Independence!
I have only had this dryer for about 10 days now but I'm very happy with it! There is one other review for this dryer and in it they say it takes a long time for the clothes to dry... this is true. But I think it's to be expected since this dryer can simply be plugged into any outlet unlike a normal dryer. So smaller dryer... less power... longer drying time. The reason I'm giving this unit 5 stars is because if getting out the laundry mat is as important to you as it was to me then the extra drying time is more than acceptable. Also this dryer is VERY QUITE simple to use and set up. For the first 5 loads I just had the machine sitting on the floor near a window - I didn't even have the hose out the window. It did get my apartment a little warm and humid (not since I've put the hose out the window of course) but I'm just making the point that it is very easy to set up.
How long does it take to dry clothes? I'm still trying to get all the drying times down myself. But I'm having much better luck using the timed dry instead of the auto dry. On auto drying it does seem to take hours before it finally stops. So I've just started to try and figure how long certain things dry. For example my sheets (fitted bottom and the top sheet) I'm drying now between 60 or 90 minutes. On both times the sheets are close to dry and hanging them up for a little longer is enough. I guess this review is a little premature since I don't have the dry times down yet. But I have the feeling 90 minutes will dry most stuff about 90 percent.
I think once I make the adjustment and get things organized drying will not be a hassle at all. And for me the extra fiddling I have to do while drying in my apartment is so much better than having the hassle of organizing taking everything out of apartment waiting digging up quarters using a machine that has been used 100000 times instead my nice new machine.
UPDATE! THE SOLUTION! March 18 2009
I have owned now the Haier Washer and Haier Dryer now for 5 months and I still am incredibly happy with my purchase. Even with the very long drying times with the dryer I love not having to go down to the W&Ds in the apartments laundry room.
But there is a solution to the long drying time with the dryer: Not long after posting my review C. Mok posted this comment (note: the spin dryer is very small 24 inches high 14 inches in diameter - $134.00 + shipping - and only one company seems to sell them in the US):
C. Mok says:
May I suggest complementing your electric dryer with a small spin dryer? I bought a spin dryer on a whim when I remembered those were the only things used in Asia when I was there during the 80s. It has worked really well along side my small portable washer in my small apt. I hang dry most of my laundry except when I'm in a hurry. The spin dryer cuts drying time in half easily. Most spin cycle on washers go about maybe 600 - 800 rpm. The little spin dryer spins at 3000rpm. On a small wash (2 bath towels) it can spin out over a quart of water (over 32fl oz) in less than 2 minutes. That is a significant amount of water to evaporate using normal dryers. This will shorten your drying time and also save your clothes from heat damage from the prolong drying times. The only catch is trying to balance the load in the small spin dryer. I find it easiest to load all the heavy cotton clothes on the bottom and the lighter synthetic clothes on the top. Then give it a good shove and compress everything tightly down. Thats has worked really well for me. Check out [...]for a small spin dryer. Good luck!
I finally bought the spin dryer to work with my Haier dryer about a month ago and now washing and drying is very similar to using normal sized machines. Now there is just a very short middle step. I'll give examples of some of the basic loads I do each week.
Whites (socks 10-12 pair underwear 10-12 pair t-shirts 2-4):
After using the washing machine I put all clothes in the spin dryer. It is important to pack the spin dryer the way the manual suggests to prevent the dryer from bouncing around like R2-D2 in a bad mood. With small items like socks and underwear though it's pretty easy and after experience you will see what you can just drop and press in the SD (spin dryer)and what you need to wrap around. I does sound like this middle step is a pain but after you use it a bunch of times it's pretty easy and you don't give it a second thought. When you turn the SD on it starts to spin shakes a bit then settles down and gets very quiet as it picks up speed. When you first use the spin dryer you think wow i got ripped off! No water is coming out!.... But wait... after about 30 seconds water starts flow out. Dribbly at first but then... wow! With a full load CUPS of water fill your water catcher. I have had between 1 and 5 cups of water (normally 2-3) depending on what I was washing. Once the water flow starts to slow down you turn off the machine. It only takes 2-3 minutes.
I then take my clothes and put then in the Haier dryer and set the timer to 90 minutes. After 90 minutes the clothes are BONE DRY. I'm not sure how long it actually takes but if the load is a little smaller there is a very good chance they will be dry after only 1 hour.
Darks: 2 pairs of pants 6-8 T-shirts 1 sweat shirt. In the SD you do now need to put the pants in first wrapped into the bottom of the machine then the sweat shirt then the shirts. Again after 90 minutes - bone dry (as I said they are probably done after 70 min? 80 min? I'm not sure because I just open it after the buzzer goes off.
Sheets (king size): OK sheets are the only thing that I wash that can be slightly problematic. Because these are large items they can make R2-D2 (the spin dryer) unhappy. You have to be the most careful here wrapping them into the spin dryer. In the Haier Dryer also they can at times ball up. I normally wash 2-3 sheets at a time. Put them all in the spin dryer at once then in the Haier dryer for 60 minutes EACH. I found that they don't ball up when you dry them separately. So yes it would still take you 2 hours to dry 2 sheets.
The Washer and dryer are freakishly quite but the Spin Dryer does have a lot of vibration at the beginning and end of it's 2-3 minute spin. Not a big deal because of the short time but if you have thin floors and a neighbor under you they might wonder what is going up every 45 minutes for 3 minutes while you are doing laundry. I suggest getting 1 or 2 thick squares of carpet.
UPDATE July 6th 2009
I did just read the comment from someone who had problems ordering a spin dryer. I can't speak for that company other than mine arrived on time and in good shape and still works like new. I did go to the BBB link and did only see 1 complaint about the company.
For reasons I don't understand I was only ever able to find 1 company in the US that sells a spin dryer. Maybe some enterprising individual might think of importing some from a country that uses them more and start a business selling them. I had a friend who told me that they are pretty common in Europe. (Note: I do remember I had to wait a month to order a spin dryer from the Laundry Alternative because they were out of stock. I'm not vouching for the company - just giving my personal experience.
November 6 2009 UPDATE
I was curious to see how long I've had my washer and dryer to calculate how much I've saved in quarters (13 months x $20 = $260). It's been over a year so I thought I'd add a first year update. The washer dryer and spin dryer all work like new. Which is great I'm not sure if I'm lucky or not but in my case they are fine. I did make the decision not to use bleach early on. I'm not sure if that has made any difference.
As far as drying. I reread my review and while it is true if you use the spin dryer before the Haier dryer your wash will be bone dry in 90 minutes that is with a small-med load. If you fill the dryer to the max. It will take 2-2.5 hours to dry. I just make sure to do medium loads more often.
My mom told me a secret to drying sheets! I still dry one sheet at a time for 90 minutes but my mom said AND SHE WAS RIGHT if you put in a DRY towel (I use a big one) the sheet does not ball up while it spins. This has made a big difference in drying sheets which are a pain to dry. I also bought a retractable clothesline from amazon. So when I dry sheets (I don't use the spin dryer for sheets because the sheets are so big they can make the spin dryer go out of balance) I hang one on he clothes line and they dry 1 for 90 minutes. Then I take the one out of the dryer and put it on the clothes line and put the one one from the clothes line in the dryer. Sometimes I have to put a sheet in for another 30 minutes.
Also you really do need pull out and clean out the filter after every load. It really makes the drying time MUCH faster because it allows the air to flow out of the machine. You have to clean the lint off the "catch" and also the black filter thingy. Someone posted that an improvement on removing the filter would make the dryer a lot better. I totally agree with that.
The bottom line is: It depends on your personality; which do you dislike more? Digging up quarters piling up your soap on your clothes in a basket and making a bunch of trips to the laundry room once a week or setting up these crazy contraptions in your apartment and turning your laundry doing into an art form where you have to get creative and be a little unorthodox.
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