How essential is your tumble dryer?

Have a washer/dryer which I only ever use for bedding and only to get it started drying before handing it out.

Not only does it take hours and hours to get anything that dry, I also find it ruins the fit of clothes, and this is before the cost of running it.

I do live alone in a spacious flat though, so have a quality clothes airer which is usually in my office which only I ever use.

Sure clothes can take a few days to dry in the depths of winter, but I have enough clothes so that i'm rarely waiting for them to dry.

Thinking of investing in a dehumidifier if this winter does start to turn very cold though, as it will help dry the clothes and heat the room more efficiently than the electric radiators in my place.
 
For the people who dry stuff indoors in the winter without a tumble how do you stop your clothes smelling musky?

The wife doesn't like to tumble her work uniform as it's printed on polo shirts, in the summer it's ok as they dry really quickly in front of a window but the rest of the year they smell musky if they're not dry within a couple of hours so we just tumble them on the 'gentle' setting but interested how others cope?
 
sovietspybob said:
For the people who dry stuff indoors in the winter without a tumble how do you stop your clothes smelling musky?

The wife doesn't like to tumble her work uniform as it's printed on polo shirts, in the summer it's ok as they dry really quickly in front of a window but the rest of the year they smell musky if they're not dry within a couple of hours so we just tumble them on the 'gentle' setting but interested how others cope?
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Dehumidifier. They literally suck the moisture from the clothes.
 
It’s very essential during the winter months, for us as a family of four. Dreading the electric bill, so we are trying to use less. During the warmer months we never use it.
 
dLockers said:
Dehumidifier. They literally suck the moisture from the clothes.
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Yep. You can dry something in half an hour as long as it's had a good spin and it's directly in front of the dehumidifier, all the moisture gets sucked out of the air.

Dehumidifiers are really useful in general in older houses to control moisture and prevent damp, it doesn't just get used for clothes drying.

I bought mine initially when I was in Hong Kong to deal with 'Mouldy March' when the prevailing cool, very humid weather and absence of heating in apartments made them absolutely necessary otherwise all the walls and any soft furnishings would start growing black mould. Rank.
 
mid_gen said:
Yep. You can dry something in half an hour as long as it's had a good spin and it's directly in front of the dehumidifier, all the moisture gets sucked out of the air.

Dehumidifiers are really useful in general in older houses to control moisture and prevent damp, it doesn't just get used for clothes drying.

I bought mine initially when I was in Hong Kong to deal with 'Mouldy March' when the prevailing cool, very humid weather and absence of heating in apartments made them absolutely necessary otherwise all the walls and any soft furnishings would start growing black mould. Rank.
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Yeah that's interesting, we've got a dehumifider we used to use in our old house but i was amazed how much electric it used for what it was when i needed to use it again recently, mine is probably 10 years old though so maybe they're a lot more efficient nowadays.
 
sovietspybob said:
For the people who dry stuff indoors in the winter without a tumble how do you stop your clothes smelling musky?

The wife doesn't like to tumble her work uniform as it's printed on polo shirts, in the summer it's ok as they dry really quickly in front of a window but the rest of the year they smell musky if they're not dry within a couple of hours so we just tumble them on the 'gentle' setting but interested how others cope?
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Light the woodburner. Washing drys super quick and the moisture from the clothes counters the fact the woodburner makes the air really dry in the house.
 
sovietspybob said:
For the people who dry stuff indoors in the winter without a tumble how do you stop your clothes smelling musky?

The wife doesn't like to tumble her work uniform as it's printed on polo shirts, in the summer it's ok as they dry really quickly in front of a window but the rest of the year they smell musky if they're not dry within a couple of hours so we just tumble them on the 'gentle' setting but interested how others cope?
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A well ventilated warm utility room.
 
robj20 said:
Not all dryers destroy clothes. A heat pump one is basically a dehumidifier in an enclosed space so more efficient.
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I think this is the reason why I would like to get one shortly (space pending!). We currently use a dehumidifier but it also requires shutting the room closed otherwise it is a lot less efficient and takes longer to dry clothes.
 
We live in an old house and only have storage heating, but electric costs mean temps often hit single digits before we can justify turning them on.
It also means the tumble dryer doesn't get used until proper winter, otherwise stuff would never get dried even with the heaters going.
 
With a tumble dryer, even a basic condensing one, one can put clothes in it for 30 mins or less, to take the bulk of the moisture out of them before putting on a airer.

You dont need to run a dryer full cycle unless you want instant dry clothes etc.
 
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from the user manual of an aeg T6DBG720N
 
I am going to get a cheap condensing dryer and, as above, use it to take a good bit of moisture out and then hang clothes on an airer...no need for a full cycle for me.
 
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