Customer Reviews

LG : WM3988HWA 27 Steam Washer/Dryer Combo with 4.2 cu. ft. Capacity - DISCONTINUED

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We just got this unit yesterday, so have had it for a little over 24 hours now. We've washed about 4 loads of laundry so far, and we LOVE it!! Load #1 was a mix of jeans (4 pair), shirts, socks, & underwear, load #2 was a sheet set from a king size bed, load #3 was a blanket from a king size bed, and load #4 was about 6 pair of shorts. We also threw 3 wrinkled shirts in to try out the 20-minute steam cycle which removes wrinkles.

We've been having problems with our dryer vent. Our house was built in the early 1980's when they were using the flex plastic dryer vents. Due to the way our house is setup, it would have been some major construction and several thousand dollars to replace the dryer vent. We were having to run the dryer through 2 or 3 (sometimes more) cycles to get things thoroughly dry. This was making the electric bill higher than it should be. It also caused the heating element on the dryer to burn out and need to be replaced 3 times due to not being vented well. I did have the dryer vent cleaned out and it helped a little, but it still didn't work great. We had looked at the other LG combo units in the past, but didn't get one due to their small size and poor reviews. We decided to check them out again and found this new "full size" unit which had great reviews, so decided to take the plunge this time around.

It takes about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from start to finish to wash and dry a load in this LG, but that's not a big deal for us. You just start it up and let it do its thing. There are two people (including myself) in our home, so we don't normally have huge amounts of laundry to do. Instead of doing all the laundry one day a week, we've decided to do smaller loads a couple times a week. This new unit uses MUCH less water than our old washer, so the water bill should go down a little. Also, the electric bill should go down some since we won't be running a dryer two or three times per load. Another plus is that since it's just a single unit, we've put in shelving where the dryer used to be and now have a little more storage space!

The only drawback we've found so far is that there is no way to dry-only without washing. I would recommend that you thoroughly read the owner's manual before first use if you buy this unit. In our excitement to try it out, we ran the first load through without reading the manual and selected a cycle that washes only and doesn't dry. We then had to run the load through a wash cycle again to dry. The owner's manual has a chart in it that clearly shows what each of the cycles does and doesn't do. There are two or three cycles that will only wash and won't dry. Other than no option to dry without washing, I've found no drawbacks/problems with this unit and wish I would have bought it a long time ago.

This unit cost us much less (and no construction mess) than it would have cost to replace the dryer vent, and will end up saving us money on water and electricity. Thank you to LG for an awesome product!! We purchased from A.J. Madison which had the best price we could find anywhere, plus no tax (since we're not in NY) and free shipping!

UPDATE 10/18/08: I stand corrected! D.M. let me know that there is a dry-only option, and indeed there is! It's not listed anywhere at all in the owner's manual, so we weren't aware of how to do it. After you turn the unit on you have to press the Dry button BEFORE you turn the cycle selection knob, and it then puts the unit into dry-only mode. THANK YOU, D.M.!!! :-)

If your looking for a washer/dryer for your family of 4, 5 or 6... this is NOT NOT NOT FOR YOU!

However, if your looking for a ENERGY STAR washer/dryer with STEAM and ALLERGIENE (great for those who have allergies or simply want the best of the best wash)... look no further!

Is it cheap? No. However, that is why Home Depot and many stores offer 12 or 24 months 0% financing.

It DOES take a bit longer to wash and dry your clothes, however you simply dump your dirty laundry and forget about it. When the cycle is done, you can either hang dry or set the washer/dryer to automatically dry your clothes when finished. It usually takes 90 min to 120 min to complete a load (wash AND dry).

However, my wife and I noticed you don't have to "shout-out" all those stains and "stuff" we usually did before.

Not only do the clothes smell great, but the feel CLEAN!!!

I would NEVER have imagined myself spending this much for a washer/dryer, however are very happy about our purchase.

Even if you have a kid.. or two... I think this washer/dryer is great.

However, you cannot do HUGE loads at one time... thats it.

After waiting for a very long time because of the cost we decided to finally take the plunge on this 2 in 1 unit after a brick and mortar store offered price match and no-interest for 18 months. WE are so happy that we went for it! I don't know how we survived without it. Well actually we do know how we did... our 3rd bedroom had a minimum of 10 laundry bags waiting to go out. It was an endless and vicious cycle that never came to an end.

The washing performance of this unit is impeccable! We have been using it religiously since December 2008 and are in love. There are many different cycles that offer a myriad of water temps,soil levels, spin cycle speeds and drying time variations. We basically use the Cotton cycle for most of our wash and the cold/cold water option. This machine is so efficient and works wonderfully with nothing but cold water. It truly does remove stains! Since it is a front loader and energy efficient, then you MUST use HE liquid. We have used the Tide 2X HE and Wisk 3X HE; personally we love the Tide scent but the Wisk offers you more bang for your buck at this time because it is 3X concentrated.

I read and re-read the reviews posted on here and another site and found that the machine *MIGHT* be okay for our family of 5. We are very happy to report that the machine keeps the wash in check in our household and we honestly average 3 loads a week. It is my husband, myself, 6 year old, 5 year old (asthma sufferer) and 2 year old. The machine has a large 4.2 cubic foot capacity allowing for an extra large load at a time. As others have pointed out, your drying capacity is not 4.2 but rather half, or half of the load that you have originally placed in. It was a trial and error of a few loads to figure the drying aspect of this wonderful machine.

I also wash my King comforter with the Bulky/Large cycle. There is no dry cycle for this setting because it is for very large items that would otherwise not normally dry in a dryer. It does a wonderful job of washing our bedding and removing all of the excess water for hang drying on our closet door. That specific cycle is 54 minutes long.

What works for us is to not always drying the loads. We have set up a tension rod in our second bathroom shower area and air dry our clothes. We truly cram a lot of clothes in there and it does a great job each and every time. Within a couple of hours the clothes are fully dried and ready to put away. If we are just doing our second upkeep weekly load we usually just dry because it isn't as gigantic as our original load. The dryer DOES indeed work and makes everything toasty hot. For others who claim it doesn't, then their machine must have been overloaded or it may have been a very heavy, bulky item. The dryer runs on steam so it sprays small amounts of water on your clothes. YES, it does wet your clothes to dry them; not sure how it does it, but it does work! A cotton/normal (average) wash cycle with added 16 minute pre-wash cycle, high spin and more dry will take you about 4 hrs. Unless you are watching the machine, you will not notice the time.

Pros:
*Ventless system that is a great set up for apartment dwellers.

*Many wash cycles and water temp options that really clean clothes.

*Energy efficient... we haven't noticed a difference on our electric or water bill as of yet. Keep in mind we are washing in cold water.

*Convenience of just drying without washing if necessary. Just select DRY after turning the machine on and select time desired.

*Being able to PAUSE any time during the cycle to either, add, remove, relocate or just check on your items.

*Allergiene and Steam cycles remove allergens for those that have asthma sufferers or any allergies.

CONS:
*Extra Large capacity drum does wonderfully washing but will have to be cut in half for drying.

*The wonderful PAUSE feature that I constantly use has an 8 minute time out. Twice I would be in the middle of doing something and time out... I would unfortunately lose the whole cycle and have to start either from the beginning or somewhere near that. Not really a con, but an annoyance. The reality is that you can not do that at the laundromat so the feature is a GOD send at the end of the day. Many times, I have the kids bring me articles 5 mins later even though I was screaming at the top of my lungs to BRING ME EVERYTHING. That feature saved me.

*Our floors in the kitchen aren't rigid enough so at times on the extra high spin cycle we have shaking and vibrating througout the whole kitchen. The only remedy for this is to have good flooring. We are researching whether the stand can buffer some of the vibration.

So... my long review was trying to convince you to take a chance the way we did. Forget the negative reviews... they don't make sense. This is a great machine that will save you from the never-ending doom called, "LAUNDRY".

CYCLE OPTIONS:
Cotton/Normal
Bulky/Large
Sanitary
Allergiene
Steam Fresh
Perm. Press
Delicates
Hand Wash/Wool
Speed Wash

Water Temp Options
Spin Speed Options
Soil Level Ex. light, normal, heavy
Dry Options: Less, Normal, More, or timed (30,60,90,120)

Extra Options: Press once for first, hold down for 3 sec. for second.
Pre Wash/Child Lock
Rinse+Spin/Drum Light
Extra Rinse/Tub Clean
Stain Cycle/Spinsense
Water Plus/Language

After extensive research, we decided to take the plunge and invest a considerable amount of money in this machine. Our only regret is that we didn't do it sooner! It is amazing. Even our plumber, after he installed it, said "This is a beautiful machine!" --- and believe me, he has seen quite a few washers in his day. He plans to buy one for his own home. We live in NYC and our options were limited, both space-wise and in terms of venting. So that eliminated many choices that other people have. From reviews, which were mostly positive, I was afraid of low drying quality, low capacity, and possible odors since it is a front-loading machine. We have had ZERO problems with any of these. And I would disagree with the reviewer who said that this machine is not for a family of 4, 5 or 6. We are a family of 5 (two adults, 3 kids under 5) and this machine is perfect for us. I do loads about every other day, according to color/temperature, which are never that big anyway, so capacity is never a problem. However, when I have had to do larger loads, such as sheets and towels (for example, two towels and two sets of twin size sheets), everything comes out clean and dry with NO problem. The features are incredible, in terms of washing possiblilities and others such as pre-wash, steam, allergeine, and a wide range of drying cycles. The dryer will keep tumbling periodically even after it is finished in order to prevent wrinkles, which is great. Sometimes I prefer the clothes to be left slightly damp (I hate when normal dryers "bake" my clothes), and so sometimes they will be a bit wrinkled when they come out. This problem is very easily solved either by drying them a bit longer, or running the steam feature to eliminate wrinkles. It is so efficient that hardly any detergent (must be HE) needs to be used, and you will not notice a difference at all in energy or water bills (it runs on a 220 volt and is designed to use very little water. The amount of water needed for each cycle is tailored to fit the amount you need to wash by the machine).
I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in trying to reduce their carbon and water footprints---not just those with limited options, like us. It has a child lock, which really comes in handy with young kids. I also love the fact that I can program or delay a wash; often I put clothes in in the morning and they are washed and dried when I come home. Now they just need to make a machine to fold the clothes and put them away!!!
We have had no problem with mold or odors (I think because of the built-in dryer), no problems with capacity or with drying. I would highly recommend this washer dryer combo to anyone, regardless of their options or their family size. It's amazing and WELL WORTH the investment! Why have two, huge, bulky machines when just one will do?
THe only drawback I can think of, which is very small, is that, if I had separate machines, I would sometimes do two wash loads and then dry them together. Very minor inconvenience. I should also add that this washer/dryer is VERY kind and gentle to your clothes!

I've had this thing for a month. I love it.

Quick background: I live with my girl on the top floor apartment. There was no original place to put this machine in. (No 220V electricity, venting, etc)

The installation was retrofit into our master closet (next to the bathroom) and the lines for water and drainage was run, and a simple 110V AC separate circuit was run to the area. This was all that's needed. No cutting/ducting for exterior venting, nor the higher voltage line for electric drying. The installation was trivial.

The washer/dryer has a lot of room for clothes, but we only fill it halfway. A good wash/dry cycle takes about 3-4 hours, and its a set-it and for-get-it kinda thing. It has a time delay, and we use that a lot, to plan for when we'll get home from shopping/movie.

The quality of the washing is insane. The steam really works proper, and the little extra things it does - like tumble yer clothes when its done to make sure nothing gets wrinkly - until you push the button and unload. This unit is really built around the user.

So if you dont have a regular laundry hookup, or no external venting, this is a great option. If you run a Chinese 1 hour laundry, this isnt for you.
We find the 3-4 hour wait for wash/dry completely acceptable, as we dont have to fight with the people downstairs in the laundry room, and we dont have to wait for a good washer, etc etc. We wash when we like, and its completely accomedating and fits in our lifestyle.

After an apparent frozen start, due to over exposure to cold weather prior to delivery, we've finally been able to use this washer/dryer multiple times for regular clothes, sweaters and a regular sized comforter.
The convenience cannot be beaten. This was purchased for an elder primarily to make laundry service available on the main level of the home and to end the multiple tasks of loading and unloading associated with regular washers and dryers. We put a half load in, set the dryer and retrieve most clothes dry enough to be folded and put away. I normally air dry most my clothes and I was pleasantly surprised to find that without setting the dryer, clothes were much dryer from the machine's fast spin than with a regular front loading washer.
The regular sized comforter had to air dry a bit more. Sweaters were perfect for natural drying. The aroma from the fabric softener was an added bonus to freshen the air and the added humidity was good too.
The unit is noisy but within tolerable limits. We can hear the water filling and upon spinning, the noise, especially a rattle from the back metal plate, seems to increase with the load size.
The unit plays tunes in response to starting, ending and errors, shows exactly what is being programmed on the illuminated display panel and displays a "door lock" message to eliminate damage from inappropriately trying to force the door open.
Overall, I love the unit.
Great job LG!

My wife and I've had this unit for the last few weeks and we cannot be happier.

We looked at other units and their limitations:
1) Stackables - Not energy efficient enough, needs dryer vent, unreliable, small
2) Front loader, with electric dryer on top - needs dryer vent, small, not thin enough for space.
3) Other combos (Haier, LG WM343HWA) - poor workmanship, small drum, takes forever to dry

This LG is only 29" deep, and is all in one. It uses 110, no vent. Just hot/cold water and drain hookups. Holds 4.2 cubic ft of laundry and leaves clothes exceptionally clean. It is state of the art, LCD screen, LED light inside, multitudes of settings.

Obviously the dry cycle is longer, but a very small price to pay for all the pros! It is absolutely perfect for the small closet in our apartment.

It works exactly as advertised, no fuss, worth every penny.

I have this combo about 6 months now. Even though we live in a new home which has a perfect vent out, the main reason for buying this machine is to gain time and space (literally). We read through many reviews of the previous model and there were issues with the drying (wrinkles). Due to the fact that this machine has a larger capacity, this wrinkling have been greatly reduced. I have actually just one pants that is made of rough thick cotton and it's the only one that is clearly more wrinkled compared to using a separate (air) dryer. However, we found already ways to minimize it and that is to use the post-wash tumbling option (you can choose to let the machine tumble intermittendly when it's all done, to prevent wrinkling). This is a smart move from LG.

Apart from that, this machine is just the best, I wouldn't know why you want to buy a separate washer and dryer:
During the day we throw in cloth and usually we set the delay time as "switch-on around 3am" and the next morning you take the cloth out, ready to use, no more pain in remembering to put the cloth from washer to dryer.
The machine is also so quiet that you can indeed do the above, it's a simply a whisperer.
We are quite "green" so this machine is for us, the energy usage is so low compare to standard washers and dryers, mainly due to the condense drying system. Standard dryers are like a combination of many hairdryers and you know ho wmuch wattage they have.
Last but not least, you safe so much space by eliminating 1 machine (dryer).
Great machine!

I've own this unit for about a year. I love the ease of setting a load and then just walking away. It takes 3 1/2 to 4 hours to complete a cycle depending on the size of the load.
However, my clothes come out (especially jeans) twisted and wrinkled so badly, this has doubled the amount of time I spend ironing. With this unit, there is no such thing as "wash and wear".

I have owned this combo washer dryer for about 4 months and I love it. It DOES take a bit longer to wash and dry your clothes, however you simply dump your dirty laundry and forget about it. I put a load in before I leave for work and my clothes are finished when I get home. They smell so good, and are clean and soft.I would purchase this unit again in a heartbeat!

8-18-09
I really adore this machine! I just can't understand the negative reviews... they don't make sense.

8-18-11
While I still really love this machine, I have had some repair issues (pump and control board). The labor and parts were costly.