Last night I was watching a show called International House Hunters. The episodes featured an American man living in Tokyo. Aside from being amazed at how tiny all of the apartments and condos were, I found myself being fascinated by how correspondingly small all of the appliances and amenities were.

I was especially fascinated by the compact washing machine and ventless dryer featured in all of the properties on the show. They were absolutely tiny, and seem to simply be hooked up to a faucet and drain into the bathtub. Apparently, they all also ran off of a simple wall outlet.

Therefore, I decided to do a little research and find out what I could about these interesting appliances. Lo and behold, it seems that they are starting to develop a following here in the US. It does not take too much imagination to see how they would be especially convenient for students in dorm rooms and for people who live in apartment buildings.

I would imagine that if I was a single female in an urban setting, I would much rather do two or three small loads using my own portable washing machine in the safety of my own apartment they make the trek downstairs into a dingy communal laundry room. Aside from the safety concerns, there is theft to deal with in any public or communal Laundromat. What could possibly be more boring than sitting in a Laundromat in your apartment building literally watching your clothes dry?

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It turns out that this varies based on the lease agreement in your apartment building, but in many places, as long as the portable washer does not have to be hardwired into run out of an outlet in the drain can go into the bathtub like those Japanese units you are good to go. Another advantage is that if you have to move, or even want to stay with a friend for a lengthy visit, you can take your washer and dryer with you.

It turns out that all of these portable electric clothes dryers simply plug into a standard wall outlet and don't need to be hardwired, or even require that funky looking dryer outlet that regular sized machine does. Not only that, but you don't have to drill a hole in a wall for the event. Some of these don't need to be vented at all! Others simply vent to the room in which they are placed.

Probably the biggest manufacture of these devices is Haier America. They have washers that go all the way from one cubic foot up to almost 2 ft.³. That sounds like it is pretty good-sized but it's only about two thirds as big as a standard machine. You can pick up a washer dryer combination from them for less than $600 brand-new

They also have dryers they use a special condensation technique to get your clothes dry. The upside is that there is no heating element so no danger of fire, and no hot exhaust in your bathroom. The downside is that it takes a really long time to dry your clothes.

There a couple of things you need to look for -- as with any appliance try to go with a name brand, and try to get it from a large well-known retailer. Just these two things will help immensely if you have any problems with your equipment.

If you get a dryer, try to find one with a moisture sensor. This will save on excessive drying, which not only can damage your clothes away select your city. If the dryer vents into the room it also increases the load on your air-conditioning system.

If it's at all possible, arrange to listen to the mini washing machine run, or at lease get some kind of rating on their noise level. Remember, if your an apartment small enough to need one of these machines they are not yet be that far from you no matter where you put them in. The convenience of drying your clothes and your bathroom will be significantly reduce the machine drowns out your television.

In conclusion, I have to say that these compact washers and dryers are great idea, and if you are in a situation, where you need to do your clothes cleaning at home, and just do not have the room for standard machines they're great solution.