Italian Washer and Dryer Tidbits?

[mrock]

Just purchased a used DP with the Italian Washer and Dryer all in one system. Spent some time in cleaning the pull out dispenser used to add detergent etc. Completed my de-winterizing except for the washer/dryer and noticed how difficult it is to put any detergent at all in the tiny dispenser drawer? How do you do it? Use powder or liquid? Tablets pills? Whats the best method? Trying to get ahead of the boss on this one. Also does this thing really work? What are some of the do's and dont's thank you and happy Easter to you all

[PDR John]

When we had our all in one, my wife liked the all in one soap/dryer sheets. They worked well, but became harder to find.

If I recall they're made by All.

[paz]

Originally Posted by mrock

Just purchased a used DP with the Italian Washer and Dryer all in one system. Spent some time in cleaning the pull out dispenser used to add detergent etc. Completed my de-winterizing except for the washer/dryer and noticed how difficult it is to put any detergent at all in the tiny dispenser drawer? How do you do it? Use powder or liquid? Tablets pills? Whats the best method? Trying to get ahead of the boss on this one. Also does this thing really work? What are some of the do's and dont's thank you and happy Easter to you all

If you have a Splendide, they recommend liquid or powder detergent, except for the pre-wash compartment. Only powder should be put into the pre-wash compartment. For that reason, we use all dry detergent.

Use HE (high efficiency) detergent. Regular detergent will make too many suds in a front-loading machine. Splendide makes their own detergent, but Tide HE works well for us and is half the cost. Also, since the capacity of the RV combo washer/dryer is small, use even less detergent than the package recommends. We use only about 1/3 or 1/2 the recommended amount per load. If your clothes aren't getting clean, use a little more. If your clothes still smell like the detergent after they're dry, use less or press the button for extra rinse.

Also, since the capacity is small, don't overload the machine, especially during the dry cycle. You will be able to wash more than you can dry efficiently, so either wash and dry smaller loads or stop the machine after the wash cycle, remove some of the clothes and dry them as two separate, smaller loads. Drying smaller loads and removing the clothes as soon as they are finished drying will help minimize wrinkles.

[MaverickBBD]

We have had our Splendide 2100 since we had our MotorHome. DW uses it constantly. If you find out that it is not drying properly make sure your loads are not too big and your vent hose is installed properly. Many installations they just take the vent hose and hook up the ends and do not cut it to size forming a giant lint trap. Also if the loads are too big you will get excessive shaking and vibration. If you don't have the manuals you can go online and download them. I would highly recommend it.

[Larry & Rita]

Something else you will find is that there is no lint filter (At least on mine)
The book says that the lint is washed down the drain---Not so !!
I found the drying cycle was taking longer and longer so I started to investagate.
When I looked up the outside vent on the side of the rig I saw all the lint.
I removed the vent cover and found that when the DW used the dryer, it seemed to be a weak exaust of air.
I remembered that there was a thing called the "Lint Gator" that we saw on TV to clean the dryer vent, that hooked to the vacume, thinking that the exaust hose was pluged.
I made sure the dirt trap on the vac. was empty and shoved the Gator down the hose from the out side-I had to empty the vac. in order to complete the job-All the lint had settled in the hose that ran from the back of the washer/dryer over the years.
Extreme caution should be used if you try this---The hose connection is not connected and if you get to agressive with the Gator you can disconnect the hose and end up having to remove the washer to reattach the hose.
That thing is heavy.

[Afubar]

I have the Splendide 2000 and love it. You can find the manuals on the web.

Here's what the manual says on detergent and softener:

Use only a low sudsing detergent, one or two tablespoons
(maximum) of the standard powder detergent
or liquid equivalent.

We recommend using a bio-friendly softener or other
softeners that appear light or white in color and have a
more liquid consistency. These type products are found
to dissolve more thoroughly in less water in this type
machine.
Add one to two tablespoons of softener to the
“Additives” compartment “D” of the detergent dispenser.
Under no circumstances overfill, as the softener will
immediately siphon into the machine and in so doing
impair the wash results.