The washer dryer combo solves one problem brilliantly, one machine's footprint where two won't fit, and the new heat-pump generation finally fixed the old complaints about drying. The three below cover the breakthrough machine, the budget route and the full-size tower.
1. Best Overall: LG 16/10kg Heat Pump Combo
LG's big combo is the machine that changed the combo's reputation: heat-pump drying in the same drum, wash-and-dry in a couple of hours, and early owners averaging 4.8. The 16kg wash capacity swallows family weeks.
At around $1,950 it's serious money, and the honest combo maths remains: the dry capacity is smaller than the wash capacity, so the biggest wash loads split before drying.
What We Like:
- Heat-pump drying economy
- Huge wash capacity
- One footprint
What We Don't Like:
- Dry load smaller than wash
2. Best Value: CHiQ 8.5/5kg Combo
The CHiQ lands washing and drying in one box at around $800, with early owners at 4.6. For apartments and singles it does exactly what the footprint promises, wash at 8.5kg, dry at 5kg, sequenced overnight.
It dries with a condenser rather than a heat pump, which costs more per load and suits lighter use.
What We Like:
- One-box convenience
- Around $800
- Apartment-sized
What We Don't Like:
- Condenser running costs
3. Best Capacity: LG WashTower
The WashTower is the other answer: a full washer and full heat-pump dryer stacked as one slim column with a shared control panel, rated 4.7 by its first owners. No capacity compromise, no transferring loads between machines at midnight.
At around $3,500 it's a laundry renovation in appliance form, and it wants ceiling height checked before checkout.
What We Like:
- Full-size wash AND dry
- Heat-pump economy
- Single-column footprint
What We Don't Like:
- Renovation-grade price
How to pick a washer dryer combo
Heat pump or condenser is the running-cost fork. Heat-pump combos dry for roughly a third of a condenser's power, which across years of loads pays much of the price gap. It's the spec that separates the new generation from the old reputation.
The dry number is the real capacity. Every combo washes more than it dries. Planning loads around the dry figure, or letting the biggest washes line-dry, is how happy owners use them.
Combos suit space, towers suit volume. A true combo wins where only one machine fits. Where a column fits, the WashTower approach dries while the next load washes, which combos can't.
RELATED: The Best Front Loader Washing Machines and The Best Clothes Dryers
FAQs
Why do combo cycles take so long?
Wash-plus-dry in sequence runs three to five hours on the old condenser generation; the heat-pump LGs cut that meaningfully. Overnight scheduling makes the number irrelevant, which is how owners run them.
Do combos need venting?
No, both condenser and heat-pump types drain moisture down the standpipe. A power point and taps are the whole install, which is why they suit apartments.
