Appliance Spares
Quick answer: In a small Australian laundry the dryer is the appliance to get off the floor, because it is the one designed to go up. A vented dryer on a wall bracket returns its whole footprint to the room and puts nothing on top of the washing machine. The order of preference is wall mount first, a floor-standing dryer stand second if you rent, and stacking only where a manufacturer kit exists for that exact washer and dryer pair.
Last updated August 2026
Four ways to lay out a small laundry
Nearly three quarters (73%) of the spare parts we price are under $50 AUD — the median part costs $36.85, as at August 2026 — which is worth holding in mind before a small laundry pushes anyone toward replacing a working machine with a smaller one.
| Layout | Floor space returned | Works when |
|---|---|---|
 Vented dryer on a wall bracket | The dryer’s whole footprint | Vented dryer, timber studs or brick wall, and you can drill |
| Dryer on a floor-standing stand over the washer | Most of the footprint | You rent or cannot drill; the stand’s legs still take floor |
| Manufacturer stacking kit | The dryer’s whole footprint | A kit exists for your exact washer and dryer pair |
| Both machines side by side under a bench | None, but gains a work surface | The room is wide rather than deep |
The bracket kits are matched to the dryer: Simpson, Westinghouse and Electrolux, Fisher & Paykel and Haier, the Omega and Euromaid kit that also covers Rank Arena and Abode, the Tempo, Stirling and Akai kit, or the universal kit with wall spacers when the badge is obscure.
The measurements that actually decide it
Most laundry planning goes wrong on clearance rather than on the machines themselves. Three numbers matter more than the appliance dimensions:
- Door swing. A front loader door and a dryer door both open into the room, and in a narrow laundry they open into each other. Check the swing arc before you fix positions, not after.
- Height above a top loader. A wall-mounted dryer over a top loader has to clear the lid at full open. This is the single most common reason a bracket ends up needing to move.
- Reach. Set the dryer’s drum opening comfortable for whoever uses it most. Mounted too high is the regret people report; the machine looks tidy and nobody can unload the back of the drum.
Depth is the other trap in a cupboard install. A dryer needs air behind it and a duct run that is not crushed against the back wall. A vent hose folded hard against a cupboard back restricts airflow, and a restricted dryer runs longer and hotter — which is the mechanism behind a dryer taking too long to dry.
Where the warm air goes
A vented dryer moves a large volume of warm, very damp air. In a small or internal laundry with the door shut, that air has nowhere to go, and it lands on the coldest surfaces in the room. Over an Australian winter that means mould in the cornices, swollen cabinet edges and a laundry that smells even when it is clean.
Ducting to an external wall vent or a window is the proper answer, and it matters more once the dryer is on a wall, because the outlet is now at face height rather than near the floor. A louvre in the laundry door is the minimum. Running an extraction fan during and after the cycle helps a sealed room.
Recirculated damp air also costs money. The dryer is working against air it has already saturated, so cycles stretch. If you want to compare what different dryer types cost to run before deciding what to keep in a small space, energy.gov.au publishes the household appliance guidance.
Heat pump dryers change the plan
Heat pump dryers are the efficient choice and the wrong choice for this particular problem: they cannot be wall-mounted or stacked loose, because the compressor and the water collection need the machine level on the floor. Condenser dryers and washer dryer combos are the same.
So the space plan splits on dryer type. If yours is vented, the wall is available and it is the biggest single gain in the room. If yours is a heat pump model, the floor space is fixed and the gains have to come from layout — a bench over both machines, better door swings, shelving above rather than beside.
Worth knowing before you swap a vented dryer for a heat pump one to save on running costs: you gain efficiency and lose the wall. In a genuinely small laundry that trade is not obviously worth it, and a vented machine that is ducted properly and maintained is not the energy disaster it is sometimes made out to be. Heat pump owners can also check why a heat pump dryer stops heating, because a blocked condenser filter mimics a dying machine.
Doing it once
Dry-fit before you drill. Mark the bracket line on the wall, open both machine doors, open the top loader lid if you have one, and stand where you would stand to unload. Ten minutes of that catches nearly every layout mistake that otherwise gets discovered with the holes already in the wall.
Then fix into structure — two timber studs or masonry anchors into brick, never plasterboard alone — level the bracket rather than the dryer, and take the dryer’s feet off before it goes up. The full method is in how to wall-mount a dryer in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can I put a bench over the washer and stand the dryer on that?
A: Only if the bench is fixed to structure and rated for the load, and it needs to clear the washer without touching it. A shelf on light brackets is not a dryer mount. A wall bracket into studs is the simpler and more predictable answer.
Q: I rent and cannot drill. What is the best option?
A: A floor-standing dryer stand over the washer. You keep the bench height and lose only the stand’s legs. It is worth asking the landlord about a wall mount first — many agree, because it adds usable space to the property.
Q: How much room do I need behind a wall-mounted dryer?
A: Enough for the duct to leave the machine without being crushed, and enough for air to move. Check your model’s manual for the clearance it specifies, and do not plan a duct run that folds back on itself.
Q: Is a smaller dryer the better answer in a small laundry?
A: Not usually. A 4 kg machine on the floor still occupies floor. A 6 or 7 kg vented machine on the wall occupies none, and it finishes a winter load in one cycle rather than two.
Q: Can the dryer go above the washing machine if they are different brands?
A: On a wall bracket, yes — the bracket fixes to the wall, so the washer underneath is irrelevant. It is only stacking kits that require a matched pair, because those bolt the two machines together.
Q: Our laundry has no window and no external wall. Is a vented dryer viable?
A: It is workable with a duct to the nearest external opening and a door louvre, but it is the situation where a condenser or heat pump model earns its keep — at the cost of the floor space, since neither can be mounted.
Get the right bracket first time
Photograph your dryer’s model sticker and run the code through the part finder, or send it to us with a photo of the laundry and the wall type. We will confirm which bracket kit is listed for your machine and whether the wall will take it. 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.
