Looking for recommendations for stackable washers & dryers to go in a cupboard.
First off, we will be running the dryer with the door open. Just want to head off the inevitable "you can't put s dryer in a closed cupboard" comments.
We have a cupboard that is 610mmx1800mmx680mm and would like to put a washer/dryer in there. We've been looking around and although a lot of machines state up front that they are 600mm deep, upon further investigation it turns out that this is usually the footprint, and the total depth is a lot closer to 650mm, which I've been lead to believe is a bit too close to the back of the cupboard to allow air flow.
So, I'm looking for washer dryer towers that have a bit less depth. Around 8kg capacity on each, and energy efficient and quite. Willing to sacrifice fancy features to get this.
Solution Summary
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This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Stackable washer/dryer depth and cupboard clearance query
- The problem
- The poster needed recommendations for a stackable washing machine and dryer to fit a cupboard sized 610mm x 1800mm x 680mm. The concern was that many machines listed as 600mm deep are actually nearer 650mm overall once the door and controls are included, leaving less rear clearance than expected.
- Likely cause
- No appliance fault was reported. The issue was uncertainty over real appliance depth versus quoted dimensions, and whether limited rear space in the cupboard would be acceptable.
- What fixed it
- The accepted advice was that, with the cupboard door left open, appliances are generally pushed back as far as possible and often still retain some rear gap due to plumbing, plugs or the machine lid overhang. The poster then checked with Bosch technical support and decided Bosch was the likely choice because their guidance on space requirements was less restrictive than Samsung's. Exact installation details or final model selection were not confirmed.
- Checks to try
- Cupboard depth measured as 680mm
- Poster identified that some manufacturers' dimensions do not include the door
- Poster compared Samsung space requirements with Bosch technical support advice
Safety: Do not remove the appliance lid to gain extra space. Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
3 Answers
Hello there. Arguably a cupboard is just a very small room 🙂 as long as the door is left open air can circulate all around and as long as it can get underneath as well (so don't sit it on a carpet). However, as you have noticed, modern washing machines are quite deep. This is to accommodate the extra large drum capacities.
So typically a washing machine or washer dryer will stick out 2 or 3 inches from under a worktop surface, whereas in the past they would fit flush.
I can't offer, "expert" advice regarding the safety of operating one in the cupboard, but it's fair to say that most washing machines are pushed into the space under the kitchen worktop and pushed all the way back until they will not go any further.
There is a natural gap because of the plumbing, or a wall plug, which is usually behind the washing machine, at least in part. Even if there is nothing at the back, I would expect that the vast majority of washing machines are pushed in as far as possible.
Another thing to consider is that most, if not all washing machines, are designed in such a way that the back of the washing machine cannot be pushed flush against a wall. They usually have a lid overhang. This means when you push one all the way back to the wall the back of the lid hits the wall but there are a couple of inches between the wall and the back panel.
Hopefully the cupboard is not upstairs? I would always caution against putting a washing machine upstairs in case it ever leaked, or flooded. It can cause damage to the ceilings or in worst case scenarios flood the downstairs underneath. Washing machines are much less likely to flood these days but it still possible.
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Thanks for that. I think I might have gotten a bit panicked because we've just had this cupboard put in, and we thought we would be fine because we made it 680mm deep, which should allow 80mm clearance at the back, but we didn't realise most manufacturers don't count the door in their dimensions. I was looking into Samsung a lot, and they have very strict requirements for space in their manual. But I talked to Bosch tech support this morning, and they seem much more relaxed about this, so we'll probably go with them.
We're in an upstairs flat in a converted house, so no option there I'm afraid!
The best option might be to go to a large retailer store with a tape measure and look at which ones stick out the least. It's the doors and control panels that are quite bulbous these days.
I remember in about 1980 Hoover brought out washing machines with completely flush control panels and doors, which would have been ideal.
An extreme solution if necessary would be to see if the manufacturers make a height reduction kit which replaces the lid with an overhang with a flat metal plate. That may allow it to be pushed back an extra inch or so. You wouldn't need to fit the rest of the kit.
Don't just take the lid off though. That would be dangerous, not only for electric shocks but if anything caught fire inside the machine it would easily spread.
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