LG WM3431HW

Seriously, did no one think beforehand that this is a bad design? To begin with, you can't put a second load into the washer while the other one is "drying," thereby extending the time you are using the… electricity, the water, etc. From what I've read, it's normal to take 4-5 hours for this machine to do one small load? That's crazy too. Your clothes literally get imprisoned in the machine all afternoon. What if you only want to dry the clothes for 20 minutes, then hang them? I'm not sticking around long enough to figure that one out. I'm getting rid of this machine--don't care what it costs! In addition, the child lock feature is ridiculous (you have to wait 2 minutes to even open the door after turning off the machine), especially if you do not have small children and I doubt most people with children would have a machine this tiny. It appears to be gurgling water in and out while it's supposedly drying, making noises so loud, it is impossible to think, let alone work. With the noises it is making, it absolutely has to be guzzling down water and we are in a drought. In addition, the dryer lets off so much heat too that it heats up the apartment and if you have air conditioning you have to turn that up to counteract the heat it is producing. These energy-sucking appliances should be outlawed, or they should create something that is the opposite of Energy Star...Energy Sucker?!? I think that LG should be brought up on charges for advertising that this is an "efficient" machine. Not time efficient, not energy efficient. Space efficient, maybe, but you're using the same square footage with the stackable units, just taking up more vertical space. Nothing good about this machine. Nothing. Nada. If I could figure out how to give it 0 stars, I would!

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I have had my LGWM3431 combination for five years, and have never had a problem with it. Since I noticed that Amazon is showing a good deal on it right now, I thought I would offer some experience with the… machine. I am disabled, so we bought it and had it placed on the manufacturer's pedestal, allowing detergent storage at the bottom of the machine. It also stabilizes the machine so it doesn't vibrate on the floor. I am delighted to have the door at waist-height, and I am very happy with the way this machine cleans. It is not harsh on the fabrics and the steam drying system makes everything soft. The total wash/dry cycle on the permanent press setting is 3:11 - and I would recommend the permanent press cycle for most clothing to alleviate some of the wrinkling from steam drying. Sometimes I add an extra 30 minutes of drying, which takes out that dampness. I think my husband has had to clean out lint about 3 times in 5 years, so the lint problem is not a serious one. I agree with the commenter who said to to be careful of lint with small rugs, blankets, etc. The cycles are pretty flexible, too - you can do wash only, rinse only or dry only, so you might want to air-dry some of the really linty things, then put them in on a 30 minute dry to fluff them.. The previous owner of our house had one of these, so we bought one because we didn't want to overtax our septic system. We live in a country area near a pond used for swimming and boating, and land drainage can be a problem. This machine uses much less water than a standard machine. The real advantage is the "set it and forget it" approach to laundry. We put a load in at night before bed, and in the morning it's done. The extra 30 minute drying cycle will warm up your towels or skivvies just fine. I really have no complaints at all about the machine, and I would recommend it especially for folks with limited septic or who would benefit by not having to move the wash from one machine to the other.

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When looking for a new machine I was searching for a combo side loading unit. They're uncommon in the US but pretty much standard everywhere else (smaller houses I guess). Running the dryer is one of the… most expensive appliances in most households (and pretty nasty for your carbon footprint) so having the ability to dry (for wet days or emergencies) but not using it routinely is a great fit for this machine. It's smart metering of water and heat depending upon what you put in it is really cool. It uses smart sensing for drying as well so the long cycle time is only really for full loads. (quick drying sheets or shirts can be done in 30 mins or less). You will need to run more smaller loads than a large top loader but you'll still save money (plus a drum system is much kinder on your clothes than a top loaded paddle design).

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I've had this unit for over 2 years and I'm very happy with it. I am amazed at all of the folks who think they can buy an appliance and expect not to perform any sort of minor cleaning or maintenance on it… at all - especially something like a washer/dryer which you know has got to be getting dirty/linty inside. I see many complaints about the unit being less and less able to dry clothes after some months of operation. Since there is no user-accessible lint filter, the lint accumulates inside the air recirculating chamber until it clogs it up and at that point, the unit will start giving you trouble in the drying cycle - at first taking a bit longer to dry, then finally not drying at all. Luckily, this unit is easy-as-pie to clean out. I have created a web page that outlines the process, which takes less than an hour: [...] In the two years that I've owned this unit, I have had to do this twice. It's much easier than my previous upright stacked washr/dryer combo (Kenmore) and I don't have to worry about calling a professional to snake-out the duct leading to the outside, which was always a headache because it was a long run and nobody had a long enough snake. Some things that can make internal lint build-up happen faster are: a lot of drying of throw rugs & things that have rubberized surface, and using too much detergent. Use no more than a tablespoon of HE detergent in this model! Most of the times I use only a teaspoon. Also, this unit has a smaller drum so don't pack it full or it won't dry no matter how clean it is. 2-3 pairs of jeans or 3-4 towels at a time max. If LG made a mistake when marketing this condensing dryer technology, that mistake is simply in not educating the consumer about operation and how to clean it when it gets clogged with lint on the inside. Otherwise the dryer is wonderful.

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