I know this has come up before, but I'm curious to hear any thoughts on our situation:
Beat up GE dryer that came with the house broke, and the companion GE TL washer has been acting up so we decided it was time to replace. Almost jumped at FL samsung washer & steam dryer that were on sale, but helpful salesperson suggested we go home and measure carefully.
I assumed we were in the clear because I knew (or I thought I knew) the GE machines were standard sized (27" wide) but was surprised when I found there was a 26" chokepoint (see picture) in our basement stairway. Turns out the GEs are 25.5" deep, so that must be how they got them down, although I'm also wondering if there was some disassembly involved.
So now our options seem to be:
1) Buy one of the compact efficiency sets: Bosch seem to have good reviews and are widely available although we are a family of four including two small, messy kids so we are already doing lots of laundry...
Also we have to decide if we go with a vented dryer option since we already have the vent in place, or opt for ventless which seem to have better reviews despite taking longer to dry clothes?
2) Search for the (rare?) full sized sets that have a dimension less than 26" (or close to it).
3) Disassemble & reassemble in basement (seems daunting) or pay someone to do it for us.
4) Try to modify the stairwell somehow to add an inch of space (not sure it's possible).
Note that we don't really have space to install upstairs in a closet or something. And there is no alternative access to the basement. Also that 26" narrow stairwell point is a wall to frame thing, I've already factored in removing the handrail and the piece of OSB.
I know that's a lot of information, and I've only just discovered this board so hope I am not asking the wrong kind of questions! Thanks in advance.





Beat up GE dryer that came with the house broke, and the companion GE TL washer has been acting up so we decided it was time to replace. Almost jumped at FL samsung washer & steam dryer that were on sale, but helpful salesperson suggested we go home and measure carefully.
I assumed we were in the clear because I knew (or I thought I knew) the GE machines were standard sized (27" wide) but was surprised when I found there was a 26" chokepoint (see picture) in our basement stairway. Turns out the GEs are 25.5" deep, so that must be how they got them down, although I'm also wondering if there was some disassembly involved.
So now our options seem to be:
1) Buy one of the compact efficiency sets: Bosch seem to have good reviews and are widely available although we are a family of four including two small, messy kids so we are already doing lots of laundry...
Also we have to decide if we go with a vented dryer option since we already have the vent in place, or opt for ventless which seem to have better reviews despite taking longer to dry clothes?
2) Search for the (rare?) full sized sets that have a dimension less than 26" (or close to it).
3) Disassemble & reassemble in basement (seems daunting) or pay someone to do it for us.
4) Try to modify the stairwell somehow to add an inch of space (not sure it's possible).
Note that we don't really have space to install upstairs in a closet or something. And there is no alternative access to the basement. Also that 26" narrow stairwell point is a wall to frame thing, I've already factored in removing the handrail and the piece of OSB.
I know that's a lot of information, and I've only just discovered this board so hope I am not asking the wrong kind of questions! Thanks in advance.




