Paris Washer and Dryer

Did they tell you WHY the appliances are hard to use? Maybe they just take forever, like some of the older ones in Germany. Once those are loaded, you can't reopen them and it takes hours for the washers to be done, partly because they're hooked up to cold water only and heat the water inside the machine. Plus the capacity is small but that likely wouldn't be an issue.

They are not hard to use. Many apartments use the combo washer/dryer--all in one unit. Usually, there are instructions, but just play with it. The loads are small and take a lot of time to wash. If it is a combo, the whole wash and dry cycle can take several hours. I usually set it up over night or early morning, so it is done when I return. Sometimes, there is no dryer, but a drying rack is always provided.

You will be fine! And your clothes will be clean!

Jesse, you might ask VIP why they recommend this. It could be specific to the apartment that you are renting. Perhaps prior tenants have had problems.

I rented an apartment from them last October and they made no such recommendation. My apartment had a washer but no dryer. The apartment had instructions in English posted by the washer. I had no problem with it, but every apartment is different.

Often units in Europe are small and the cycle is very long. Once you start the unit, the washer is typically "locked" until the cycle completes. When I lived in London, I had one of those washer/dryer combo units. My clothes always came out in a wrinkled mess (imagine how your clothes look after the spin cycle and then imagine if they dried that way.). The unit was very small and it took about 4 hours for a cycle.

Thanks.

They said they are just different than US washer/dryers and tend to take a long time so they usually recommend using the laundromat.

I guess we'll just see when we get there if it seems doable ..

I wonder if they told you this because the machines are front-loaders and they think most Americans are used to top-loaders. Or "hard to use" could also be a euphemism for "broken." ("Hard to use" is how Parisaddress described our dishwasher, which was, in fact, broken ;)

We had no problem using our washer at the apt we rented in Paris last summer. Yes, it did take a long time, but so does our front-loader here. We found the dryer was way too noisy, so we just hung our clothes on the provided line and they dried overnight. When the sun is shining, Paris has low humidity in the summer, so things dry very quickly.

If you do a small load each night, using the washer shouldn't be a problem, but if you're the type who likes to wait until you have tons of washing, then definitely go to the laundromat.

Jesse, they told me the same thing, so I think it's the complexity or perceived that is the issue. What unit # will you be renting? I specifically wanted an apartment with a washer/dryer!

I know a huge reason I chose that one was because the ease of having a washer/dryer in my apartment. Anyway, in in #29...

Have you gone yet? If so, let me know how it went..

We had a washer and dryer, and besides taking a long time as others experienced it was not a big deal. Our washer was in the kitchen, which is not unusual. The dryer was in the bedroom closet. It did not vent to the outside. Instead, the water collected in a "drawer" in the dryer. We would have to remove the drawer full of water from time to time and walk it across the apartment to dump it in the bathroom.

Just wash smaller loads than you are probably used to and it should be okay.

We just returned from our europe trip, renting apartments in both Paris and Rome. Our landlords in both cases cautioned us from overloading the washers (they were both front loaders, and the Paris one was quite small), and they also advised using the "rapide" wash selection, where the wash takes approx. 30 minutes or so. No problem whatsoever. The Paris apt. had a dryer, where you had to empty a water trap at the bottom; otherwise, just the normal lint traps. The Rome apt. had no dryer- just a rack, which was fine; clothes were pretty dry after hanging overnight and partly into the day (the air is very dry). Just don't wait until your last day to do a load. I am now a big fan of vrbo and apt. rentals vs. hotels.

We were recently in Paris and booked an apt with VIP. Had the w/d combo and followed the instruction to not put more than 11 lbs of laundry in the machine--had no problems at all--took about an hour and clothes were not 100% dry but we put them on a rack before we left for the day. The detergent that we bought at Monoprix was in little round cakes--two per package and it was great--better than anything we buy here.

I will say that the machine that is a combination washer & dryer does seem to take forever, and in my experience, the drying portion never got the clothes completely dry. Luckily, this year we had a separate washer and dryer which made it much easier.

We rented an apartment in Paris with washer and dryer (separate units). The reason they were hard to use for us was that all labels, dials and instructions were in French. This should not have been a big surprise to us, but it was for some reason. What should seem obvious was not. The dryer took a long time and did not get very hot. Once we figured it out it was fine. When someone meets you at the apartment aske them to show you how to work the appliances - washer, dryer, range, oven. We did not do this and struggled to figure it out.

I have to agree with Tim. A lot of these machines are NOT easy to figure out. Make sure that you have good instructions, written in English, or use the laundromat.

Our small machine in Paris was a hassle, but we finally figured it out.....kind of. We gave up on the dryer part, and just hang our clothes out on a line, that we carry with us on all trips.