin speed et voilà! you can dry your clothes some more or use Dryel sheets this way.
RECOMMENDATION
One the one hand, this is the best appliance I've ever purchased: spacesaving, efficient, and a heavenly luxury compared to the alternative which is an inconvenient and pricey "wash and fold". If you're in a similar situation, I predict you'll absolutely love this machine for what it does to your routine. On the other hand, there are some considerable flaws, mostly the noise level, slow drying, and the vibration issue. Overall, if you actually have the space for two machines, a separate washer / dryer would be the safer bet.
Buy LG 2.7 CF COMBO WASHER-DRYER WHITE Now
I actually have the model LG was selling before this one. The only difference is that this new one is 2.7 cu ft, while mine is 2.4.I've had mine for a year now. We have a small apartment, and saving space is very important for us. We used to have a stackable washer/dryer, that worked fine, but took too much space. Also, out building would not allow us to make a hole in the building wall, so we had to open the window when we used the dryer, and stick the exhaust vent through the window.
When I learned about this lg machine, i was very skeptical. I read reviews that said it did not dry well, took to long to go through the cycle, wrinkled the cloth, vibrated too much, etc. Now after having this machine for a year, I can say I am quite happy. Just do your research and know the limitations of the machine and how to take care of it.
It uses condensation to dry, so do not load it fully, if you want to dry the cloth.
It needs HE detergent. So use HE, and use just a tiny bit less than a table spoon.
Clean the rubber gasket on the bottom remove the lint that assembles there.
If you do these simple things, it will dry cloth very well. So far, after a year of using it, I have not experienced any problems.
Also, if you do not load it fully, setting the dryer to dry for an hour will often be more than enough to dry your cloth. This way you can have your cloth washed and dried in 1.5 hours not too much worse than regular washer/dryer.
Also, for the first 2-3 weeks the mchine would take a long time to balance the load during spin cycle. After a few weeks it setlled and now balances very well.
Overall, if you have space, but regular washer and regular dryer. If space is limited, or you cannot have the dryer vent go through the wall, this machine will work fine.
Read Best Reviews of LG 2.7 CF COMBO WASHER-DRYER WHITE Here
I purchased my washer/dryer through Amazon over a month ago. After reading reviews, I was a little concerned about the wash/dry times. After using the unit I have found this to be a non issue. It is important to follow the instructions and I do not over load the unit when drying clothes. I have found it easiest to run the wash only cycle first, then remove the items I don't want to dry. I then turn on the dry cycle (you do this by turning on the unit, not selecting a wash cycle, choosing a dry cycle and turning off the spin cycle). The clothes may feel damp when I first remove them, but I find as I'm folding them that they are infact dry.The unit is very quiet which is great as I live in a very small space.
One item to note is that drying sheets should not be used, as it hampers the sensor when drying.
It is very convenient when washing large loads (such as sheets, etc) to be able to set the wash/dry cycle at once and then remove the items dry. I used to forget items were in the washer and then have to re-wash them before I could move them to the dryer.
I find I have to wipe down the door seal, which collects most of the lint, between each load. I found the water/lint removal on the bottom a little tedious, but since you only have to clean it once a week it isn't too inconvenient. Nice not to have to deal with the dryer lint anymore.
The unit was shipped from Amazon right to my door. The installation was very easy as LG provides step by step instructions. I did have to live chat with LG support to figure out how to run the dry only cycle. They were very helpful.
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I've only ordered major appliances on-line twice, once from Home Depot, and once through Amazon.com. The Amazon.com order was executed without a hitch, the Home Depot order not so much. We are still hassling with Home Depot about getting a promised refund and gift card.This unit installed and operates exactly as advertised. The only caveat is that these units take a while to dry completely, but that's a function of the drying technology used. For me, it was a reasonable trade-off for not having to install a vent.
We got this unit for my 88-year old Dad, who lives alone in a studio apartment 120 miles away from us. We basically just needed to tell him: don't put too many clothes in, turn on the water, put a tablespoon of detergent in this drawer, then press these two buttons. We decided to leave the clothes a little damp to avoid wrinkles, and he hangs the clothes (spaced out a bit in his closet) for final drying.
If you're looking for a simple, small-footprint solution that doesn't require a vent, and are willing to wait, this is the washer/dryer for you!
BACKGROUND
I saved this review until (almost) last because it is the most complex in several ways. I think when you consider washers and dryers you have to consider in what category you are trying to operate. Are you using it intensively like a commercial machine? Are you using it to the exclusion of other options? Or are you using it for small loads at most twice or three times a day? For us, it is the perfect solution because we live in an apartment, have limited space and have access to commercial machines in the basement (not to mention the 5 store-front cleaners in the neighborhood who will pick up, clean and deliver laundry). But we wanted an in-apartment solution for the babies' clothes and for emergency situations ("honey have you seen my white jeans? Oh no, they're dirty and I need them tonight..."). Our contractor did a great job designing the cabinetry around this. When it's not in use you would not even know we have it, and when it is in use we leave the cabinet doors open. They are louvered but for helping the heat escape we leave the doors open anyway. We also did not have the option to externally vent the dryer. I've experienced condenser dryers before and dreaded the outcome, but went for it anyway.
THE GOOD
Quiet in every stage except the spin.
It works. Given what you read in some of these reviews, that's no small feat.
It's reliable. After 6 months of use ~4 times per week it is going great.
It can be designed into a lower cabinet space and the cabinet height and depth are normal (leave a comment if you want pictures posted).
THE BAD
There is no obvious way to do just drying (see special notes).
The vibration in the spin cycle is astoundingly strong and loud, but yet necessary so that it pre-dries the clothes as much as possible.
Operations are confusing. It takes some time using it and reading the manual (and who likes doing that) to figure it out.
Unvented dryers are a pain. They are no better now than the older European ones I am familiar with (Bosch). Except that this one drains into the plumbing as opposed to having a reservoir that needs dumping. But they still take forever.
SPECIAL NOTES
1. To do just drying, select the Drain & Spin cycle, then set the Dry cycle you want, then hit the Spin Speed button once to de-select spinning. All you have left is the dryer.
2. To speed the drying cycle, open the machine occasionally during the dry, take the clothes out and put them back in and continue. Each time you do that can take about 15 minutes off the cycle time. Be careful because the steam and the clothes will be H.O.T. hot.
3. Get used to clothes coming out just a tiny bit damp. We find that the clothes are close enough to dry that they in fact dry on their own as we fold them. If you require completely dry clothes, don't get this unit or any other condenser dryer.
4. Remember to occasionally clean the filter. We've done it twice in 6 months and I suspect that is about the right frequency (eg once every 35-40 loads).
COMMENTS TO OTHER REVIEWS
1. "Takes forever": To all those who have said that the drying takes a long time, you are correct. If speed of drying is important, don't get this or any other condenser dryer. But this unit is for a certain type of use. It is not intended to be a replacement for commercial units. For that matter if you live in the 'burbs and have the space for larger, vented, separate machines, I don't know why you'd want this machine. But if you live in a tight space and your needs are limited to at most three loads a day (that's about 12 or more hours of usage), this machine is a GREAT supplement. Compact, functional and quiet are great tradeoffs for speed and throughput.
2. "Clothes are still damp at the end": Not really. If your expectation is that the clothes are 100% dry with not an ounce of moisture the moment they come out of the machine, I challenge you to consider whether the important thing is for the clothes to be dry the moment they come out of the machine or by the time they are folded. We find that we never once have put clothes away damp.
2a. Also, don't over-fill the unit. It's relatively small at 2.7 cubic feet. For comparative illustration, AJ Madison has 288 stand-alone dryers on their site, not a single one of which is smaller than 3.0 cubic feet. Overfill, and the clothes will come out damp on almost any unit.
In conclusion, we strongly support this machine if it fits your needs. I wish more manufacturers would compete in this space because I am sure that competition would compel LG to improve the few weak points, but until then this is a great option.
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