Are tumble dryers a good investment?

[Mufasa]

I’ve recently moved into a house that has the space for a tumble dryer for the first time ever. Having looked online I am totally confused what they all do and what the differences are what is a condenser?? Are they worth it in terms of usage? Do they shrink your clothes? I line dry our clothes wherever possible (I live in the UK) and if not, have them on airers indoors but they do get in the way a bit.

Do you think they are worth the money/efficient to run etc.?

Thanks

 

[Snippysnips]

Am in the UK as well an I haven't had a working tumble dryer in years, ours is broken an my dad just refuses the money to replace it cause he's a lil tight lol, honestly 90% of the time it doesn't bother me not having one, I prefer having them outside drying as much as possible since they smell an feel better having a fresher an more natural drying but I know being in the UK that isn't always possible with rain, when we can't have them outdoors they get hung on those fold out hanger things an still dry within a day or two depending on if the house is warm enough, even in winter so long as it's not - 10 we still put them outside, they obvs won't dry but my dad swears that letting them in the cool air then bringing them in indoors to dry drys them faster than just hanging them as soon as they are out of the machine so yeah, had plenty frozen fingers trying hang washing outside on very cool winter days just to let it have a blow about in the wind so it drys that little bit quicker when it comes in after 2 or 3 hours lol, the only time it gets to me is if I really need somthing washed that I need to wear an don't have the time to dry it properly so have to deal with a sorta half dryed half damp thing that I've tried to blast with the hair dryer lol, I think so long as you arnt in the strong need to need things soon as they are washed it's better just not having one cost wise since prices for electricity seem to go crazy year after year, an usually the time it takes to dry them isn't much longer then if they drip dried especially if you have managed to get them out for a while, even in winter, most machines you can't just throw clothes straight from the washing machine into them as it isn't great an they do need to be left a bit before going into so they arnt going in completly soaking, I know that's how ours broke, I'd through soaking clothes into the dryer

 

[Whatsallthis]

I wouldn’t be without one. With 5 of us in the house it’s a godsend for towels etc & means you don’t have washing hanging all over the place.

I would recommend a condenser. It has asort of tank thing that collects the water - you just empty after each wash. Without this you’d either need one plumbed in or a hose that you’d stick out a window (unless these have got more technical in past years).
I would avoid a washer/dryer as feel they take forever.
I suppose it depend show much washing you’ll have and if you have space for an airer.

Edit to add: I haven’t had a problem with things shrinking - obv just check the labels as not everything can go it.
We didnt notice a great difference in cost to run. It’s probably more economic that having the heating on to drystuff. And still line dry where possible tho other this Is less often in Scotland than a lot of places lol.

 

[Wowitsme]

Yes couldn’t live without it and I don’t know how I did for years before having one

 

[BettyCrockerr]

A condenser is a tank that collects the steam/water that you then tip down the sink when it’s full. If it’s not a condenser, you would have to have a small hose coming out of the back of the machine and put out through the external wall so that the hot air/steam/water can escape and therefore keep your clothes dry!

A dryer is great to air off clothes and stuff like towels/bedding etc - you generally wouldn’t put stuff in it soaking wet but it’s a lifesaver if you rake stuff in off the line that’s still a bit damp or if you’ve got bits hanging up in doors that you need to get dry and put away. Great for throwing undies in to dry and stuff like dish towels/bath mats etc.

Stuff that’s 100% cotton will shrink in the dryer, as will anything that’s made of wool. So you wouldn’t put jeans in to dry or cotton T-shirt’s etc (unless it was literally for a quick 5mins blast to take the damp off it if it’s needing it)

if you’ve got the space, I’d definitely get one and see how you get on.

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

I couldn’t manage without my dryer. We have a modern one so it’s about as energy efficient as they can get for this day and age.

personally I wouldn’t go for a condenser, if you can have the type that has the pipe going out the back through the wall, those seem to dry much quicker. I’ve got the pipe type and my mum has a condenser and hers takes so long to dry stuff.

I only have a very tiny back garden and my line isn’t big enough for more than a few clothes and I don’t have much radiator space for clothes, so a dryer makes my life so much easier.

 

[Kim Mild]

I had one in my old house but I don't have space in mu kitchen here. I do miss it , even though I didn't use it that much . As it happens, I'm thinking about getting a heated airer or a drysoon.

What did you do to dry clothes before? Did that work well for your situation?
If you get one you don't have to use it all the time, but it will be there if you need it

 

[it’s not been changed?!]

I have a condenser one in an outhouse. Makes your towels really soft, which is delightful after growing up using towels that were like cardboard. I put things like underwear on radiators I was advised when having a damp survey not to dry things in the house on my airer, but I still do

 

[Kim Mild]

I have a condenser one in an outhouse. Makes your towels really soft, which is delightful after growing up using towels that were like cardboard. I put things like underwear on radiators I was advised when having a damp survey not to dry things in the house on my airer, but I still do

In life , people need to have dry washing too. I put things on the radiators too .

 

[TwooTwooTwitTwitTwoo]

I wouldn't be without one. We have a condenser which means it doesn't need to be vented outside. We are a large family so we got a 9kg capacity one. We'd just never manage to dry all our washing without it. We still use the washing line when the weather allows, mainly for towels and bedding or things that don't need ironing.
My main consideration when buying one is where the lint filter is located due to the fire risk. There are a couple of brands in particular that have caused fires in recent years so I avoided those. We went for a mid range Bosch. They can be a bit expensive but we managed to find a reasonably priced one on offer because it was some random trial edition or something so it's definitely worth having a good shop around and comparing products once you narrow down what you are after.
The running costs aren't too bad and we use ours most days.

 

[emm]

I have a washing machine/tumble dryer in one, it is Miele and was expensive (althogh I got in on AO which was cheaper than usual) but I would say worth it living in the UK when you can;t dry stuff outside most of the year. I don't really use it for clothes but for sheets and towels etc I definitely think it is worth it. Agree with the poster about the mould issue, before this i had a airer in my spare room for sheets etc (clothes I just put on the radiator) but ended up with a mould issue

 

[Danni_louu]

I love my tumble dryer. But I do agree with a previous poster that clothes smell better when they are to dry natural

 

[disneys]

I’ve recently moved into a house that has the space for a tumble dryer for the first time ever. Having looked online I am totally confused what they all do and what the differences are what is a condenser?? Are they worth it in terms of usage? Do they shrink your clothes? I line dry our clothes wherever possible (I live in the UK) and if not, have them on airers indoors but they do get in the way a bit.

Do you think they are worth the money/efficient to run etc.?

Thanks

I personally love our tumble dryer - I’m sure others have said but a condenser one doesn’t need to be plumbed in and you just have to empty the water every 2-3 cycles (not a hard job , I use it to water the plants !)

we lived without one for 2 years and in the winter when you can’t hang clothes on the line I hated having clothes horses everywhere so when we moved into our house now that has a utility room I begged hubby for one .. it’s really life changing !

it will shrink clothes that can’t be tumble dried so always check the labels of your clothes and I wouldn’t tumble dry bras as I found it damages mine but other than that you can tumble dry most things

I prefer drying clothes on the line when I can but in the UK you can’t bank on the weather - I have scented tumble dryer sheets and use unstoppables when washing my clothes to keep them from getting the weird tumble dryer smell haha !

It’s a game changer and putting on pyjamas that are fresh out of the dryer on a cold evening after a warm bath …. Ahhh , nothing like it !

 

[Dear Reader]

I think it depends on the kind of clothes you have too, or at least how long you keep clothes for, as tumble dryers do significantly damage your clothes over time

 

[CatCafe234]

I love my tumble dryer and I think I’d go a bit Charlton Heston and ‘you’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hand’ if anyone suggested I get rid of it. It’s so much nice to get bedding and towels dried fairly quickly than have them hanging around on an airer for days and days - everything just ends up smelling a bit fusty when you do that. I try not to use it too much and line dry when I can (WFH has been good for that …) but for winter it’s a godsend. Mine is a condenser and I love it, although I will say the first one I had (Samsung) was awful. My current one is a Bosch and that’s much better.

 

[Secretadmirer]

I have one, I don’t use it all the time and if I can hang stuff out to dry I will always choose to do so over using the dryer. I live in an old cottage with small rooms where I don’t have the space for lots of clothes to be hanging round and I absolutely hate if things take more than a day to dry and they’re just in the way around the house drying so it does come in handy to have the tumble dryer.

 

[Rainbow_rhythms]

Yes, especially in winter when you can't hang your washing out. Towels are great in the TD and feel lovely and soft

 

[Ekkwhine]

I try and hang stuff as much as possible, if the ground outside is dry then your washing will dry however I tend to finish the last 5-10 minutes in the dryer. It cuts down on ironing if I shake them out and fold when still warm, it also softens stuff and removes the dog hair (my main reason for having it black uniforms/clothes and yellow labradors)

 

[Tublet83]

I think it depends how many people live in your house, pre kids I never felt the need for one. I had a heated drying rail I would use.

Since then had 2 kids and it is useful, I still try to dry outside as much as I can to minimise energy use as much as I can, but when it’s cold and rainy I wouldn’t be without it

 

[Itsmedoctortea]

I try and hang stuff as much as possible, if the ground outside is dry then your washing will dry however I tend to finish the last 5-10 minutes in the dryer. It cuts down on ironing if I shake them out and fold when still warm, it also softens stuff and removes the dog hair (my main reason for having it black uniforms/clothes and yellow labradors)

This is what i plan to do, i am hoping to invest in a tumble dryer next month and aim to use it purely to finish off the clothes after being outside I am very intrigued as to the dog hair comment, we have a German Shepherd so i feel your pain does it really work and where does the hair go? Thanks x