Hello Inessa,
Yes, you have the right idea behind my comment regarding the washer and dryer. She considered them "old" because they were not "modern" like her mother's combination unit at home. The work perfectly fine and spending $2000 on brand new washer and dryer when we were saving for a wedding, a honeymoon in Maldives and a new house was not a practical decision anyway. Even if I bought a less efficient combination unit like she was used it, it does not use gas for the dryer, only electricity and so is much less efficent in working and much more expensive. But again, the details are not important. The point was the whole issue could have been resolved with one question and explanation: "Why do you have these two machines for washing and ddrying clothes....?" "Well, this is the reason and how it works here...."
Sorry to hear about the friend with her Englishman, but if he cannot cmpromise then maybe she is better off without him. Another reason why I say it is necessary to make several trips each way to see how each other live. Meeting at a neutral site is wonderful, but is just a vacation and doesn't solve anything in the relationship.