UKC

I'm moving house in the near future and the new house has neither a fridge freezer nor a washer drier. 

I'm probably going to get an 'american style' , free standing Smeg fridge freezer, does anyone have any negative opinions about Smeg as a brand? Or alternative suggestions?

I'm less decided about the washer drier, again free standing rather than integrated  There seems to be several price points £200-300, £600-800 and then 'Miele prices' which is cracking on for £2000! I've heared that they're a very reliable brand, but can they possibly be worth that much of a premium? 

I'm in the fortunate position that price isn't a major consideration, but my Yorkshire pedigree demands value for money!

All opinions welcome.

I used to manage Comet stores and the advice always given ( if price and space are not problematic ) would be to buy fridge, freezer, washer, dryer.

Then if one breaks down you only have to replace one.

I'd then try and flog you FOUR extended warranties instead of two!

I’m probably not the person to advise....

I got 10 years from a £40 reconditioned  condensing dryer.  Back then ISAa were 5% APR so the money earned on savings from not buying new more then covered £50 for another reconditioned one a decade later when it expired...  

Likewise my bog standard Beko fridge freezer has lasted a decade so far...  

I prefer separate devices as washer/driers are rather compromised and a failure is much more work - hand washing and no spin cycle and no drier makes for hard work without a mangle.

Likewise I have a small fridge/freezer and a separate small chest freezer for some redundancy.

AO.com are great

Also, we had a Miele washer for around 12 years which was excellent but expensive.

When it finally broke down we replaced it with a Hoover at half the price and it's still going strong.

I got my washing machine cheaper as it had a small dent.  I’d agree about separate appliances if possible.  

Sadly, space is an issue.

If you’re buying online, I think boots appliances work with AO and allow you to get 4% in boots points 

We've had poor experiences with our Miele appliances (complete refurb kitchen about 12 years ago) - Miele dishwasher / x2 ovens / microwave / fridge-freezer / coffee-machine / steamer. Of these the dishwasher was replaced after 5 years, the mircowave after 7. Add to that maybe 3-4 other call-outs (at daft ££ per time) and I don't think we've had a good return on a top-end brand. Finally, the fridge-freezer packed in just before Christmas & we were told it'd not be worth replacing. It wasn't (certainly not with a Miele!): we have taken a punt on an LG model now; it seems OK.

I’ve got an American style fridge freezer, and I like it, good visibility, but they’re not very efficient space wise, especially the freezer. A standard too and bottom fridge freezer seems to have more usable space. 

I’ve  got Samsung which I like. At the moment which magazine rates LG and Samsung. The iconic smeg fridges are a which don’t buy due to fire risk

If space is limited watch out for the door on Smeg "american style" fridges as they can't be placed in certain positions, eg. where the hinge side is next to a wall.

A friend bought a new Smeg fridge recently and it looks the part from the other side of the room but any closer and you notice how cheap and plastic the door is and how the coloured outer plastic cover doesn't meet tidily with the white inside surface. My £180 beko fridge feels better quality by far.

I only buy Bosch/Siemens/Aeg now and have been rewarded with solid performance.

Have heard Smeg have become popular through a bit of marketing/product placement: a pastel-coloured big fridge with S M E G on the door is the thing to have to impress your mates. Not saying they are especially poor but they aren't necessarily outstanding.

I had a Bosch FF that was good, would have another. Look out with Bosch, the more expensive models are made in Germany, the cheaper ones aren't (check the serial number sticker/badge) - this may not guarantee or really mean anything, but I have noticed the German-made models seemed a bit more solid and had a bit of a sturdier feel.

Washer-dryers: the dryer never seems to work that well. Also means the motor and other parts are working a lot more than spreading the load over 2 seperate machines. Any chance of being able to stack a dryer on top of the washer?

AEG mid range and above have a good reputation. I was a bit disappointed that my washing machine broke after 14 years, but all my other appliances are still going strong. I always buy appliances that come with at least 5 years warranty as standard, as I think this shows the manufacturer has confidence in it. Never pay for an extended warranty, it's just an expensive insurance policy.

It's worth going for a heat pump dryer if you can get one in a washer dryer or have space for separates. It will pay for itself in reduced electricity bills and is gentler on your clothes.

Fridges and freezers we have always bought cheap ones, never had any problems  

I have a big issue with washer dryers, last time I looked they were all of the condensing variety and they use water to cool the heat exchanger for fun. 

Why is that a massive issue?  Mine is and it successfully dries the clothes, and the water bills are not ridiculous.

Minor point but miele washers are deeper than most, so if you are slotting one in to a previous space it might stand proud

Re washer/dryer, as others have said go separate. I formed the view a couple of years ago after a lot of research on washing machines that apart from Miele (and maybe another brand I’ve forgotten) they’re all shit, so buy a cheap one and pay a couple of quid a month to insure it. Make sure the dryer isn’t one of the ones that have been setting people’s houses on fire. 

Miele are amazing, wouldnt buy anything else

get what you pay for

Christ! you're paranoid about everything from Alexa eavesdropping to solar flares knocking out the grid....

and then you pay to install a lethal incendiary device in the middle of your home.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/649962/half-a-million-beko-fridges-p...

Mum's had a Miele for 25 years plus. She's had to have the drive belt replaced once. We bought one 13 years ago, works fine, never had a problem with it.

Lot of hassle replacing bulky white goods, buy something decent and hopefully  you won't have to bother again for a couple of decades.

Our Miele washing machine has taken a hammering for 13 years and is still going strong.

A couple of times there were minor problems that we were able to solve ourselves by reading the manual and doing what it said.

I’m sure I’ve said elsewhere that any rumours of EMP protection at Wintertree Towers are totally unsubstantiated...  

I’ve checked our model and serial number against the faulty ones.  I’m more worried about the condensing tumble dryer - it’s not allowed on unless we are in the house, and it’s on a stone floor in an empty corner of plasterboarded room.  It’s not a known dangerous model but having repaired it once and seen how fluff penetrates it’s every nook and cranny...  

As others have saids of possible find space for a separate dryer.

We have a Hotpoint aqaurius washer dryer (£300-400 price bracket, we got it as a cosmetic second off eBay), had it for 3 years and have been using it for washing and drying cloth nappies for the last 12 months and it does the job. It does take a while to dry a load and you can't dry a full load of washing (have to take it out and divide it into 2 or 3 smaller loads) so to wash and dry takes time. 

Speaking to an appliance repair man a few years back, he said buy a good brand name, but base model. Apparently many use the same mechanicals but the more expensive models just have extra complications which break more often.

Personally I would avoid washer driers.

I've had the same AEG washing machine for 17 years, have moved house with it four times and it has never needed to be repaired. When it eventually conks out, I'll buy another! 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Unfortunately I have no room for a washer and a drier. There is a slot in the kitchen for one or the other or a combined one. 

Currently I only have a moderately sized fridge freezer, (and the new house has space for a slightly larger one) which is easily big enough my usage, which I don't think a seperate fridge and freezer would be overkill.

As for brands I'm still pondering, but definetely thinking twice about Smeg now. Wouldn't ever choose Beko either, I worked for part of their empire once and wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

I'd have loved a pink Smeg, but my God, is there a worse brand name in the world? And for a fridge.

We got a grey Bosch in the end as it was much cheaper, and I think it keeps items just as cold.

Does it have a somewhere to put a hot air vent outside? Otherwise you might have to get a condensing one. 

Last one I had was a John Lewis, which is AEG/Electrolux underneath, which was fine.

Current one is a John Lewis built-in one - I've replaced the drum once at about 5 years, but we have hard water here and it corroded the spider. Slightly fiddly, but straightforward and a hell of a lot cheaper than a new machine.

Rarely used the drier function on either - the stuff comes out dry enough to just bung on airer/line outside.

We've had two Miele Washer/Driers.  They are quiet which is important to us because the kitchen is open plan to the living room.    You can work or watch TV with it running and not notice except for the few minutes when the program does a fast spin.   The one we have now has been breaking down once a year with a temperature sensor failure since we got it, which was OK when it was in warranty.  You could buy a cheap new one from another brand for the price of getting the Miele guy out and the parts after your warranty is gone.  So I had to get the sensor off Amazon and swap it myself last time.   The electronics are primitive compared to some of the new ones, they are still old-school things with heavy duty mechanics rather than a fancy control circuit and cheap mechanics.

I think the Miele reliability legend is possibly true for the washing machine only product.  It's the drier that breaks.

I have a big issue with wasting energy for convinience. 

A average household washing machine uses 9000 lts of water a year, a washer dryer uses 14400 lts of water, 50% more water used for the convinience of not having an external vent. Electricity usage is about the same because they still use a heater matrix to provide the warm air then they use 50% more high quality potable water to cool the discharged air to condensate the water from the air.

Im know that some people have no option of an external flue but a lot of people do but either don't know any better or do and don't care or do but chose not to because they prefer the layout with the washer dryer not on an external wall. Summer hosepipe bans are becoming more and more prevelent, toilets are designed for low flow flushes,  shower heads are designed for water conservation but washer dryers fly in the face of all this. 

No, unfortunately not.

I suppose I'll have to bite on this thread being an appliance engineer for the last 40 odd years (just retired) . Smeg fridge freezers are just your average fridge freezer - the retro curved doors if you take them off underneath are standard square doors you're paying for the name. However if money is no object they do have an upmarket range at about £8.5k which looked the business - the one I saw was badged as an AGA had just been repaired by an engineer from Italy - cost £900 for a new compressor, I didnt tell the customer that they probably fitted a standard industrial quality one but if you're in that price range I asuppose money is no object. When buying refrigeration look at the the thickness of the walls and door, the thicker the more efficient, and avoid fripperies.

Washer Driers are the cinderellas of appliances and also some of the most unreliable. The driers are not very efficient and remember they do not dry the same amount that they wash - as a rule of thumb 3 dries to 2 washes (Hotpoint used to advertise 5kg +5kg but believe me they were crap). All the manufacturers have gone down the same route these days with rumblings from the EU and the USA about the scrappage rate of appliances there is going to have to be a shake up of the industry (10% of washing machines are scrapped before they are 5 years old - bloody disgraceful) . At the moment your choice is crap or less crap. Miele are supposedly at the top of the heap and if you can find one with the chrome door and the outer tank made of stainless steel grab it but if it has a large plastic door and plastic outer tub its just average and overpriced. AEG seem to be the best at the top end of the market, the Bosch washer driers are made in China although they seem of reasonable quality unlike their washers which have definitely gone downhill. Lg Direct Drive seem ok but not on large wooden floors (they vibrate). Then you've got the rest.

The Industry representative when tasked about the scrappage rate of appliances said that if there were tighter controls on the quality it would inhibit innovation. Making them last less than 5 years was a great innovation for the manufacturers but not the customer - he should have been sent packing with a size 13 boot up his arse.

I’ve learnt something new here.  Why don’t they use a cross-flow or counter-flow air to air heat exchanger like a stand alone condensing dryer?  Just because it’s more effective to use cold mains water?  That does seem like an outrageous and egregious waste of water.  Doubly so in winter when you’re flushing the heat away instead of circulating it in to the house like a stand alone condensing unit.

Then, bluntly, you should not use *any* tumble dryer.  Or drive a car.

I don't use a tumble dryer, in summer we use a washing line and in winter we spin and hang on the radiators and the odd drying frame. We have a dryer but it's only for emergency use. Planning negates the use of it most of the time. 

I don't drive a car, I do drive a van and if you can enlighten me to how I can transport 1200kg of tools and spares to site without it I'm all ears. 

I do ride a motorbike for pleasure  is it a waste ? Maybe but I get a lot of joy from it.