Product review (4 stars): I love it but it can be challenging. This is why I wrote these tips on installation, break-in and overall use
This product is substantially different from what most Americans are accustomed to. I have a lot of experience with similar products as I have a second home in Europe where these technologies had been available for 10+ years.
Pluses:
This is a combination washer and dryer = space saving; installed size is 27w x 41h x 32d (this includes the necessary clearance from the wall as not to get the hoses bent, which is important);
This is a ventless dryer using condensation/heat pump technology = no need to vent and higher energy efficiency when drying;
This is a direct drive machine = should last longer and improves energy efficiency a bit;
The washer is equipped with a heater which allows for extra-high temperature wash and/or steam cycle = better removal of oils, dust, other organic matter, including bacteria and molds;
It uses 110 volts and can be plugged into a regular 110V outlet = no need to pay exhuberant fees to electricians, no need for a gas line;
It can be connected (with an adaptor which you can buy or can jerry-rig yourself) to a regular cold/hot water faucet and it can drain into a regular bathtub/basin, even a bucket = which may be good if your house/apartment is completely lacking plumbing for a washer (the results are not spectacular but are not horrible either, some splashing may occur, have your mop handy);
The washing function is near perfect and after a bit of experimentation you will become a pro in deciding which of the multiple options is best for each kind of fabric, it is also great that you can pause the washing cycle and change most of its parameters (add an extra rinse, or just go straight to "drain and open the door" option, especially useful when you see a black sock floating among your whitest shirts)
The drying function is tricky BUT with some adjustments and trial cycles, as well as a fair amount of learning you should be able to dry perfectly fine and get results that are crisp and almost wrinkle-free (almost exactly the same as the conventional dryer);
The washing cycle will give a perfect wash (including the steam function) to the biggest possible load which, in my case was 1 fitted king sheet, 1 flat king sheet, 4 flat twin sheets and 6 pillowcases. I could've forced another twin sheet but chose not to. Or you can wash two king size feather pillows;
The high speed spin is very good at removing almost all water from the wash and is recommended to almost all types of laundry except fine silks;
The drying function will not reliably dry the full load (as described above), you will have to unload half of the washed laundry and dry the first half, then load the second half and dry it. You may try drying the full load but it will take forever and it will come out completely wrinkled and those wrinkles will be nearly impossible to remove by ironing;
It is possible to get this machine to dry a shirt almost wrinkle-free and suitable for casual wear = dry no more than 3 long sleeve shirts at a time and possibly use dryer balls (or just regular tennis balls but not golf balls). Any larger load and wrinkles may be too pronounced. You can, of course, pause the dryer, check the humidity of your stuff, take it out when it is not damp already but not yet dry and iron or fold and allow the wrinkles relax. The latter works perfectly for t-shirts, just pull them out while slightly humid, fold and stack.
And finally, the completion times are not as horrible as people may say. I live in a rather dry climate, which helps but a load of 3-4 t-shirts, 3-4 shirts (not heavily soiled) is done washing in 1 hr and drying in 1 hr, making it a 2 hr total. A short cycle is about 15 min, I can add 30 min of drying and have my stuff ready to be ironed in 45 minutes. Or ready to wear after additional 30 minutes of drying.
I don't have much to say about LG service as I have never used it.
It is CRITICALLY important to remove the holding bolts after you install the unit and both the installation instructions and the owner's manual make it very clear in BOLD letters. If you don't read the manual, don't ask for directions, know it all, make your own duct tape, hold things with glue and ropes, blame others for your own shortcomings and, most importantly, don't remove the bolts... well, maybe you should not be playing with expensive stuff?
HOWEVER (yes, there is always a "but"), the LG engineers seemed to have forgotten some of the well-established technological solutions that make similar W/D combos popular in Europe (and, possibly, elsewhere) and the adaptation to the US standards was not exactly smooth.
So here are the negatives, from minor to major.
1. The manual should include more relevant information. For example, what is the temperature of the "extra hot" washing cycle. In Europe they label the cycles, something like 20C (room temp), 40C (104F, our regular hot water), 60C (140F, good for thorough cleaning) and 90C (194F, good for cotton whites, towels, baby clothing etc.). I would like to know what temperature the "extra hot" and "steam" settings of this W/D actually provide. Why? Different fabrics have different heat tolerances and so do different pests. 140F is enough to kill dust mites but not enough to kill some of the pathogenic bacteria. Also the manual should give more precise information on the lenght of the washing and drying cycles so that I am not surprized with "it will be ready in 6 hrs". Short cycles are available but what exactly is a "small load"? Is it 1 pound dry weight? 2 pounds? (Hint: it seems to be under 1 kilo/2.2 pounds dry weight, but this is not official). All this is, of course, known to the engineers and designers at LG but -- in the inimitable LG fashion -- they do not share the information. Could this be the consequence of our (USA) liability precedents? Who knows.
2. The plastic/synthetic rubber that comes in contact with hot air during drying is an absolute miss. I cannot explain to myself why LG chose this specific plastic/rubber -- because it stinks, and will stink up your clothing rather badly for the first 10-12 drying sessions. The intensity of the smell will subside with each drying session and after about 20 drying cycles the smell will be practically gone and after 30-40 it will be gone completely. But why -- o why? -- couldn't LG use the same plastic it uses in Europe? My condensing dryer there does not produce any kind of smell and didn't do so even during its very first drying cycle. This is a mystery to me. SOLUTION: after installing, grab about 5 pounds (dry weight) of well-worn cotton rugs, wash them (short cycle, double the usual amount of detergent) and dry with the manual timer set for 2:30 hrs. Repeat 3-4 times before you load your first real laundry. Be prepared that there will be a faint bitter smell even after the 'break in'. Choose your dryer sheets accordingly as to mask the odor. Lavender seems to work. The smell will disappear but why did it have to be present in the first place? Another mystery.
3. Drying times and efficacy will greatly depend on the size of your load and the overall humidity in your laundry room. The rule of thumb is to use timed drying (in increments of 30 minutes). Dry for 30 minutes and check. Not dry enough? Set the selector (the round knob) to 'Drain+Spin', set the spin to 'no spin' and add another 30 minutes. Repeat until desired dryness is achieved. AND REMEMBER NOT TO OVERLOAD.
4. This is a condensing dryer. Water that evaporates from your clothes condenses inside the machine and is pumped out through the gray ribbed pipe in the back of the unit. And here we have another problem. If the gray ribbed drain tube is draining into the typical US laundry box, which is positioned about 3-4 feet from the floor, some of that condensate/water will backflow and will splash your drying laundry, causing uneven drying and unpleasant-looking spots (they will disappear but still...) In Europe my installer told me that condensing driers MUST drain into a floor drain or a drain that is no higher than about 10 inches from the floor. I experimented with my US unit and -- lo and behold -- it is true. When I drain the W/D into the floor drain (which I have because I have my water heater in the same room), everything is as good as expected. When I put the gray ribbed pipe into the wall laundry box -- drying is bad, slow, and there are mutliple water spots on the (almost) dry laundry. I think it is necessary to mention this to your installer and make sure this unit drains into a floor drain. What if you are installing it yourself and there is no such drain available? You can try draining it into the wall drain during the wash cycle, then pull the gray ribbed drain pipe out of the wall drain and drain into a bucket during the drying cycle. Sounds cumbersome (and it is). Or you could place your unit near your bathtub and drain into it. Or you can research the issue and possibly buy a different unit.
Yet, with all the shortcomings, this is definitely a 4 out of 5 stars. I actually love it but I also understand that it can be frustrating to a novice.