Appliance Spares
Quick answer: A dryer should never simply sit on top of a washing machine. Nothing holds it there, and a front loader on a spin cycle moves enough to walk an unsecured dryer to the edge over months. There are only two safe ways to get a dryer off the laundry floor: a stacking kit made for that exact washer and dryer pair, or a wall mount bracket kit matched to your dryer. In Australia the wall bracket is the usual answer, because most of our vented dryers were designed for it and most of our washers have no stacking kit at all.
Last updated August 2026
The three ways people stack, and which one holds
A dryer wall mount bracket kit typically costs $19-$40 AUD in Australia (median $35.75), as at August 2026 — the smallest cost in this whole decision, and the reason the improvised version is hard to justify.
| What people do | Does it hold? |
|---|---|
| Dryer placed loose on top of a front loader | No. Nothing fixes the two together. Spin vibration moves it, slowly and then suddenly |
| Dryer on top of a top loader | No. The lid opens upward, so the washer cannot be used at all |
| Manufacturer stacking kit for that exact pair | Yes — where one exists for your two machines. It bolts the dryer to the washer |
 Wall mount bracket kit matched to the dryer | Yes — the standard Australian install; the wall carries the weight, not the washer |
| Timber frame or shelf built over the washer | Only if it is fixed to structure and rated for the load — a shelf on brackets is not |
If your dryer is a vented model, the wall route is almost certainly open to you, and the hardware is the Simpson, Westinghouse and Electrolux dryer wall mount bracket or the equivalent kit for your brand. The full brand-by-brand picture is further down.
Why a washing machine moves a dryer
A front loader on its final spin turns the drum at high speed with a load that is never perfectly balanced. The machine is designed to absorb that with suspension springs and dampers, and a healthy one stays put. What it cannot do is stay perfectly still — every spin sends a small amount of movement into whatever is touching it.
A dryer sitting on that lid is a heavy object with nothing holding it down. Each spin nudges it a millimetre or two. The feet are rubber, the washer lid is enamel or glass, and the two surfaces slide. Owners tend to notice at the point where the dryer is visibly off-centre, which is usually well after the movement started.
The washer’s own condition changes the picture. Worn suspension, a failing bearing or an unlevel floor all raise the amount of movement, and those faults arrive quietly. The load matters too: towels and heavy winter bedding are the loads that unbalance a drum, which is why this problem is more noticeable in the colder months when the washing is heaviest.
Two secondary problems come with the arrangement. A dryer perched on a washer puts weight on a lid that was not designed to carry it, and it puts the dryer controls above comfortable reach, which is how people end up leaning on the machine.
What a stacking kit does, and why most Australian pairs do not have one
A proper stacking kit is not a mat and not a strap. It is a bracket set that clamps the base of the dryer to the top of the washer so the two behave as one object. Where a manufacturer sells one, the kit is specified for particular model pairs, because it depends on the exact footprint of both machines.
The catch in Australia is that stacking kits exist mainly for matched front loader and dryer pairs from the same maker. The classic Australian laundry is a front or top loader from one brand and a vented dryer from another, often bought years apart. For that combination there is usually no kit, and there is no safe way to improvise one.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Product Safety guidance on furniture and appliance tip-overs is worth reading if there are children in the house, because the failure mode people underestimate is not the machine breaking — it is the machine coming down.
The wall is the Australian answer
Vented dryers here have been designed to hang since the 1980s, which is why the mounting points are already pressed into the back panel of most of them. The bracket kit is the piece that goes missing, usually during a house move, and it is the piece that makes the whole install legitimate.
- Simpson, Westinghouse and Electrolux vented dryers use the same family bracket, including the Simpson dryer wall mount bracket kit for the 39P and 39S models.
- Fisher & Paykel and Haier vented dryers share one kit — the Fisher & Paykel and Haier dryer wall mounting bracket kit covers the DE and HDV ranges, and the same part is listed for Haier HDV and HDY models.
- The budget vented platform sold under Omega, Euromaid, Stirling, Tempo, Akai, Rank Arena and Abode badges takes the Omega and Euromaid clothes dryer wall mounting bracket kit.
- If the badge on your dryer is not listed anywhere, the universal dryer wall mount bracket kit with wall spacers covers most vented machines.
Two limits are worth being blunt about. Heat pump and condenser dryers do not go on the wall — their compressors and water systems need to sit level on the floor — and neither do washer dryer combos. And a bracket is only as good as what it is fixed to: two studs in a timber wall, or masonry anchors in brick. The full method is in how to wall-mount a dryer in Australia, and the Electrolux-family fitment detail sits in the Simpson, Westinghouse and Electrolux dryer wall mount bracket fitment guide.
Frequently asked questions
Q: My dryer has sat on top of my washing machine for years and nothing has happened. Is it fine?
A: It has been lucky rather than fine. The risk is cumulative and it changes as the washer ages — worn suspension and a heavier winter load both increase movement. If you are going to leave it, at minimum check the alignment monthly and never stand or lean on either machine.
Q: Can I use anti-vibration mats or rubber pads to hold the dryer in place?
A: Pads reduce noise and slip a little, but they do not fix the two machines together, and that is the actual problem. They are a comfort measure, not a mount.
Q: Can I stack a dryer on a top loader?
A: No. The lid opens upward, so the washer becomes unusable, and a top loader’s spin movement is generally greater than a front loader’s. Wall mounting is the way to free that floor space.
Q: Can I wall-mount a heat pump dryer to save the space?
A: No. Heat pump and condenser models must stay level on the floor for the compressor and the water collection to work. If yours is a heat pump dryer, the space saving has to come from the layout instead.
Q: How do I know whether my dryer is vented?
A: A vented dryer blows warm damp air out of the back or front and has no water container to empty. If you empty a tank or the machine plumbs to a drain, it is a condenser or heat pump model and it stays on the floor.
Q: The dryer was already on the wall when we moved in, but the bracket looks bent. Reuse it?
A: Replace it. Bent steel has already been overloaded once and the next failure tends to be sudden, with a running machine attached. A new kit is the smallest line item in the job.
Get the right bracket first time
Photograph the model sticker on your dryer — inside the door opening or on the back panel — and run the code through the part finder, or send it to us and we will confirm which bracket kit is listed for your machine before you order. Tell us the wall type too, because brick and timber take different fixings. Same-day dispatch from Sydney’s Northern Beaches on orders placed before 12pm.
Disclaimer: this article is general information only and is provided without warranty of any kind. Appliance designs vary between models and production runs — always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, switch off and unplug the appliance before starting any work, and confirm parts against the model number on your appliance’s model sticker. Any repair is undertaken at your own risk and Oz Appliance Spares accepts no liability for injury, loss or damage arising from work performed after reading this guide, to the maximum extent permitted by law. If in doubt, use a qualified technician.
