I find this more compelling technology than Chat GPT. I wonder if this thing will fold my clothes.
We Keep Leaving Wet Laundry in the Wash. Help Is Here.
The typical American load, on average, sits unattended for more than two hours. Technology aims to solve that.
New combo machines are trying to end one of laundry’s biggest soap operas.
By Jiyoung Sohn, WSJ
Aug. 13, 2024 9:00 pm ET
With five children and a teaching job, Sandra Markowitz, 37, has an endless list of chores. None stress her out like the two daily loads of laundry. A main reason: Leaving wet clothes in the washing machine.
“Probably, like, twice per week I’d forget,” she says. “It puts you behind.”
Her dampened mood about laundry changed about a year ago. That’s when she bought a new “GE Profile Ultrafast” machine that does both the washing and drying together. No more sour stenches from forgetfulness. No more redos. It has made her life easier. “I mean, I am constantly washing clothes,” says Markowitz, of Columbia, S.C.
The new combo machines aim to end one of laundry’s biggest soap operas: Remembering to lug the wet clothes into the dryer.
The typical American load, on average, sits unattended for more than two hours, according to GE Appliances’ data that analyzed 13 million cycles across 90,000 homes between 2020 and 2022.
Two-in-one machines have existed for decades, found largely in Europe and Asia, though they took eons to finish—and often left clothes moist.
These latest incarnations, from GE Appliances, owned by China-based Haier Group, and South Korea’s LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics, offer bigger capacity, stronger drying power and more energy efficiency. They’re roughly the size of a typical washer or dryer today, and cost about $2,000. The initial rollouts since last year occurred largely in the U.S. and South Korea. A conventional load of laundry takes around two hours to finish, the companies say.
The manufacturers aren’t shy about spinning. Samsung’s pitch is, “Save time, save energy.” GE’s offering has “more five-star reviews of any washer-dryer combo,” says Lee Lagomarcino, the firm’s vice president of clothes care. And LG’s home appliance product-planning lead, Simon Youn, describes his company’s machine this way: “In many ways,” he says, “it’s the dream washer.”
Ben Schlichter, a repair technician in Circleville, Ohio, who also reviews appliances on YouTube, thinks the all-in-one machine has the potential to be industry-changing—especially since U.S. consumers crave convenience. His GE Ultrafast review, where he donned a Maytag repairman uniform, has garnered more than 769,000 views and is titled: “The Best Washer Dryer EVER?”
“It’s probably the biggest thing I can see in the American market since I’ve been doing appliances,” says Schlichter, 38, who got his start seven years ago.
After washing, the heat pump circulates hot air within the drum, drawing moisture from the laundry. The moisture-laden air is then carried to the heat exchanger, where the water is extracted and drained out.
The dry air is recirculated, unlike traditional dryers that expel air through a vent.
This process uses about 60% less energy than vented electric dryers. With the new combo machines, it takes roughly two hours to wash and dry a conventional load of laundry.
Hannah Aeby considers herself a laundry hater. The 38-year-old government employee from Salem, Ore., with two teenagers, often confronts a “Laundry D-Day” of four loads. That includes the awkward dance of checking if the dryer and washer are done so she can get to her next batch. And she often forgets.
“It would be so simple if you could put all the laundry in at once,” says Aeby, who wants to consider the new machines when it’s time to replace her washer and dryer.
Wes and Emily Duncan, of Osawatomie, Kan., have busy work schedules that leave them little home time before having to crash for the evening. After buying a combo LG machine, he says he no longer deals with dirty clothes piling up. “It’s a set it and forget it system,” says the 34-year-old tech worker.
Eliminating the washer-to-dryer transfer removes one of the most dreaded parts of laundry, but there are ways to navigate a two-machine world, says Patric Richardson, who calls himself the “Laundry Evangelist.” People can use less detergent to make wet clothes easier to handle, or set a phone alert to remind them when a cycle is finished. Mostly, he advises people to avoid multitasking with a washer load under way.
“People don’t like that I just got settled into the next episode of ‘The Bear’ and I have to stop,” says Richardson, referring to the FX show. “You kinda plan your time.”
The new combo machines aren’t perfect. Jeff DiNanno, of Austin, who owns the combo LG machine, says the two-in-one appliance is a more complicated machine that uses sensors to discern the material type, which sets the amount of detergent used and the total wash-and-dry time. He’s found that it’s better not to toss together his towels, cottons and polyesters, as the drying time becomes longer.
“If I mix loads, I find that it becomes somewhat confused,” says DiNanno, 51, who works in the AI industry.
Then there are those such as Jennifer Bagheri, of San Francisco, who balk at relinquishing the ability to wash a second load while the first load is in the dryer—especially with the extra stuff to clean from her one-year-old. She frowned at reviews of the combo machine’s slower drying times with bigger loads. She plans to stick with her current stand-alone Whirlpool washer and dryer. “I don’t mind doing laundry,” says Bagheri, a 40-year-old digital director.
Hannah Aeby, who considers herself a fervent laundry hater. Photo: Hannah Aeby
The introduction of combo machines—much larger than their predecessors—is aided by higher-powered heat pumps and design advances. Stand-alone vented dryers, commonly found in U.S. households, heat up air, then pump it outside with vents. The heat-pump drying technology in the combo versions recycle the air inside the machine. The motor movements for drying clothes were recalibrated in LG’s machine, according to LG’s Youn, to account for internal drums that now had holes needed for water drainage.
Having a combo GE machine allows Aaron Gibbs, of Wichita, Kan., to do the once unthinkable: starting a load before falling asleep. Waking up to clean and dry clothes, he adds, is downright satisfying. “I don’t see myself ever going back to a separate washer and dryer,” says Gibbs, 47, a software developer.
To Markowitz, the mother of five, the switch to the combo machine left more space in her laundry room. Her husband hung up a clothes rack and installed a shelf where the dryer used to be. She was so satisfied she bought a second one for a rental property she owns.
There’s just one missing feature.
“Fold my clothes—that’s the dream,” Markowitz says. “Fold my clothes please!”
—Soobin Kim contributed to this article.
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