Samsung Washer Dryer Combo with Laundry Hub WH46DBH500EVA3 Review

Introduction

Having a stacked washer and dryer is just about the most efficient use of space you can have, and the Samsung Washer Dryer Combo with Laundry Hub WH46DBH500EVA3 makes life even easier as it comes pre-stacked.

This clever all-in-one unit gives you all of the benefits of separates, but with tight integration between the washer and dryer, making it a great choice for laundry rooms that don’t need the highest possible capacities.

Design and Features

• The tumble dryer is on top
• The washing machine at the bottom

The Samsung Washer Dryer Combo with Laundry Hub WH46DBH500EVA3 is similar to the LG WKHC202HBA WashTower that we reviewed at the end of 2023.

While the layout is similar (washing machine at the bottom, tumble dryer on top), the Samsung Washer Dryer Combo with Laundry Hub WH46DBH500EVA3 has more washing and drying capacity, with a 4.6 cu. ft. washer and a 7.6 cu. ft dryer.

That’s compared to LG’s 4.5 cu. ft. washer and 7.2 cu. ft dryer. The Samsung WH46DBH500EVA3 is actually closer in capacity to top-loader separates.

Here, I have the electric version of the product available, although Samsung has a similar configuration with a gas-powered tumble dryer on top.

One of the key benefits of a stacked system is that all of the controls of the washer and dryer are in a central control panel; if you stack a traditional tumble dryer on top of a washer, its controls are high-up where they can be hard to reach.

And, as it’s assumed, correctly, that there’s plumbing available for the washing machine, waste water from the tumble dryer is sent out of a waste pipe and into the drain, so there’s no vent to deal with or water tank to empty.

The washing machine has its detergent drawer in the standard place. This one has tanks, which can be split as 20 loads of detergent and 20 loads of fabric softener, or you can use both for detergent with up to 34 loads catered for. I like these kinds of drawers, as they make it easy to quickly set a load and go.

The control panel defaults to the washer selection, with a dial to quickly select the wash cycle you want. All of the common ones are there, plus there’s an AI wash, where the washer will sense the type of washing and set the wash type automatically, and some steam cycles.

Additional cycles are available via the SmartThings app, and you can add or remove cycles from the control panel, so only the ones you’ll use are easily visible.

It’s similar for the dryer, with the same dial used to select the drying mode, once the tumble dryer has been selected. Again, additional cycles are available via SmartThings, and the interface can be configured to show only the drying cycles you want.

A rack is available, which lets you dry items that normally have to be laid flat, such as sneakers and jumpers.

There doesn’t seem to be any way to automatically set your dry cycle based on the wash cycle that you just used; however there are plenty of customization options in the menus if you want to tweak either the washer or dryer to your preference. The lack of a larger screen does make navigating the menus a little more fiddly, though.

The filter is easy to empty and clean, and the machine will advise – rather constantly – when it needs to be done. As it’s easy to do, there’s no trouble with this and you’ll get better performance when you do regularly clean it.

Performance

• Low running costs
• Strong stain removal
• Excellent at drying

I tested the Samsung WH46DBH500EVA3 using a standard set of clothes and wash cycles to see how well it performs and how much it costs to run.

Starting with the Normal wash, I found that this would cost around $0.09, which is a bit cheaper than the same wash on the LG WKHC202HBA. Impressively, my clothes were just 34.35% heavier at the end of the cycle than when they went in. Anything below 40% is good, but the lower the better, as it reduces drying time in a tumble dryer or on a line.

I tested wash performance using a stain strip, which contains the following stains: red wine, cooking oil, ketchup, orange juice and gravy. I found the results to be very good, with the majority of the stains coming off and very little residue – even from the tougher ones – left behind. Considering how good this mode is, it’s the one I would pick to use each time.

I then ran the cold wash, which cost just $0.06 to run. However, my clothes came out 63% heavier, which is a lot more and shows that they were dripping wet.

Stain removal wasn’t as good – which is to be expected – but it still did a good job at removing the bulk of most of the lighter stains.

For the tumble dryer, I found that the it cost around $0.46 for the hanging dry setting, with 100% of the water removed. That’s a very good result.

Pushing the drying level up a notch, the cost increased to $0.61 and the dryer removed 101.36% of water, which meant that some fibres were lost in the process.

Should you buy it?