Portable Spin Dryer from The Laundry Alternative

Japanese clothes washers have these sorts of things built-in.

Yeah, the third world loves those things. Like with guns, just make sure the kids are educated in their use, those things will rip your arm off if you stick your hand in while they're spinning.

My grandmother had the equivalent device, with hand cranked twin-nip roller presses on top to squeeze out most free water, and then a spin "extractor" on vertical axis, below, that removed the final drops. Modern washing machines simply combine the two functions using a gear box and pump so I don't see a significant advantage in returning to this older idea. Perhaps just the smaller capacity saves electricity for small loads. But for large loads it would surely be an inconvenient step backwards in design.

Being European I am just absolutely amazed by posts like this. Are you seriously saying American washing machines don't have a spin dryer built-in?

**Author's comment**

Sander,

Thanks for your comment. To clarify, this dryer spins at 3200 rpm, whereas conventional washers are closer to 1000 or 1200. So it serves essentially the same function as a spin cycle, but much, much better, doing the same work in 2-3 minutes that a conventional dryer does in 30 minutes. I liked it because it makes using a drying rack or clothes line much more feasible than just taking damp clothes directly from the washing machine and letting them dry.

CD

Better not let axis of evil nations get hold of this technology to process yellow cake (:->

Are you seriously saying American washing machines don't have a spin dryer built-in?

No, here in America we actually load our dryers half-full of water PLUS sopping wet clothes, then start up the three Hummers in our garage (which we all have) which power the dryers.

After things dry, we soak the clothes again and do the whole thing over just to waste more energy.

It's true!

Now that's funny! And it didn't even need a (sarcasm) in brackets at the end! Go USA!

In response to Bovis, they have safety features. To open the lid, you have to move a lever which brakes the machine. In response to Sander, American washing machines almost always have a spin cycle, but it is normally much slower than on European washing machines. As a result, you can extract quite a bit of water from the clothes in only 2-3 minutes using the spin dryer.

My partner ordered this spin dryer Nov.2,a month ago,through Laundry Alternative,we are still waiting for it!
We have repeatedly inquired why we have not received it and have not been given a definate reason only they are checking in to it,the shipping person works part time and is on a flexiable schedule. So if your are thinking of getting one of these spin dryers you may have difficulty getting it delivered and likewise assistance if a problem occurs.

It's not only the rpms that matter, it's also the radius. I'm wondering what the radius of a normal washer is and what the radius of these are. I assume the radius of a normal washer is 2 to 4 times the radius of this smaller one. A smaller radius must have a larger rpm to result in an equivalent force as that of a larger one. So giving the information of rpm is not useful without also giving the radius. Or better just give the force.
I'm also interested in reviews of these things, because I hand wash and in winter I must hang the clothes inside, which take awhile to dry.

I was wondering if someone could measure the inside diameter of the stainless steel drum on the laundry alternative spin dryer?

I was actually doing some calculations to see if laundry alternative spin dryer is comparable to to a normal washing machine spin cycle.

The spin dryer just arrived. It is fabulous, even better than anticipated. It is quiet and easy to use. It took nearly a quart of water out of the first load of laundry. By slashing the time needed by the electric heat dyer, the spin dryer saved time, money, and the environment.

Lorie, did you ever get your spin dryer from Laundry Alternative?

I want to by one of these things, and the laundry-alternative has these at a fraction ofteh german spin x price. However, two things: 1) Hase anyone out there gotten theor spindry from laundry-alternative ok? That one person who wrote the comments about not getting theirs scares me some.
2) Is this a cheapo version of the $spin X or is it ok? Looks like just what we need, as we have 2 adults 4 kids all using 1 dry to death.
Thanks,
Jamie

A few comments:

1. This is not a cheapo knock off of the Spin-X. Our price is more in line with that spin dryers commonly sell for in Europe. We came out with spin dryers because we sell non-electric washers without a spin cycle, and a lot of customers asked for a way to spin out the water.

2. Some people are wondering if a spin dryer is any better than a regular washing machine spin cycle. While it is true that the tub size also plays a role (not just the spin speed) this spin dryer extracts a lot more water from the clothes than a regular top loading washing machine. This is an easily verifiable, indisputable fact. The spin dryer is not very helpful if you have a faster spin cycle, i.e. 1000 rpm or over.

3. We are human and like any company can make mistakes. However we certainly are not in the habit of taking and not shipping orders, we ship a lot of units every week and the vast majority arrive quickly without any problems. If we have made a mistake on one order we apologize, but please do not think this is typical by any means.

I've owned the laundry alternative spin dryer for 4 years now and love it. The difference is incredible.
4 minutes to spin and 10 minutes in a conventional dryer and your done. Yea its smaller so you change the way you do laundy a bit. But the clothes are still dry before the next load is out of the washer. I lived out of town with only bottled propane (which I filled in town) and so saving propane was very imortant. I could go 9 months on 20 gallons of propane using it for the oven/stove, hot water and the dryer (a family of four). Thats huge!

I too have a problem with Laundry Alternative. It took 20 days for me to receive the WRONG item. I contacted them by phone, and it was suggested I send an email as it would be faster. I did, and they replied right away, asking that I keep the item and forward it to another customer in Canada where I live. I said no problem, compensate me for the tax and handling on the wrong item, send me the right item, and the address where they would like me to send the first item. And that was the end of it. No more emails, I sent them 3 more , still no response. Their phone number now answers with one word "Bye". The fact that there was not even a name at the end of the first reply should have been a clue about the service I was about to "not" receive. I notice Corey K Tournet, the owner, is quick to respond in this forum. I wish he was as quick to respond to me. Search on his name in Google and someone who understands web marketing, as he does, will quickly understand what is happening here. I say no more.

On Feb 06 2007 I posted here stating that I too had a problem with the service from Laundry Alternative. Today Feb 08 2007 I received the proper item. It seems an email problem somewhere prevented me from seeing a notice from Corey stating that they had indeed shipped the proper item. Considering when I notified them that there was a problem and when I received the proper item, less than half the time I expected, this is actually outstanding service. I retract anything negative about Corey or his company that I wrote in the "heat" of anger. I actually believe that the Laundry Alternative carries great products and that is why I ordered from them. Shopping at the Laundry Alternative has turned out to be a positive experience.
Thanks
Bob

Wow, so many problems with customer service from the Laundry Alternative. I, too had problems. They didn't bother to ship my item for a couple of weeks, and took about a month in all to arrive. No apology, no information to explain what was going on. In fact, their response was basically "deal with it". They even forgot to ship one item. Should I mention their online shopping cart was broken, placing items in two different cart systems?

I have the spin dryer, I like it a lot, but let's find an alternative supplier because they just don't seem to give a damn about anything beyond their product.

Quite few people do not understand the difference between a spin dryer and a tumble dryer. Readers here do, but in many cases the average person has never heard of a spin dryer. As a result, when people order, we send out an email confirmation asking the customer to confirm he or she understands the difference before shipping the order. We need to do this, otherwise it will result in extra returns, from people expecting a heated tumble dryer and force us to raise the price on this product.

If you want to order this product and understand the difference, please indicate this in the comments section of the order form, it can help speed up the processing of your order.

I wrote a previous post early in this discussion about waiting for a spindryer (from Laundry Alternative). After six weeks, the spindryer arrived with a ding on the side the size of a baseball and several centimeters deep.

I emailed customer service and explained about the
presumed shipping damage and asked what was the policy on damaged goods. I was told I could send the spindryer back and receive a refund with no mention of who would pay for the shipping charges to return it. I was also offered a second choice: a ten dollar refund to keep the new spindryer as is. I did not opt to receive the ten dollar markdown or send the spindryer back for a return. I already had a hand cranked washer (from Laundry Alternative) and I wanted to just get on with making doing laundry easier. I had little confidence that I would receive another spindryer without another long holdup and a short list of lame excuses if a holdup occured.

Yes the spindryer works. It has a nice look although mine has a hefty ding in it.

I agree with another person who says that this company seems to only care about their product...(and not so much abut customer service). I also did a google search and discovered a lot of interest by the owner to market his products on the internet using web page feeds. Also I did a search on Better Business Bureau. You may read the Bureau's history on Laundry Alternative for yourself and evaluate what may expect.

The upshot from this experience with Laundry Alternative and their products for a greener world leaves me wishing for a study on green companies
and ease of buying from them. I was excited to find the products offered by Laundry Alternatives but was let down by the way they handle customer service. Sure other people may have been luckier and happier with their experience and this is good because ultimately a greener world is critical to our future.

I recently tried to return a Wonder Wash and Spin Dryer because I was not satisfied with the product after seeing it. I tried the phone number for an entire day and nobody answered. It sounds like an overseas number the way it rings. I then sent an email and in response was told that I "tick them off" and "consumers like me are a drain", and I'm "stupid". I was completely shocked. WARNING! Do NOT buy products from The Laundry Alternatives, Inc. Corey K. Tournet is a scammer. The 30 day money back guarantee is a scam. You will NOT get your money back and you will be abused in the process of trying.

I checked the Better Business bureau and this is what I found out:

Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaints and a pattern of complaints.

Beware! I was insulted by Corey K. Tournet, founder of Laundry Alternative, Inc. for two days while trying to get a refund.

Some criticisms are valid, we are not perfect. However please do not believe a word Kate Morgan says, we are trying very hard to take the high road. You would be horrified if you read what she wrote.

Here is a much more typical comment from someone who very recently bought a spin dryer. Please keep in mind that discussion boards tend to be dominated by negativity: this is not to discount some valid complaints, but the vast majority of customers receive their product in a timely manner and are very happy with it.

Received your spin dryer yesterday. How did I do laundry for so many years without one? A ridiculously simple, yet highly effective device. We did five loads of laundry last night – wash, extract, dry – in under two hours – thanks to the extractor, clothes would be out of the dryer in about 1/3 the time as before, and be folded before the next load of wash was ready. No washing machine downtime waiting for the dryer to finish. My girlfriend was completely amazed when a load of jeans came out of the dryer completely dry after only 15 minutes. So – we can finish the laundry in well under half the elapsed time – and save energy and money (the extractor will be paid for by electricity savings in about six months) – and the clothes are not being destroyed (much less lint) – what more could one ask for?

I ordered a wonderwash and 3200 RPM spin dryer this weekend. Awaiting this stuff to see how well it works.

Based on what I've read about Laundry-Alternative, I hope it works out, and we get the products soon. I'll post (hopefully positive) feedback here based on what happens.

When I ordered my second spin dryer on March 12th, The Laundry Alternative, Inc. listed them as being in stock. As of this posting I still have not received my order. On March 19th I emailed them to see if I could get a tracking number. The very next day, March 20th I received the generic email asking me to confirm that I knew what I was ordering. It said: “We can ship your Spin Dryer as soon as we receive your confirmation.” I set them a reply the same day, but have still not received my order. Is there another company that sells a similar product? Also the brake fell off my first unit. After not being able to reach The Laundry Alternative by phone, I repaired it myself. My wife said that it took about four minutes to stop spinning without the brake.

It took 2 weeks for an ups tracking # from Laundry Alternative, plus I believe they lack simple reading skills. I purchased 2 items; WonderWasher & Spin Dryer. The WonderWasher was the only item to arrive. They can’t read purchase orders very well.

Can't get them to answer their telephone and email responses take days. I'm looking for a response now for my missing Spin Dryer, and an "Alternative" seller whose shipping and customer service department get the job done. Laundry-Alternative is pathetic at best.

I'm curently shopping for a mini washer and dryer and from what I've seen so far, I'm inclined to get the wonder wash and portable dryer. But what make me hesitant is the comments I've bee seeing in this forum regarding the customer service aspect of the Laundry Alternative Inc. I would really like to learn more about the company. It seems a shame that a company that seems to sell really good products could be remiss in the important aspect of insuring customer satisfaction.

Hi there, I have had such a WONDERFUL experientce with the folks at the Laundry Alternative. They have provided such excellent customer service to me that I just never expected. My spin dryer was damaged through shipping but the problem didn't show up until about 3 months after I started using it. Immediately without question the Laundry Alertnative sent me a replacement unit free of charge. When it arrived, Customs charged me another duty fee of $16.45. I had already paid this fee r the first one spin dryer that came. I contacted the Laundry Alternative to have them fill in some paperwork for me so that I could get customs to reimburse me the double charge, but rather than doing that, the Laundry Alternative reimbursed to me through PayPal the $16.45. In addition to all of this, they answered all my emails and I have to say that truthfully, the spin dryer is AMAZING! We are a three person family, 2 adults and one teenager and we spin all of our laundry in it and it works superbly. I could never do this by hand as when I did, my hands were red and raw after only one day of trying. We put many loads through our spin dryer and it never lets us down and if you were to buy one, you would not be disappointed with it! Now I'd like to see the Laundry Alternative make a washer that is the same as the one they sell now, but that is also electric. Thanks so much Laundry Alternative for all that you've done for us and for SUCH A WONDERFUL machine!!!! Sue in Toronto, Canada

Very glad to see your message, Sue as I am also from Toronto, Canada! I was also concerned about the duties and custom fees and you somehow answered my question. My family have been using the Personal mini-washer from Technosonic for 3 years now and amazingly it has more than paid for itself. But now since the screws are corroded w/ rust and the machine is leaking, we are ready to move on to another machine, which is why I came upon the wonder washer. Having seen the spin dryer, that is another bonus to boot since we are a family of four (2 adults, 2 toddlers). Having a portable washing machine have saved us tons of money since we are apartment dwellers at the moment. Though it would be great to have the spin dryer as my hands are suffering too from the constant wringing and you can never get enough clothes to hang in the bathroom for dripping and then onto clothes drying rack. From the experience of others as well as yours, perhaps the company could improve their packaging to insure protection of the products that they ship out. But again, thanks for the info!

Very glad to see your message, Sue as I am also from Toronto, Canada! I was also concerned about the duties and custom fees and you somehow answered my question. My family have been using the Personal mini-washer from Technosonic for 3 years now and amazingly it has more than paid for itself. But now since the screws are corroded w/ rust and the machine is leaking, we are ready to move on to another machine, which is why I came upon the wonder washer. Having seen the spin dryer, that is another bonus to boot since we are a family of four (2 adults, 2 toddlers). Having a portable washing machine have saved us tons of money since we are apartment dwellers at the moment. Though it would be great to have the spin dryer as my hands are suffering too from the constant wringing and you can never get enough clothes to hang in the bathroom for dripping and then onto clothes drying rack. From the experience of others as well as yours, perhaps the company could improve their packaging to insure protection of the products that they ship out. But again, thanks for the info!

Could anyone tell me the amperage of the Spin Dryer? It should be in the specs that came with the manual. My apartment has old wiring that is prone to shorting out. Thanks in advance!

My name is Melinda. I live in Toronto, Ontario. I ordered the Spin Dryer on May 12, 2007 and the money came off of my Credit Card on May 15. 2007. Today is June 11, 2007 and I still do not have the Spin Dryer. The website states that it takes 4 to 10 days to receive, but tomorrow will be one month that I have placed my order. When I place the order, it stated that the item was in stock. I had also read that I needed to place a comment on my order form stating that I understood this product was not a tumble dryer and that I know the difference between a spin dryer and a tumble dryer. I was told it will speed up shipping. I did this and am still waiting. I have tried more than a dozen times to contact the company by telephone via their 1-888 number, regardless of day or night, their voice mail is always full. Today I wrote them an email asking why the delay and when can I expect to receive my Spin Dryer. I am awaiting a reply. I will follow-up as things progress.

We are out of stock as of today, and won't be getting any more units until sometime this summer. An out of stock notice will be going up on the website shortly. Melinda above is getting a refund today, not because she posted but because we just needed a little time to get to it. We held off on shipping her order, as we discovered a product defect first.

We would suggest that if people really care about the green movement they will stop the negative comments- we are not perfect but not dishonest. We spent a great deal of time and money developing products, we don't just buy and resell. Product development is hard, it involves a lot of risk and financial investment on our part. Things don't always work out the first time. The negative comments really take away from our love for creating energy-saving green products and providing them at an extremely affordable price (where they can make a difference, as opposed to most of the overpriced products out there).

For Laundry Alternative: I guess if you improve your service, be more accessible and updated with the information in your website, you wouldn't be getting all these negative comments.

I have a similar complaint as that of Melinda, or so I thought. I'm also from Toronto, Canada. After some research and some deliberation, I finally gave in and put in my order of the 12.2 capacity spin dryer on May 15. Then I immediately received the Notice Of Purchase Confirmation # 1179263533GM email message. So I waited and waited for the order until today, 4 weeks later and realized that on the payment selected, I entered my own name in the name of card entry instead of my husband's, who is the visa cardholder. So I checked our visa statements and verified that the payment amount listed in the notice of purchase was not credited. Noting Melinda's message there, my husband says I was saved a headache by my mistake.But my question is, how come I was not informed of this. Do you not check the orders that come in? You seem to have good producst there as I'm happy with the wonderwasher that we ordered and now use. But your customer service really sucks and like Melinda, I ordered the spin dryer in good faith as it says right in your website that its in stock. If you experienced delays or was having a problem keeping it in stock, wouldn't you at least have been considerate enough to inform her or another other customer what was going on? At least advise her? And here we are, we have to go here to tree hugger just to get some answers. That says a lot about your company!

First of all this spindryer and the spin-x version are made by a German company named Robert Stahischmidt gmbh. As you can tell they manufacture motors and decided to make spinners in order to sell motors. As you all know the Euro is 1.36 to the falling dollar, so this may explain lack of supply. I imagine they have to buy in large bulk to get a discount. The german company makes like 4 different extractors this one looks like the plastic one. If the load is not centered and hits the plastic say bye bye. I had the spin-x and they give a lousy 1 yr warranty-the motor died. Guess what a new one cost $200 not including shipping back and forth. And no Warranty. Over time the door lock will fail on both should a piece of clothing escape. So the stainless steel one maybe a better deal. Still I do not understand the price gap since both machines are pretty much the same. Also it is important not to use the machine right away after spinning a load- you should wait like 15 to 30 minutes. That is what the guy selling the spin-x said, since it will increase the longevity of the motor. But I always waited at least 15 minutes between loads-what a pain. Do not get me wrong but I love these things. also they make this IMPOSSIBLE to fix as the motor is welded and it is nearly impossible to remove unless you have special tools. I bought the spin-x for like $325 used it for a year and now I have to pay like $275! I guess there are no free rides. I would like to hear from buyers who have this machine for 2 yrs!

A bit of clarification- the company above supplies the motor to the company called robert thomas in neunkrichen Germany. It seems like the motor co. is related to the thomas co. Any way if you type into Google www.robert-thomas.de/neukrichen you will get the company. Click in the british flag on your left and hit laundry then spin dryers. You will get a bunch, it is my belief that the one Laundry Alernative is selling is the one on the left and the one spin-x is selling is on the right. This explains the price difference to a certain level. Also these spin dryers do not comply with American standards of saftey since after the measly door lock becomes non functional the machine still turns!
So a child can leave the lid open and push the lever and say bye to his hand or shoulder! And last of all if you cannot fix this motor or exchange it and put it in yourself how eco friendly is it? Okay and your cloths do come out with wrinkles forcing you to use a dryer!

Melinda here with my follow-up. My email to this company stated that I bought the Spin Dryer and have not received it. I did get an email back stating that they DID NOT BILL ME for this product and that it is out of stock until the Summer, this email was NOT signed (this is always a red flag). I was stunned by their response because they DID indeed bill me and even removed the funds from my Credit Card two days after I bought it off of their website, yet their email says I was not billed. Also I was puzzled by this email as the Spin Dryer was in deed listed as being in stock at the time I purchased it. At NO TIME did I ever receive a email, telephone call, or letter telling me this product was NO LONGER IN STOCK. Why did they remove money from my Credit Card if they indeed DID NOT have this item in stock? Doesn't a company only bill you when they can deliver the goods? Had I not written an email to this company I would still be waiting for a product that they don't seem to carry, yet they have no problems taking your money. In response to their email, I wrote back and informed them they did in fact bill me and when can I expect a refund. I recevied an email in response, again NOT SIGNED, stating and I quote "Thank you for smearing our reputation on the Internet." I was stunned. At no point did I get an appology of any kind. I made no comment in my email about this website, yet they stated I smeared their reputation. As far as I am concerned they smeared their own reputation with their HORRIBLE Customer Service. This email went on to say that they would issue me a refund and it will take 3 days. I replied to this very unprofessional email and asked why they never sign their name. The reply I received shocked me, I quote again "If we give you a name you'll just use it the next you go online and badmouth us." I have yet to receive my refund and will be issuing a charge back with my Credit Card.

I'm interested in buying a spin dryer, but would like another source as Laundry Alternative seems to have customer service issues.

Does anyone know of somewhere to buy one in Canada or another souce that ships to Canada?

To Laundry Alternative: you mentioned that you will update your website and inform the public that your spin dryer is temporarily out of stock. Went there just now...still in stock now! What's the deal?
I figured I might get more answers here than in your actual website.

From anecdotal information on other websites it appears that the reason Laundry Alternative were out of stock on the large spinner for a while last year is that they went back to make design improvements to make the machine more robust.

Smaller businesses often have customer service difficulties due to lack of staff or part-timers or whatever. Bear with them and be glad you're not dealing with WalMart.

Here's another option in spinners: Danby DTT-420 Twin Tub washer. Wash tub on the left for wash & rinse, spin tub on the right, 1600 rpm. I've had one for two years, works great, no trouble, and uses very little electricity (0.05 KWH for a 4 lb. load and 0.07 KWH for a 6 lb. load). Not automatic: you have to move the load back & forth manually, control the water supply manually, and so on, but the benefit is an utterly simple machine that should last forever if you take care of it. You can also re-use the rinse water from the last load as wash water for the next load, cutting water consumpton in half. Price is about $300 from various online sources.

I'm probably going to buy a Wonde