Washes fine but won't dry
The wash cycle completes normally, but the drying phase leaves clothes wet or barely warm even after a full timed dry.
Washer Dryer Repair
Specialist washer dryer repair across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire — condenser blockages, heaters, pumps, bearings and dry-cycle faults diagnosed and fixed with a 6-month guarantee.
From £90Call-out
labour included
labour included
6–9 yearsTypical lifespan
with maintenance
with maintenance
12Common faults
diagnosed below
diagnosed below
6 moGuarantee
parts & labour
parts & labour
A washer dryer is two appliances sharing one drum, one motor, one pump and one control board — and that shared architecture is exactly why they need a different diagnostic approach to a separate washer and dryer. The drying side of a conventional washer dryer does not use a separate condenser block. Instead it sprays cold mains water down a condensing channel at the back of the tub to knock moisture out of the hot air, then pumps that water away through the same drain pump the wash cycle uses. Understanding that one design detail explains most washer dryer faults we attend. Because the machine both washes and dries in the same tub, everything runs hotter and harder than in a standalone washing machine. Drum bearings see high-speed spinning and then hours of hot-air tumbling; the drain pump handles both wash water and condensate; the door seal is heat-cycled twice per combined programme. Consequently washer dryers have a shorter realistic lifespan than either single-function appliance, typically 6 to 9 years, and they earn their keep on space rather than longevity. Hard water in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire — commonly 280–320 mg/l calcium carbonate from the chalk boreholes — hits this appliance particularly hard. The wash heating element scales up like any washing machine's, but the condensing channel and its spray nozzle also fur up, and once that nozzle is restricted the drying performance collapses. A very large share of the 'it washes fine but won't dry' calls we attend in this area are scale and lint in the condenser channel rather than a component failure. We repair all common brands including Bosch, Beko, Hotpoint, Indesit, Candy, Hoover, LG, Samsung, AEG and Zanussi, freestanding and integrated. It is a £90 call-out covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, with parts on top quoted for your approval before we fit them, and a 6-month parts and labour guarantee. Domestic machines only.
What the call-out costs
| Freestanding washer dryer | £90 |
| Integrated washer dryer | £100 |
| Parts, if any are needed | Quoted before fitting |
| If we cannot repair it | Call-out only |
£90 for a freestanding machine. Integrated appliances incur a £10 surcharge, so £100 — an integrated machine has to come out of the run of units before anything can be diagnosed, and go back in afterwards.
The 12 faults we see most
If one of these sounds like your machine, we have almost certainly fixed it before. Tell us which and we will bring the right parts.
Book a repair
Pick your own slot in the diary — appliance, address and a time that suits you, in about a minute.
Book online (opens in a new tab)or
07849 033758Same-day slots when we have one. Call-out from £90, labour included.
Straight answer on price
£90 call-out — that covers the visit, the diagnosis and the labour. Parts are the only extra, quoted for your approval before we fit anything. No hourly rates. 6 months guarantee on parts and labour.
Not draining — water sits in the drum
The cycle halts with water in the drum, often with an error code, and the pump may hum without shifting water.
Not heating on the wash cycle
The wash finishes with cold door glass and greasy or detergent-streaked laundry, and cycle times may run long.
Won't spin or spins poorly, clothes soaking
Wash completes but clothes are dripping, or the drum tumbles slowly and never reaches high spin speed.
Leaking water during the drying cycle
A puddle appears only when the machine is drying, not when it is washing — a very specific and useful clue.
Machine overheats and stops mid-dry
The drying phase runs for a while then stops, sometimes with a hot smell, and the machine may work again once cold.
Loud rumbling or grinding on spin
A deep roar during spin that gets louder with speed, often with brown water staining behind the drum seal, and drum play when rocked by hand.
Not filling with water
The machine starts, tumbles briefly, then errors out or hangs without any water entering the drum.
Door stays locked after the cycle
The programme has finished but the door will not release, sometimes with the lock indicator still lit.
Error code shown and cycle abandoned
The display shows a code such as F08, E33, dE or a flashing light pattern, and the programme stops before completing.
Drying takes far longer than it used to
A load that once dried in three hours now takes five or more, and still comes out slightly damp.
Trips the RCD
The consumer unit trips when the machine is switched on, when the wash heats, or specifically when the drying phase begins.
Is it worth repairing?
Washer dryers sit in a narrower repair window than most appliances because their realistic lifespan is only 6 to 9 years. Apply the 50% rule against a replacement cost of £450–£700 for a mid-range machine. Our part of the sum never moves — a £90 call-out covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour — so what decides it is the price of the part, which we quote for your approval before fitting. Condensing channel cleans, drain pumps, elements, thermostats, door locks and brushes are almost always worth doing on a machine under five years old. The decision point is drum bearings. That is a three to four and a half hour strip on a machine whose remaining life may be only two or three years, and on a budget washer dryer the answer is usually no. On a premium machine at four years old it can still make sense. Worth considering at replacement time: if your kitchen or utility could take separate machines, they will outlast a washer dryer, dry twice as much per load, and cost less to repair. Environmentally, the manufacturing footprint of a new appliance dwarfs its annual running emissions, so extending the life of a functioning machine is the greener option wherever the economics stack up. We'll give you the real numbers, including the honest ones that mean we don't sell you a repair.
If it's time to replace, see what we sell
Brands we repair
We work on every major manufacturer, and our vans carry spares for the ones we see most in this area.
First-time fix
Our vans carry a wide range of washer dryer spares so most jobs are finished on the same visit. If we need to order a part, it's usually fitted within a couple of working days at no second call-out charge.
What the call-out is
£90 for a freestanding machine. Integrated appliances incur a £10 surcharge, so £100 — an integrated machine has to come out of the run of units before anything can be diagnosed, and go back in afterwards. Parts are on top and quoted for your approval before anything is fitted.
Domestic only
We do not work on commercial or coin-operated machines.
Maintenance
Make your washer dryer last longer
Water across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire runs around 280–320 mg/l. That limescale is the single biggest reason appliances die early here.
Never dry a full wash load
A 9kg washer dryer typically has a 5 or 6kg drying rating, and exceeding it is the leading cause of overheating cut-outs and marathon drying times. Split the wash load in half before drying. This single habit does more for washer dryer reliability than anything else.
Clean the pump filter every 4–6 weeks
Washer dryers accumulate lint pellets in the filter far faster than plain washing machines because the drying phase sheds fibre into the same sump. Unscrew it over a tray behind the front hatch, clear it, and check the impeller turns freely. Skipping this causes drain errors and poor condensation.
Run a 90°C maintenance wash monthly
An empty 90°C cottons cycle with a machine cleaner or 200g of soda crystals clears the fat and detergent biofilm and helps keep the condensing channel clear. Do it monthly — washer dryers need it more than washing machines because the drying heat bakes residues onto surfaces.
Descale twice a year for local water
At 280–320 mg/l calcium carbonate, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire water scales both the wash element and the condenser spray nozzle. Use a citric-acid descaler on a hot empty cycle every six months. A furred spray nozzle quietly destroys drying performance long before anything actually fails.
Check the cold tap is fully open
The drying cycle needs mains cold water to condense the moisture, so a partly closed tap causes poor drying that looks exactly like a heater fault. Check it after any plumbing work or after the machine has been pulled out. It costs nothing and explains a surprising number of complaints.
Spin at maximum before drying
Going from 1000 to 1400rpm removes noticeably more water and can cut drying time by 15–20 percent, which on a washer dryer's long cycles is over half an hour. Fabric permitting, always use the highest spin. It reduces both electricity use and heat stress on the machine.
Wipe the door seal and leave the door ajar
The bellows on a washer dryer is heat-cycled twice per combined programme and hardens faster than a plain washer's. Wipe the lower fold dry after each use, remove trapped grit, and leave the door and drawer open between uses so the drum dries out.
Give the machine a rest between wash and dry
Running back-to-back combined cycles all day keeps the duct and bearings permanently hot and shortens component life measurably. Where possible, let the machine cool for 30 minutes between full wash-and-dry programmes. This matters most in busy family households and HMOs.
Error codes
Washer dryer error codes
If your machine is showing a code on the display, look it up here and we will tell you what it is reporting.
Questions
Washer dryer repair FAQs
How much does a washer dryer repair cost?
A £90 call-out covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, plus the part. Condensing channel cleans, pumps, elements and door locks all use inexpensive parts. Drum bearings are the expensive exception because the kit itself is dear, though the strip to the outer tub costs you nothing extra — the labour is already in the £90. Parts are quoted for your approval before fitting.
Are washer dryers worth repairing?
For most faults, yes — a new mid-range washer dryer is £450–£700, and a £90 call-out plus a pump, element or door lock is comfortably worth doing. The judgement call is drum bearings on a machine over five years old, since washer dryers only average 6 to 9 years and a machine that far through its life rarely pays back an expensive part. We'll give you the honest position before you commit.
Why do washer dryers break down more than separate machines?
Because one set of components does two jobs. The same drum, bearings, motor and pump handle high-speed spinning and hours of hot-air tumbling, and everything is heat-cycled far more than in a standalone machine. That's the trade-off for the space saving, and it's why we quote a shorter typical lifespan for this category.
How long does a washer dryer repair take?
Most repairs take 60 to 120 minutes in a single visit. A full condensing channel strip and descale is at the longer end, and a bearing replacement is a three to four and a half hour job. We carry pumps, elements, thermostats, brushes and door locks for the major brands.
What guarantee do you give?
Twelve months on parts and labour, directly with us, on every repair. If the same fault returns within that period we return at no charge. This applies to both the wash side and the dry side of the machine.
Can you repair integrated washer dryers?
Yes. We remove the decor door, slide the machine out on its own supply and waste, complete the work and refit with the hinges and anti-tip bracket correctly set. Integrated washer dryers need particular care on refit because ventilation clearance affects drying performance.
Do you carry parts on the van?
We stock the common failure items for the main brands — drain pumps, wash and dry elements, thermostats, thermal cut-outs, NTCs, carbon brushes, belts, door interlocks and inlet valves. Most jobs are completed on the first visit. Model-specific boards, door seals and ducts are ordered in, typically two to four working days.
Which brands of washer dryer do you repair?
Bosch, Siemens, Beko, Hotpoint, Indesit, Candy, Hoover, LG, Samsung, AEG, Electrolux, Zanussi, Whirlpool and Miele. We work on domestic machines only and do not service commercial equipment.
How long should a washer dryer last?
Realistically 6 to 9 years in a normal household, which is shorter than either a washing machine or a tumble dryer on its own. Machines used mainly for washing with occasional drying last considerably longer than those running full combined cycles daily.
Does using the dryer function use a lot of water?
Yes, more than people expect. Conventional washer dryers condense using cold mains water sprayed down a channel, so a full drying cycle can add 40 to 60 litres on top of the wash. If you're on a water meter — as most newer Cambridgeshire homes are — that's worth factoring into running costs.
Washer dryer playing up? We'll take a look.
Call-out from £90, labour included. 6 months guarantee.