Whirlpool LTE5243DQ Washer Dryer Combo
Whirlpool LTE5243DQ Electric Washer Dryer Combo Price Comparison:
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$1,129.00 | IN | |||
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$1,099.99 |  |
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$1,199.00 | IN | |||
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$1,115.10 | IN | |||
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$1,100.00 |  |
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$1,036.00 |  |
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$1,129.00 | IN | |||
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$899.93 | |
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| Compare Prices for All 12 Sellers ($899.93 – $1,199.00) | |||||
Fits where you need it. The Thin Twin® provides the convenience of doing your laundry at home. This large capacity machine is designed to save space and provide a high performance wash.
Features
Washer:
- 1.5 cu. ft. Capacity
- Spreckle Porcelain Basket
- 5 Automatic Cycles
- 4 Wash/Rinse Temperature Combinations
- Stepped-Down Agitation – This feature uses stepped-down agitation speeds to maximize cleaning during the beginning of the wash and gentleness at the end.
- Surgilator® Agitator – The Surgilator® agitator creates a continuous rollover action that provides a thorough cleaning of the wash load.
- 5 Wash/Spin Speed Combinations
- 3 Water Level Selections
- Easy-to-Clean Lint Filter
- ToughTop II™ Top and Lid Finish
Dryer:
- Compact Thin Twin® Dryer
- Automatic Dry-Miser™ Control – Dry-Miser™ control takes the guesswork out of drying. Simply choose from less dry to very dry. The automatic cycle senses exhaust air temperature and shuts the dryer off when the selected dryness is reached.
- 5 Cycles
- End-of-Cycle Signal – Load your laundry and forget it! An end-of-cycle signal will alert you when the dryer cycle is finished.
- 4 Temperature Selections
- Side-Swing Door
- DuraWhite™ Interior
Dimensions
- Depth: 27 1/4 Inches
- Width: 24 Inches
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Let’s be honest here. If you’re reading this review, you have a very specific need for compact laundry appliances. In this realm, your choices are few and expensive. I’ll give you the quick version here first: you could do a whole lot worse than to have this washer set. It’s well built and reliable, and cheap and easy to fix for someone willing to it themselves.
I own the washer and dryer that constitute the Thin Twin as seperate pieces. They no longer build this washer except as a part of the Thin Twin, but they do build the dryer as a seperate part, which I’ve already reviewed, but I’ll go over the relevant parts of here.
This laundry pair is just 24″ wide. That’s 3″ narrower than standard washers usually are, there aren’t many people who must have 24″ machines, but if you could fit 27″ ones, you wouldn’t even be reading this.
The washer part of this combo is based on a fairly basic direct-drive Whirlpool washer. That’s a good thing. It debuted over 25 years ago, and they have the bugs worked out. It’s durable, reliable, and very overbuilt for this size washer. The tub has a 1.5 cubic foot capacity, which is quite small. It’s a little less than half as big as a regular Whirlpool washer (typically 3.2). The agitator is smaller than a regular one, but it still necessarily cuts into the capacity of the smallish tub. In spite of these size differences, this machine uses the same transmission, two-speed motor, pump, and so on as much larger machines. The DD Whirlpool chassis is a real marvel of cost-cutting and ease of service that does not have detrimental effects to the user. It has two weaknesses designed in that are smart and clever, but which could make some users mad until you think about it. The coupler is $15 and is designed to break in case the transmission locks up, but will wear out in normal use after about twenty years. The “agitator dogs,” a set of small ratchet devices in the agitator will wear out in a similar length of time and are even cheaper and easier to replace. Without them, the washer will run, but the agitator top will not turn.
If you’ve used a Whirlpool or Kenmore (or a slew of other brands), you’ll recognize the sounds. The washer does a good job for what it is. It’s a small version of the very familiar. If you’re buying it for yourself, it’s something you already probably know about. If you’re buying it for apartment units, your tenants will certainly be accepting of this familiar type machine. If you like, it’s possible to add a dispenser for liquid fabric softener in place of the agitator cap. The controls for both units are at the bottom of the dryer part, which is actually better than regular appliances or the seperate pieces that I own.
The washer has 4 cycles- Prewash, Regular, Permanent Press, and Delicate. The regular and prewash cycles start with fast agitation and switch to slow, and the others are slow only. The Regular cycle does a fast spin, all others are slow. It’s a DD Whirlpool, so it isn’t especially gentle on the clothes, but it does get them clean. Someone used to the bigger ones will have to adjust their detergent use like I did. Use a lot less detergent (about half) than you would ordinarily or you’ll have detergent residue on your clothes. I wish that it had an automatic second rinse, but I’ve gotten used to setting the dial for a second one when I need it. The cycles are quick and you can choose as soil setting to change the length if needed. The only drawback to top loaders in general (and it applies to this one) is that they don’t spin as fast as front loaders, so the clothes are little wetter when you get them out than a front load or laundromat machine. No real biggie. There are 3 water levels and 4 temperature combinations, which is typical and plenty to cover most fabrics. It isn’t as quiet as some machines, but the noises it makes are not terribly loud or disruptive even at their worst. You can hear it through a wall, but it isn’t a big deal.
On to the dryer. At about 3 cubic feet, it’s the proper size for the washer. For most loads, the automatic setting will be the right one, and it’ll take about an hour to dry a regular load. Adding towels or jeans or towels to the mix will make it take longer. This is a small pair, so you’re likely to be doing more than one load consecutively. The dryer does take a little longer to dry a load than the washer takes to wash one load, but removing just a few items for drip dry can make it a close match. The automatic setting with the moisture sensor always does a perfect job. As mentioned in another review, the lint filter is at the back of the drum, which isn’t terribly convenient. It also has to be taken apart to be cleared of lint. A rigid filter just inside the door like many dryers have would be better. When just the dryer is running, it’s very quiet and shouldn’t be a problem to sleep right next to. The end-of-cycle signal is a loud and obnoxious buzzer that should be turned off and left that way.
I must talk about price. At typically over $1,000 new, the Thin Twin is a bad deal. $1,000 would buy a huge and decked-out pair of top loaders from any brand you choose, and would come close to a basic pair of front-loaders. That is much too high. I’ve seen them on sale for as low as $775 recently, which is still a little high, but more reasonable. That price isn’t common, and is probably just because the little mom-n-pop appliance store where I buy parts has had it too long. I know it’s produced in smaller numbers than most machines, but Whirlpool has been making this with no meaningful changes for a long time. I feel like the price they charge is too high, and is meant to take advantage of the small and captive market for laundry machines this size. I’ve seen them used for $200 or so on Craigslist, which is an incredible bargain if it’s not too old or roughly used.
The best summary I can give is that the Thin Twin is a good 24″ wash pair, if that’s what you must have. It does a good job of washing and drying clothes, it’s easy to use and repair, and fits in the (rare) allotted space for a 24″ washer set. Obviously, you should buy something else if you have room for anything else. That said, aside from price and size, there’s nothing to too bad about this washer pair. It’s as small as the space requires, but does a fine job with little trouble for years. It’s small, but it’s a basic direct drive Whirlpool and basic dryer. That’s served many American families well for years. You’ll be doing a lot of loads, but it should last for a long time.
This was not my first choice for a washer/dryer combination, but rather I was very limited in my choices due to closet space. Basically, I had to have a stacked, 24″ electric washer/dryer unit, and this was one of the few that fit the bill in my price range. If you are in a similar situation, I would recommend buying this; however if you can buy two separate units and stack them, or a 27″+, or even the gas version of this unit, I would recommend doing that instead.
Pros: The unit is very easy to use. Choose a cycle, temperature and water level for the washer; choose a cycle for the dryer. Washer cycles are done quickly. Fits in compact space.
Cons: Very limited choices as far as cleaning/drying options. Top of unit poorly designed; one large piece of sheet metal attached by four screws in the corners, tends to vibrate during dry cycle. Dry cycle takes excessive amount of time, does not dry well. Lint screen inconveniently located, hard to clean. Energy hog.
I really like this washer/dryer stackable combo because it fits in the space I needed it to fit in. It is reliable, always getting the clothing/linens clean. I can wash a good size load, even though it is a stackable. My king size comforter doesn’t fit in it, but the sheets and pillow cases do. I like being able to do my laundry in my apartment at my own convenience.
Piece of junk!
Purchased this unit to replace a Maytag. The washer is a piece of junk! When it “agitates” it hardly moves. The clothes on the outside of the drum are hardly affected bu the agitation. Clothes go in dirty and come out dirty. A waste of money.
The instruction coming with it are not specific to any model and are useless. They specify where the lint filter and fabric softener components are and they are actually not there in the unit. Shame on you Whirlpool
This is the worst washer/dryer combo. Do not purchase. We purchased new in April and have had it repaired three times in 8 mos. In order to qualify for a new washer/dryer the unit must be repaired four times.
The washer consistently becomes off-balanced. Each time it has been repaired we’ve been given a different reason for the defect. This last time we were told to make sure we put the clothes in evenly. We live in a condo complex and the neighbors consistently call to complain when we try to do our wash because the washer is so loud.
The washer is very small. We can typically only wash about three pairs of jeans per one load. The dryer is also small leaving clothes wrinkled.
Do not purchase!!!
The unit is really much noisier than I thought. Even with nothing in the dryer and the dryer turned on (as I did to check out the unit) it was very noisy. When this unit dies I definitely will not replace it with a similar unit, but will choose to have brackets mounted to the wall to mount a free standing dryer above a washer instead of having a stacked single unit. Also know that you don’t need to purchase the accessory hoses if Whirlpool through the BestBuy Geek Squad is installing for you. Whirlpool installers only use their hoses provided and only warranty when they use their own hoses.
New unit came with my Condo. Repairman was here 3 times during warranty, and he agreed this was one of the worse units on the market. VERY noisy, and the center agitator of washing machine wears out VERY quickly (small plastic tabs are all that holds it to spindle). DO NOT BUY THIS ONE— YOU WILL REGRET IT
I went with the LG all in one at first but found that to be unuseful. This traditional machine does the job well. The only bad thing is its size, but its perfect for small spaces…
I really like my new combo washer and dryer. Its perfect for me. It’s easy to use. Cleans my clothes and drys them properly. I can try different settings too, so it gives you options on washing/drying your items.
The overall rating is good, the only comment I had was maybe by the way it was used, the surface was not level where the washer was places and it had a bit of walking.
I purchased this model about 9 years ago and have had no problems whatsoever. I would not recommend this for families because of the small capacity, but for a single person like myself, it has been great. The dryer is the best and fastest I have ever used!
easy to use and compacked. washes and drys clothes just as I hoped it would
Works well. Expensive.