Best Matching Compact Washers and Dryers

You’ll find CR’s ratings of compact washers and their matching dryers in the Washer/Dryer Pairs category in CR’s washing machine ratings. They include sets from Asko, Bosch, Electrolux, Fisher & Paykel, GE, Haier, Insignia, LG, Miele, Samsung, and Whirlpool.

Compact washers and dryers go through the same rigorous testing as the full-sized laundry machines in our ratings, though our testers use smaller loads. Tests include using an imaging machine called a spectrocolorimeter to analyze precise differences in fabric swatches stained with red wine, cocoa, and carbon before and after washing.

Our tests find that performance varies widely among compact washers and dryers, and all the smaller washers vibrate more than most full-sized machines. Most compact washers sold are front-loaders.

As for dryers, most require 240 volts, which may require an upgrade in some households (there are no gas versions). If your home has the ductwork, you’ll want to choose a vented dryer. That’s because ventless models, also called condenser dryers, take longer to dry a load—up to 2 1⁄2 hours, according to our tests.

And though the standard width for a compact machine is 24 inches, their height and depth vary. You can find all the specifications in our ratings of compact washers and compact dryers.