COSTWAY Portable Washing Machine — Twin Tub, 26 lb Capacity, Drain Pump
A twin-tub washer is an old design that survives for one reason: it needs no plumbing. There is a fill hose you hang on a tap, a drain hose you put in a sink or a bath, and a plug. That is the entire installation, which makes it the only realistic laundry option for a lot of apartments, RVs, boats, workshops and basements that were never built with a machine in mind. It does the job it claims and does it cheaply, but COSTWAY explicitly ships it with no warranty at all.
$189.99
Description
COSTWAY Portable Washing Machine Review: Twin Tub Laundry Without Plumbing
A twin-tub washer is an old design that survives for one reason: it needs no plumbing. There is a fill hose you hang on a tap, a drain hose you put in a sink or a bath, and a plug. That is the entire installation, which makes it the only realistic laundry option for a lot of apartments, RVs, boats, workshops and basements that were never built with a machine in mind.
The COSTWAY is a 26 pound machine in the sense that manufacturers use the phrase: 18 pounds in the wash drum and 8 pounds in the separate spinner, which are two different jobs you do one after the other. Everything is driven by mechanical knobs, there is no heater, and unusually for the class there is a built-in drain pump. It is a straightforward object, and it is worth being clear about what living with one is like.
Quick verdict: the COSTWAY portable washing machine scores 7.8/10 in this SoftPickr review. It does the job it claims and does it cheaply, but COSTWAY explicitly ships it with no warranty at all.
Table of Contents
Key Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Brand | COSTWAY |
| Model | FP10020US (10021US-BL-CYPF) |
| Type | Twin tub, top load, freestanding |
| Total capacity | 26 lb (18 lb wash / 8 lb spin) |
| Spin speed | 1,300 rpm |
| Controls | Mechanical knobs with timer, dial interface |
| Cycle options | Normal, gentle, spin, drain |
| Drainage | Built-in drain pump |
| Dimensions | 26.5 in W x 16.5 in D x 31.5 in H |
| Depth with lid open | 36.5 in |
| Weight | 34 lb |
| Warranty | None stated — listing reads “No Warranty” |
How a Twin Tub Actually Runs
You fill the wash drum from a tap using the supplied inlet hose, add detergent, set the timer knob and let it agitate. When the cycle ends you either drain and refill for a rinse or lift the load straight across into the spinner. The spinner is a separate basket that runs at 1,300 rpm and takes about two minutes to leave clothes damp rather than wet. Then you hang them or put them in a dryer.
The catch is that you are the automation. A full load with a rinse means being present for perhaps forty minutes and moving wet clothes by hand twice. In exchange, a wash cycle is over in fifteen minutes rather than an hour, you control the water temperature by what you put in the hose, and nothing is plumbed into a wall. For a single person or a couple, that trade is often worth making.
The Drain Pump Is the Feature That Matters
Most machines in this class drain by gravity, which means the drain hose has to sit lower than the machine and the machine has to sit above the sink or the bath edge. In a lot of apartments there is nowhere that satisfies both conditions, and people end up putting the washer on a crate. The COSTWAY has a built-in pump, so the hose can go up into a sink at ordinary counter height.
That single component is the difference between this and a cheaper twin tub in a meaningful way. It removes the need to elevate the machine, it drains faster, and it means the unit can live where it fits rather than where the physics allow. If you are comparing twin tubs and one has a pump, that is the one to buy even at a modest premium.
Capacity in Practice
An 18 pound wash rating on a twin tub does not mean 18 pounds of laundry the way a full-size drum does. The agitation is impeller-driven and the drum needs free water above the load to work, so a genuinely comfortable load is closer to a large bath towel plus a day of clothes for two people, or roughly two full changes of bedding for one. Overloading it does not break anything; it just washes badly.
The 8 pound spinner is the real constraint on throughput, because it holds less than half what the washer does. A big wash load has to be spun in two goes. That is fine as a routine and irritating as a surprise, and it is the main reason people who move from this class of machine to a full-size one say the difference is time rather than cleanliness.
What the Specification Sheet Gets Wrong
The listing gives five standard cycles in one field and three programs in another, on a machine whose knob has four positions. It files the drum material as PP and the machine material as plastic, which is accurate but tells you nothing about the parts that wear. And it records a 1,300 rpm spin speed without stating a residual moisture figure, which is the number that would actually tell you how much drying time you save.
The most consequential field, though, is the plain one: warranty description, no warranty. That is not an omission or a data error. It is a stated position, and it is unusual to see it printed so directly on a two-hundred-dollar appliance with a pump and a motor in it. It does not make the machine bad. It does mean you should treat it as a consumable.
Limitations and Compromises
The absence of a warranty is the headline compromise and it is stated outright rather than merely missing. On an appliance containing a motor, a pump and a timer, that puts every failure on you from day one. The machine is cheap enough that this is a rational risk for many buyers, but it is a materially different proposition from a compact washer sold with even a one-year parts commitment, and it should factor into the price comparison.
This is a labour-intensive way to do laundry and no review should pretend otherwise. Every load involves filling by hand, moving wet clothes between two tubs, and usually spinning in two batches. People coming from an automatic machine consistently underestimate this, and it is the single most common reason a twin tub ends up unused in a corner after a month.
There is no heater. The wash temperature is whatever comes out of your tap, which in most homes means cold or lukewarm. For everyday clothes that is fine and arguably better for the fabric, but it limits what the machine can do with heavily soiled work clothes, greasy kitchen textiles or anything you would normally wash hot for hygiene reasons.
Cleaning and Storage Between Washes
The one job that matters is drying the tubs out. Both drums hold standing water in the base after a cycle, and a lid closed on a damp plastic tub grows a smell within days. Leave the lid open between uses, and once a month run an empty hot cycle with a cup of white vinegar and let the pump clear it. That single habit prevents essentially every odour complaint people report on twin tubs.
The inlet filter and the pump outlet both catch lint, and both are easier to clear before they block than after. Check the drain hose end for accumulated fibre every few weeks, and rinse the small mesh screen where the inlet hose attaches. The machine weighs 34 pounds, so it can be tipped to empty residual water from the base without two people, but do it before storing it rather than after a month in a cupboard.
Who Should Buy It?
- Apartment, RV, boat or basement dwellers with no laundry plumbing and no space for a full machine.
- One or two people doing small, frequent loads rather than weekly bulk laundry.
- Anyone who needs to drain into a sink at normal counter height rather than below the machine.
- Buyers who want a wash cycle measured in fifteen minutes rather than an hour.
- People who wash delicate or hand-wash-only items and want an impeller rather than a drum.
Look elsewhere if you have four or more people to launder for, because the 8 pound spinner will become the bottleneck of your week. Look elsewhere too if you want to set a machine going and leave the house, because this one needs you standing next to it. And if a warranty matters to you at all, a compact fully automatic washer costs perhaps twice as much and comes with a real one, which for many buyers is the better use of the money.
SoftPickr Verdict
The COSTWAY portable washing machine earns 7.8/10. Judged as what it is, this is a sensible twin tub. The drain pump solves the placement problem that makes cheaper units unusable in real apartments, the 1,300 rpm spinner gets clothes genuinely damp rather than dripping, and the mechanical controls have nothing in them to fail. For a household of one or two with no plumbing, it works.
The compromise is COSTWAY declining to stand behind it at all. A stated “No Warranty” on a motorised appliance means you are buying a two-hundred-dollar consumable, and combined with the hands-on labour every load demands, that keeps it out of badge territory. Buy it for the situation it solves, not because it is a good appliance in the abstract.
Price and availability change frequently on Amazon, and prices shown here may be out of date — check the current listing before ordering.
COSTWAY portable washing machine — Frequently Asked Questions
Does the COSTWAY twin tub need to be plumbed in?
No. It fills through a hose you hang on an ordinary tap and drains through a hose you put in a sink or bath. The built-in pump means the drain hose can run upward, so the machine does not have to sit higher than the drain, which is what makes it usable in apartments where a gravity-drain washer is not.
Can it wash and spin at the same time?
Yes, that is the point of the twin-tub layout. The wash drum and the spinner are independent, so you can spin one load while the next is agitating. In practice the 8 pound spinner holds less than half the 18 pound wash drum, so a full wash load still needs two separate spin runs.
Does it heat the water?
No. There is no heating element, so the wash temperature is whatever your tap supplies. For everyday clothing that is fine and is gentler on fabric, but it limits the machine on heavily soiled or greasy items where a hot wash would normally be the answer.
What warranty does COSTWAY give on this machine?
None. The listing states “No Warranty” in the warranty field outright, which is unusual to see printed so plainly on an appliance at this price. Treat any failure of the motor, pump or timer as your own cost, and factor that into the comparison against a compact automatic washer that carries a real warranty.
Ready to buy? You can check the current price of the COSTWAY portable washing machine on Amazon — the listing shows live pricing and current stock, both of which move around more than the specification does. SoftPickr earns a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
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Additional information
Specification: COSTWAY Portable Washing Machine — Twin Tub, 26 lb Capacity, Drain Pump
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