The General Electric WSM2700 Spacemaker ---- GE Top Load Stacked Washer / Dryer

Because this was a product that I didn't purchase with my own funds, I feel I can give a really unbiased review of it based on the many times I have used it. The reason I didn't purchase it, is because it is in the apartment where I am living at the moment. New upon moving in, The General Electric Spacemaker is a really great washer / dryer combo to have, because it fits into a small space. Because they are stacked on top of each other as the same appliance, it keeps your laundry area very compact as well. This particular brand is the WSM2700W/WW/AA, one of a long line of products that have been put out by General Electric. Its measurements are 75.5 inches in height, it has a depth of 30.81 inches, and weighs 277 lbs. It is on wheels, so it is easy to move if you want to, but once it is hooked up you probably don't want to be doing much moving.

The capacity for both devices is 2.7 cubic feet of clothing, so if you can picture that, it is a rather large load of laundry. I would hazard a guess that a weeks worth of clothing for one person can easily be done in one or two loads if all the colors and fabric types can be washed together. That of course depends on how many layers you are wearing, and how many changes you go through, but simply put this is a rather large capacity washer and dryer combo, so you aren't going to be upset at the space it provides. Below the Dryer (and above the washer) is the control panel that runs from left to right, and has the 4 knobs that run both the washer and the dryer. The left ones are the dryer timers, and the on button which has to be pushed once the door is closed. On the right side, you have the washer knobs, with one being the size of the load, one being the water temperature, and the final one being the timer knob.

For the washing cycles, you have the choice of either a regular wash, a permanent press, or for delicate clothes. Selecting one of these is easy with the knob just being turned to the particular wash that you want to go with. You then set the size of the load that you want, ranging from small up to large, and finally decide whether you want the water cold, warm, or hot. When all of that has been decided (and the detergent has been put in) you pull out the washing selection knob, and the washing machine kicks to life. On the dryer side of things you have the knob that will let you decide what type of heat you want to put on the clothes, ranging from regular to delicate as the options. The timer allows for slightly more than 90 minutes of dryer time per load, and you get to that by putting it slightly to the right side of the "90" on the dial. If I had to guess, I would say you get about 95 minutes maximum out of the highest dryer setting.

The washer has worked very well, and I have never had a problem washing clothes in it. As long as you have it on the right setting, and you choose the correct water temperature, you are going to end up with decent if not excellent results. One thing that I have noticed, is if the load is really full, the washer won't dry out the clothes on its spin-cycle as well as it does if there is less clothing. I guess this is to be expected, since the clothes are taking up more room, and thus soaking up more of the water that is being used to rinse them. So, if you put less clothing in, you will probably be able to dry that specific load more quickly. I usually like to deal with the minimum number of loads that I can get away with though, so it is often the case that I will put in a lot of clothing and put them in the dryer to walk away for a while. One of the things I need to get to, is that the dryer functionality is what makes this a somewhat frustrating product to say the least.

As I alluded to, you can set the dryer to run on a regular drying cycle of around 90 minutes. This comes into play, because if you have a load sized medium up to large, you are going to need to whole 90 minutes, if not more time than that. The dryer runs pretty slowly, and I don't think that it heats up enough to keep the clothes in a state of becoming dry for very long. This means that you can't get through a full load of washing and drying in less than 2 hours, unless you are washing the bare minimum of clothing. Often times, I will have to run a second dryer cycle of around 60 minutes more in order to fully dry out all of the load. The other problem with the dryer, is that you are constantly having to clear out the lint traps (removable and static trap) so that the heat can move around in the dryer. Not doing so causes you even more delays, so often you need to pop it open during a cycle, clear out the trap, and close it up to continue through its final cycle.

The advertised annual energy consumption for this washer/dryer set is 793 kWHrs. Along with that, it runs at 120/240V, with a 3-prong grounding receptacle. It also advertises that it runs quiet, but honestly, I would say that the washer is very quiet, with the dryer being loud enough that you want to be in the other room. Another cautionary tale I should give, is that when you are rotating loads, watch out for leaving the door to the dryer not open all the way. A bunch of times I have popped it open, and reached into the washer for clothes, only to slam my head up against the door as I rose up. Just something I thought you should watch out for. The main benefits to the General Electric WSM2700 are of course that it saves you a ton of space, and because it washes the clothes so well. The washer has worked very well in every use, and the dryer works very evenly on all of the clothes. For me the only major draw back is the time that it takes to dry, because time is money when you are running major appliances like this. The combo comes in white, and is selling for around $900 currently, so if you are looking for a set, I do recommend it with the knowledge of what I have covered in this review. I would have to say, that if the dryer worked much faster, that I could give it 5 stars, but I can't do that with its current speed.