Black & Decker 1.6 Cu. Ft. Portable Washer

Why I brought this portable washer home

I wanted a compact washer that could live near a sink, stash in a corner, and spare me the weekly haul to the laundromat. The Black+Decker portable washer fit the bill on paper: a 1.6-cubic-foot, top-loading unit with faucet hookup, simple LED controls, and a promise to handle small, everyday loads. After several weeks of washing everything from gym gear to towels, I’ve learned where it shines—and where you’ll want to adapt your routine to get the best from it.

Setup and connections

Out of the box, the setup is straightforward. The kit includes a quick-connect faucet adapter, a water supply hose, and a drain hose. If your faucet has a removable aerator, unscrew it and the adapter clicks into place; if not, you may need a separate adapter. The quick-connect is genuinely convenient: it snaps on and off easily so you can reclaim your sink when you’re done.

A few practical notes from living with it:
- Placement matters. Get the unit level and close enough to your sink or tub that the drain hose has a steady downhill run. I prefer draining into a tub—more margin for splashes and less risk of the hose shifting mid-cycle.
- Cold water only. This machine is designed for cold feeds and high-efficiency (HE) detergents. Stick to liquid HE detergents; you’ll need far less than you think.
- The cord is on the short side. If your outlet isn’t nearby, you may need a heavy-gauge, GFCI-protected extension. Keep all connections off the floor and away from water.
- Built-in rollers and side handles help scoot it around on smooth floors, but they’re not magic. Over thresholds or on stairs, plan for a two-person lift.

Physically, it’s roughly three feet tall and a little over 21 inches wide—slim enough to tuck beside a vanity or in a galley kitchen. The top lid opens fully without hitting most counters.

Controls and programs

The LED control panel is simple and readable. Six presets cover most needs: Normal, Heavy, Delicate, Quick, Bulky, and Spin Only. Three water levels let you right-size the fill for the load, and on most programs you can tweak wash and rinse durations. In practice:
- Quick is great for lightly soiled clothes and runs around 15–20 minutes.
- Normal and Delicate are my everyday picks, usually 30–45 minutes depending on tweaks.
- Heavy and Bulky skew longer (near an hour), and on those profiles spin settings are less adjustable.
- Spin Only is here and works as expected for re-spinning hand-washed items or pulling water out after an interrupted rinse. There’s no dedicated “drain only,” so if you just need to empty the tub, Spin Only is your tool.

One caveat: the control logic expects a steady water supply via the inlet hose. If you try to manually fill with a shower wand or bucket, it can throw a water-level error or time out. If you absolutely must manual-fill, do it before starting the cycle and don’t overfill; the machine won’t bail you out if you exceed the max level.

Cleaning performance

For a compact unit, cleaning is this washer’s strong suit. With the right dose of HE detergent and the medium water level, it handled my standard loads—T-shirts, socks, light gymwear—without drama. On tougher items (muddy garden pants, kitchen towels), the Heavy program plus a bit more wash time lifted most of the grime, though truly set-in stains still need a pre-treat.

Delicates fare well. The gentler agitation avoids beating up lighter fabrics, and the lower water level keeps garments from tangling. I wouldn’t toss in a hand-knit sweater, but lingerie, lightweight blouses, and workout fabrics came out properly cleaned and intact.

Extraction is solid. The spin tops out fast enough that most cotton loads emerge damp-dry and need far less time hanging. On balanced loads, the spin cycle is steady. When it’s not balanced—think one heavy bath mat—expect the tub to thump and the machine to hunt for balance. Redistributing the load solves it.

Capacity and realistic expectations

The stated capacity is 1.6 cubic feet, or about 11 pounds. In real terms:
- Tops and undergarments: a day or two’s worth for one or two people.
- Towels: two bath towels plus a few hand towels is comfortable; three big baths is pushing it.
- Bedding: a queen sheet set is fine; a bulky duvet or thick blanket is too much.

This washer is about steady, smaller batches. It’s not meant to replace a full-size machine for a family of four, but it’s perfect for staying on top of laundry in a small space.

Noise and vibration

On wash and rinse agitation, it’s impressively quiet for a portable. The spin cycle is where any compact washer earns or loses goodwill. Here, I found two behaviors:
- Balanced loads: a steady whir and light hum that fades into the background.
- Unbalanced loads: tapping and cabinet thumps that can be loud in echo-y bathrooms.

A few tips that helped:
- Level the feet carefully; a bubble level is worth the extra minute.
- Don’t mix a single heavy item with lots of light ones. If you’re washing a bath mat, pair it with another similar-weight item.
- Set the machine on a dense mat to damp vibrations. A thin bath mat helps; purpose-made anti-vibration pads help more.

Day-to-day usability

• The tub is easy to access and wipe down. I leave the lid up after the last load to air-dry the interior and avoid musty smells.
• The built-in lint filter is simple to remove and rinse. Clean it monthly (more if you’re washing lots of cotton).
• The drain hose hook needs to be properly clipped or zip-tied so it can’t pop out mid-cycle.
• The quick-connect on the faucet seals well if the aerator threads are clean. Hand-tightening was fine for me; if you see a drip, a wrap of PTFE tape on the aerator threads stops it.

One quirk: if you pause mid-fill and walk away, the machine may time out to protect itself. Resume quickly, or it shuts off and you’ll need to restart the program. That’s good for preventing unintended overflows, but it means you shouldn’t start a fill and wander off.

Limitations worth knowing

• Cold-only operation means no built-in hot cycles. For most modern detergents, cold is fine, but heavily soiled whites won’t get the same boost you’d see from a warm wash.
• There’s no dedicated “drain only” command. Spin Only pulls water out effectively, but if you’re troubleshooting or overfilled, you may wish a drain-only button existed.
• The wheels are more like gliders; they help on smooth floors but not over grout lines or thresholds.
• The power cord could be longer. Plan your placement with outlet access in mind.

Who it suits best

• Apartment dwellers who can park it beside a sink or tub.
• RV/boat owners with occasional laundry needs and a cold-water feed.
• Anyone tired of laundromat runs who can adopt a “smaller loads, more often” rhythm.

If you need to wash bulky bedding regularly or want piping hot cycles, you’ll want a different solution.

Verdict

I’m impressed with how much this portable washer gets right: installation is approachable, the controls are intuitive, and cleaning performance on everyday loads is consistently good. Spin extraction is strong, and when the load is balanced it runs quietly enough for apartment living. Its quirks—cold-only operation, occasional fussiness with manual filling, no true drain-only—are manageable once you learn the machine’s preferences. The small ergonomics (short cord, so-so wheels) are the biggest daily reminders that this is a compact appliance making trade-offs to stay small.

Recommendation: I recommend this portable washer for small households and tight spaces where a faucet hookup is available. It’s a practical, reliable way to bring laundry in-house without committing to a full-size install, as long as you respect its capacity, balance your loads, and keep to cold-water, HE-detergent habits. If your routine demands hot washes or large, bulky items, look elsewhere; otherwise, this unit delivers exactly what a good compact washer should: clean clothes, less hassle, and far fewer trips out the door.