Hi all. Not a Airstream owner yet but very soon. I am in Saudi for work for a extended period of time and the washer/dryer I have in the place I am staying at is the often talked about "Vent-less" kind I comments on here and other RV sites.
Most of us since we never have seen one have to take a leap of faith in buying it but I am forced to use it here. The brand is one I never have heard of but my whole kitchen here is equipped with this brand. I live in a Villa Compound here in Riyadh Saudi so no choice on it as I essentially "rent". The brand is Tecnogas.
So this thing has alot of settings. You basically set the desired wash cycle, amount of drying time and RPM for the drum. The higher the setting on the RPM the more high pitched it gets from the spinning. This unit has a internal heater for the water so there are a variety of internal water temperature points.
Some things I notice on it. When its to full everything comes out very wrinkled. I have some dryer balls on the way so perhaps that will alleviate it. I'm a Defense Contractor and was US Marines before that and not to much Ironing in my world but if I pack it I am doing a nights worth of Ironing.
To alleviate the wrinkles I have packed less...usually do a load of laundry every 2 days. I never in my life have used fabric softener but if you read up on how that stuff works eliminating wrinkles is one of the side effects. I have found that helps immensely.
Being that I am doing alot smaller loads I use a fraction of the recommended amount of laundry detergent. The detergent I am using is Persil which is a German Brand. American brands are very expensive here and I had no interest in using Saudi brands. Normally in the states I use Gain or Tide Pods.
So after the wash cycle is done it automatically goes into the dry cycle. Its different from the aspect as it sounds like its washing your clothes still. The manual states the higher the RPM the more moisture is evaporated so I keep it at 1200 or 1400.
When its finished washing/drying and you open it you will swear your clothes are still wet but its the moisture from the unit exiting. By the time I throw my clothes on the bed they feel dry. I have yet to dry anything I own on a 30 min dry cycle. Normally its 60 or 90 minutes that is required.
I would say this would be a great addition to a RV...its pretty small. The downside is it can't hold much without having to iron literally everything...including my undershirts. If you don't put a large load in then then your stuff doing clothes every day or every other day.
In terms of saving energy I don't think the pro vent-less dryer people take into account the huge amount of energy a Iron uses or the fact your washing more. Is it convenient? Very much so actually. I would add one of these to a Airstream if there is room in a heart beat.
Anyhow hope you liked my review!
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