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| We've decided that is the best way to make use of the space, and while I see that it will be efficient that way, I'm not sure how easy they will be to use once stacked. We didn't get a base although after using them for awhile, I can see where it would be nice not to have to bend so low to get the clothes out of the washer. But do stacked units use the base? If so, is the dryer too tall for a 5'2" person to push the buttons? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| There are stackables (because I looked into them) that have the controls on the bottom of the top machine, rather than the backsplash or side. Just do a little research (they're standard brands, not custom) and you should find lots. |
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| I just bought some and the controls are at the top. |
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| Let us know how you like them. I've thought about getting some, but wasn't sure if they are easy to access or not. Sandy |
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| I have the one piece unit. I am tall (5'11") and I just got tired og bending over to look into the dryer. I hesitated about changing to a one piece, but I really like it. |
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| I have the LG Trom. One of the reasons I picked this set was the controls can be mounted top or bottom. Washing controls at top, dryer on bottom. No charge and ready when they are delivered. My old set was a Kenmore, but even then the controls at top never were a problem. I'm 5'3 and shrinking. Do have to stretch a little to peek into the dryer bottom for little bits of laundry. I'd check on the weight the bases would hold. Not sure I've ever seen them with the units stacked. It may be possible as the dryer really isn't that heavy. But your dryer would be raised another foot. I'm guessing you already have your units. The thing I miss is no folding area with them stacked. It was great side by side. There are two pantry cupboards floor to ceiling on both sides of my stacked units now. One hides the hot water tank, it is open in the back and has a lot of room for air flow. I added a folding table on a door which I can drop down when not in use. This old house would not have had room for two units side by side unless the hot water tank was moved. It eludes me how small the units must have been in past as a norm. What extra room are you trying to utilize? If I could go back to side by side, that is what I would do again for the folding area available. And put cupboards overhead. |
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- Posted by lavender_lass (My Page) on Fri, Aug 6, 10 at 14:58
| My mom got the one-piece stackable unit from Lowe's. It's got the washer with the lid on the top and the dryer above. It's just her...and she loves it :) It gives her a lot more room for storage (and to hide the kitty box) where the drier would normally be. |
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| emagineer, we are going to build a tall cabinet beside it to make up for the overhead cabinet. I never fold in there anyway. It's the laundry room which is now the laundry hallway, lol. We need to move the upright freezer in there, which means the washer & dryer have to upright as well. Most of the units we looked at in the stores were already stacked, and there is a stack kit, so I know that the weight isn't an issue. I can just envision opening the dryer door and pulling it on top of myself though. |
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- Posted by shades_of_idaho (My Page) on Fri, Aug 6, 10 at 22:28
| I wish DH had not even bought a dryer. I rarely use it. I too am thinking of all that wasted space it takes up. Kitties use the top to dine on. So I guess I need a dryer. LOL Sorry no idea on the stacking sets. I have never even been near one to know about them. I did get close to the machines with the bases on them and to me it was yuck. But my washer is top loading so that would make a huge difference. Chris |
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| The dryer is locked well into the top of washer. You shouldn't worry about anything falling over. Enjoy your new experience. |
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| Chris, I don't use my dryer much either. Yesterday it rained and when it started I thought "oh no, I have sheets that need to be dried", and then I remembered I have a dryer. lol |
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- Posted by moccasinlanding (My Page) on Sat, Aug 7, 10 at 16:58
| I have the Frigidaire Laundry Center. It is built as one unit, and it has only ONE plug in, and it is a very nice efficient front loading washer using the HE (high efficiency) detergent. The controls are at the bottom of the dryer unit. There is a small level surface at the junction between the two halves, and I can put some stuff there. The tub is not as large as the top loaders, but we wash more often and don't have humongous loads. The water consumption is VERY little. Think about a large washer using 34 gallons of water per fill to wash, 34 gallons to rinse, and you get an idea of the savings with this front loader. It is also energy star qualified. And when it spins (2 speeds are possible), there is very little water left. Sometimes I cannot tell if I've washed them yet, or if they were just like a damp towel from being USED. Anyway, they all dry quickly and that means less power consumed. I've had this unit for going on 2 years now, and it is still marvelous to use. With smaller wash loads, you don't need to have as large a folding area. And you don't mind having small loads to really give special care to finer clothing items. I am 5'5" and I have no problem with reaching the dryer. All controlls, like I mentioned, are about eye level or slightly lower. I also don't mind leaning down to put the clothes into the washer or take them out. I think the bases are totally unnecessary, and they are a FAD. Just like the colored appliances are. I like my laundry WHITE, and the bathroom fixtures WHITE, and the kitchen appliances all STAINLESS. In small homes, those large appliances are out of place, out of scale, and appear to give importance and status to a totally utilitarian CHORE. Put your money to better use. AND your limited space. |
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| I think the colors are a fad too, and people will be sneering at them in 20 years just like they do turquoise and pink ovens. Remember when almond appliances were THE color? lol I like white everywhere; I don't think it will ever go out of style. |
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- Posted by shades_of_idaho (My Page) on Sat, Aug 7, 10 at 22:47
| ML Very good point on being able to do the smaller loads. I often use my small load setting when I do not want to mix colors. I have a great pull out drying mounted on the wall I use a lot. The sheets are the only thing hard to dry in the winter when i can not use my clothes line. Chris |
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- Posted by moccasinlanding (My Page) on Sun, Aug 8, 10 at 11:42
| Shades, I'm glad you mentioned the pull out drying thingy. Up north, I have one in the basement. But not a pull out. It is a 5 foot wide by 5 foot high rack with I think 8 drying ropes (whatever you call them). I like to use it because there is always a dehumidifier in the basement, and it gets these clothes dry without running the dryer. That includes sheets and other large items. I generally dry blankets in the dryer with some softener to avoid static cling. There are all kinds of pulley systems set up for clothes lines and a reel with line on it to pull out and hook on the opposite wall, up high in the basement, can do wonders for drying sheets and such. It is something I would not mind since the basement is such a utilitarian place to begin with. The only other function besides utilities is the room where my granddaughter and I go to PAINT and have fun together. I even paint furniture there. |
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| I used to have a stacking w/d, I really didn't like using it. I cut my eye lid while unloading the washer, when I stood and ran into the dryer door latch! I find using the dryer and washer tops useful for moving laundry around, so I like the side by side. |
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| Love-love-love our stacked Frigidaire w/d, which is about 4 years old now. Our laundry room is around 6' square at most and when we had the two machines side by side they took up the entire room! It also wasted a huge amount of space above; since I'm only 5'2"ish I couldn't reach more than the edge of a shelf or cabinet mounted above them. So, we had them stacked, which enabled us to hang two nice big (to me anyway, 30x30x12) wall cabinets next to them for cleaning supplies, light bulbs, and such. Rack on the wall for broom/mop/etc. Hooks on the opposite wall for hanging coats, since we have no coat closet. Litter box for a future kitty would go under the wall cabinets, currently cases of dog food are stacked there. It was an ENORMOUS improvement in function for, surprisingly, the house as a whole. There's room enough for a folding drying rack (stored folded) were I so inclined to have one but the VERY few things I have that must hang dry I hang on the shower rod... I make a point of not buying things that must be fussed over like hand washing, dry cleaning, ironing, etc.! I'm "horizontally gifted" along with being "vertically challenged", about 200 pounds, and I bet you I could hang from the top of the dryer without that stacked unit moving at all (and I could almost guarantee you the door would snap off if I tried to hang from that). LOL But if you're nervous about tipping there are these things called "earthquake straps" which are used to secure tall appliances and furniture to the wall (to studs, obviously). The stacking accessory basically bolts the two appliances together so there is no way the dryer's going to slide off the washer. I also have arthritis, back injuries, and little strength in my arms/hands, so I sit on a stool to load the washer down below and don't try to take the wet clothes directly out of the washer to put in the dryer. I sit on my stool, pull the wet clothes out into a basket, put the basket on the stool, and load the dryer from there. If I stand a bit to the side to look up it's easy to read the dial for the different dryer settings and I certainly don't need to do anything like get up on my toes to turn the dial or press buttons. (Top loader washers are a nightmare for me - lifting the wet, heavy clothes at that awkward angle, so painful! My washer spins the clothes so much they are little heavier than dry ones, and if I'm sitting on my stool I'm pulling them straight toward me instead of lifting.) Still needs such niceties as paint, window treatment, etc., but here's my space... |
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| We have stacking Whirlpool Duet Sport units and I love them. They are not mounted on anything, just sitting on the floor and so the dryer is not too high for me (and I'm short!). We have them installed in the trailer we're living in now while we rebuild our home and will be moving them over to the new place and stacking them there too. Would highly reccommend these units! I have also had the one-piece type stackable unit and that one is fine too. |
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- Posted by moccasinlanding (My Page) on Sat, Aug 21, 10 at 21:52
| We had the Whirlpool stacking units in the river house, they were really new. And then that salt water from Hurricane Katrina destroyed them and every other new appliance I'd bought. Sigh.....I truly enjoyed using them. Seemed to me the washer would turn pockets inside out spinning water out of the wash. Loved both units. |
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| johnmarie, thank you for the picture. I'm also 5'2" and anything above the first shelf in the cabinet above the washer is out of my reach, so I understand what you mean. |
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- Posted by mama_goose (My Page) on Sat, Aug 21, 10 at 23:14
| LOL, this thread reminds me of the stacking W/D my DH and I had the first year we were married. The dryer sat on a metal stand, above the washer. To do laundry, we rolled the washer over to the bathroom sink, attached the hose to the faucet, and filled the drum with water, laundry and detergent. Then set it to wash, came back and drained it into the tub, repeated the process to rinse (several times), and then set it to spin. And they called it an 'automatic' washer! My DH keeps half his wardrobe on top of our dryer, so we need the side-by-side (more closet space for me.) ;) |
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- Posted by moccasinlanding (My Page) on Sun, Aug 22, 10 at 11:26
| MamaGoose, Sears made a small washer dryer set, you could buy them individually, and they had an optional "stacker" you could buy and use to stack the two appliances. The dryer was very light weight, and it was run on 110 power, a regular plug would do. I had such a stacked setup at MoccasinLanding. I think they called them "apartment sized." Very compact. |
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- Posted by wantoretire_did (My Page) on Thu, Sep 2, 10 at 17:12
| johnmari - We are buying a doublewide manufactured home soon, and I was going to go with the all in one Frigidaire front load washer/dryer so I could have a little "flat space", but just read some very unfavorable reviews. Need the extra space to put a small freezer in the laundry room, and are now thinking about the Frigidaire stacked like yours How is it for you, having no flat space? |
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| Wanto...My laundry area is open to the kitchen (PO took out wall), units stacked and cabinets are ceiling height on both sides. There really isn't a folding area. Although I did put a unit of hooks at the top of a side door for hangers and a small drop down table top is attached on same door. This works for a couple of loads, if I go beyond two then I'm expand to the kitchen counter. So, in reality I don't have a folding area either. Many people tell me they fold on their bed, or the couch while watching TV, I've tried and it just doesn't happen. Am still wishing for a folding area, just won't happen due to the layout of room. |
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