Jon
THE GREAT:
This little washer kicks ass! I was really shocked at how much it can handle. I got the version that can take on 18lbs of laundry with a 10lb capacity spinner, and several weeks' worth of laundry was cleaned and ready to use in a blink. The small hose for filling it is quite small, and though it worked beautifully, I prefer to use my showerhead to fill the tub faster. The 15-min max cycle agitates everything fine and is gentle enough to make me feel confident even for handwash-type items.
The drain hose is quite short, but with a little creativity I was able to wiggle it in a way that it drains easily enough down a good drain (tested on the toilet, tub and sink. I prefer hooking it by the toilet as it'll drain on its own.) It's a lot more involved than your run-of-the-mill washer and dryer, but especially since I've been looking for more ways to be more active, I found it really fun.
There is a bit of a learning curve, and the instruction manual isn't the clearest, but what I usually like to do is to fill the tub with the temperature of the water I want to the level needed for clothing, soak the clothing for a moment without over-crowding the already large tub, let it spin for the max 15 minutes. Then I let it drain, refill the tub with less water to rinse out the clothing, let it spin for about 5 minutes, and drain again. Finally, I'll move half the load into the spinner, let it go for up to 5 minutes (depending on how much it needs to drain), and let it finish. I've run over 10 wash/spin loads so far, many of them back-to-back, and all of them have been perfect in how clean they are.
At this point in time, I have a clothesline, so I take out the spun clothing and let them dry outside. Probably will get a mini-dryer as things get colder, but for the time being, it really is a lot of fun, and is a good way to fill the time. Maybe I'm just weird for enjoying chores though.
It is a bit expensive but extremely worth it. Eventually, it'll pay itself off compared to the several trips it takes to get to the laundromat nearby, and the hassle of getting coins every single time.
THE BAD:
There **ARE** some negative qualities to it, but they were minimal in comparison to my positive experience. If the spin dryer does not have a heavy amount of clothing on it, it will spin in a way that bumps against the inside frequently until it finds equilibrium. It can be a bit noisy at this point. There was a lot of trial and error to figure out exactly where and how I wanted to set up the machine. It may benefit from getting some form of a cart/wheels under it to make it easier to move around if there is not a set area for it to be, like at my home. The instruction manual isn't written in very clear English, but it really is as simple as plugging it in, hooking it to a water source, and getting the drain somewhere it won't fall off. One other negative thing is that the plug is not very long at all, be prepared to be somewhere with both a drain and an outlet within 3ft away at max. The machine also arrived covered in thin sheets of plastic that covered every inch, even under decorative elements and inside the machine in ways I'm still struggling to pry out of the cracks and crevices. I'm not sure why it would come in such a way, assembled so that you have to practically take apart some elements to get the plastic out. It does make a small mess with the water, so don't expect to be running it on the carpet.
MISC:
The washer came with a card that included a private email address to the vendor, who encourages you to contact them if there is ANYTHING wrong with the washer. While mine came without any real problems, it was extremely comforting to see how much they care about a large item being shipped over such a long distance. And if anything goes wrong with the product that's clearly an error of manufacturing or damage from shipment, that they'd be there to help.
I love this little machine for saving my bacon, and the hassle of dragging my dirty underwear to a laundromat. Thank you to the makers for such a considerate item!!!!
| Item Weight | 22 Pounds |
|---|---|
| Included Components | water inlet, Hose |
| Manufacturer | VCJ |
| Brand Name | VCJ |
| Model Info | VCJ-45 |
| Item Weight | 22 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 22 x 14 x 23 inches |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Item model number | VCJ-45 |
| Part Number | VCJ-46 |
| Form Factor | Stand alone |
| Special Features | Portable, Lightweight |
| Standard Cycles | 2 |
| Material Type | Polypropylene |
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Andrew
