Washer/Dryer - simple controls

[Riverman]

My mother currently has both her washing machine a separate dryer in an outside garage. She is very unsteady and the walk to the garage, involving steps, is now too dangerous for her.

I would like to get a combined washer/dryer for inside the house - Mum has early signs of dementia and struggles with new technology.

So I wondered if anyone out had been through a similar problem, and perhaps is aware of the make and model of a washer/dryer which is really easy to use?

With thanks,

Lars

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @Riverman you are welcome here and I hope you find the forum to be a friendly and supportive place.

That is a very specific question to which I don't have an answer so I hope others will be along later to help. What I can say is that I made use of home made stick on arrows and liberal use of permanent markers to number buttons on machines and then write sequences on flat surfaces of the machines and these worked with my wife. We are now 3 years into dementia and my wife struggles to follow my simple assists and I either do, or assist, with everything now - I'm afraid that that is the way things tend to go with dementia.

I hope you have time to take a good look around the site as it is a goldmine for information. When I first joined I read old threads for information but then found the AS Publications list and the page where a post code search can be done to check for support services in ones own area. If you are interested in these, clicking the following links will take you there

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you

You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney etc., if any of that hasn't already been done.

Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.

Best of luck to both you and your mother.

 

[canary]

I think the fact that there have been 100 views and only karaokePete has answered shows that there simply isnt a simple washer/drier suitable for someone with dementia.

Most people with dementia have problems with technology and the washing machine was one of the first things that mum could not work out how to do. She kept on calling out the engineer saying that it wasnt working properly, only for the engineer to say that there was nothing wrong. It cost her a small fortune.

The problem is that there are so many decisions and so many choices - is that a full load or too many clothes, have they been sorted correctly, what program do they go on? Has the washing powder/conditioner been put in the right tray in the right amount and is it in fact the right thing and not washing up liquid, toilet cleaner or even sugar............?

Once you add a drier element to it it becomes even worse. Should it go on or not? What temperature to choose? How long for? As well as remembering to empty the water sump and working out how to put it back.......

Notes explaining what to do might work for a while (although mum just ignored any note), but ultimately you are going to have to work out how to get your mums washing done for her

 

[Canadian Joanne]

Is it at all possible to move the current washer & dryer into the house? There is also the concern that your mother may persist in going to the garage as that's where she thinks they are.

 

[Bunpoots]

Very early on my dad started to have trouble with the washing machine. After he decided the thing to do with his laundry was to dry it in the oven (without washing it) I had to make sure that it was all hidden from him and someone else (either me or his home help) would do it for him.

I think laundry has too many variables for someone with dementia to cope with and the only solution is to hand the task over to someone else.

I also agree that moving the machine into the kitchen is unlikely to stop your mum going into the garage if that is what she's always done.

As an afterthought - my dad started to worry about the noise the washing machine made (it was in his kitchen) and would stop it and take all the half washed laundry out if someone wasn't there with him. It might be better to leave the machines in the garage.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

I would think carefully before shelling out money for a new washer/dryer.When my mum was at this stage she seemed to forget everything at once and was forever getting people out to repair things. She went through umpteen phones, remote controls/Sky boxes, a few microwaves, one of which she blew up and a new washer because she'd turned hers off at the plug then thought it was broken.

But getting new appliances actually made things worse. The new simple phone was easier but because it was new mum just couldn't grasp the new way it worked. I think the same was true with the new Sky boxes and microwave - the few bits she could remember didn't work with the new items so she went from being half-flummoxed to completely bewildered.

Also, with a washer/dryer, you have to take half the washload out before drying because the dryer can't cope with as much as the washer. A lot of newer models are quite high-tech too (while claiming to be simple!) Would your mum cope with that? Perhaps the answer instead is to look for other ways of your mum getting her laundry done. A carer coming in? A local laundry service? Or maybe you could take over - not sure if you live close. (Or whether you would want to.)

Just my thoughts - you know your mum best and what she can or can't cope with. But - sadly - she isn't going to get any better and I think learning to use a new washer is a big ask.

 

[Sirena]

My experience with my mother was the same as Canary with hers. My mother lost her ability to use a washing machine she'd had for years and she would not in a million years have been able to cope with a new one, however simple. She also tended to switch everything off at the wall and then say it wasn't working so an engineer would be called in order to flick a switch. So I wouldn't buy her a new machine as it's very unlikely she will be able to use it. If she still successfully uses the existing washing machine you could move it into the house, if there is no room for the dryer dispose of it. See how she gets on with that, although depending on what stage she is at, she may 'blank' the machine in its new spot and automatically head off to the garage anyway.

 

[Bod]

My mother currently has both her washing machine a separate dryer in an outside garage. She is very unsteady and the walk to the garage, involving steps, is now too dangerous for her.

I would like to get a combined washer/dryer for inside the house - Mum has early signs of dementia and struggles with new technology.

So I wondered if anyone out had been through a similar problem, and perhaps is aware of the make and model of a washer/dryer which is really easy to use?

With thanks,

Lars

Following on from other comments, could the steps be changed to a ramp/slope?

Bod

 

[Jale]

Can't offer advice on machines that are easy to use, but just wanted to say we have a washer/dryer combined and it is useless. The dryer part of the machine packed up at about 12months old, luckily it had a 2 year guarantee, we got it repaired and 12 months later the same thing happened. The engineer that came out said they are not as good as separate machines. We ended up buying a separate tumble dryer and keeping that in the garage.

 

[AliceA]

I have an AEG washer dryer, need it because of space. My husband could use it but alas no more.
It was quite expensive, so be careful as one never knows how long an item can be managed.

 

[Rosettastone57]

My mother currently has both her washing machine a separate dryer in an outside garage. She is very unsteady and the walk to the garage, involving steps, is now too dangerous for her.

I would like to get a combined washer/dryer for inside the house - Mum has early signs of dementia and struggles with new technology.

So I wondered if anyone out had been through a similar problem, and perhaps is aware of the make and model of a washer/dryer which is really easy to use?

With thanks,

Lars

There isn't such a machine that a person with dementia will be able to use,in my opinion. My mother-in-law couldn't grasp anything new in any way whatsoever my husband bought her a radio one Christmas with a simple on and off button and she couldn't even manage that. When it got to the point where my mother-in-law who lives on her own couldn't manage the washing machine anymore it came down to one of two options. Either the carers who came in put the washing on and dealt with it or I would deal with it. Whoever did the laundry it was never right according to my mother-in-law. When I did it and used to take the laundry away to put into my own machine when I brought it back it was followed by accusations of me changing the color of the sheets or swapping them for someone else's. Complete nonsense of course. I'm afraid you really have two options either someone else does the laundry or someone else supervises it and instructs her every time