Tumble dryer

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,780
Location
Finchley, London
Hi guys. I've always dried my clothes on the radiators but I think it might be an idea for me to get a dryer. I live by myself and do washing once a week or as soon as I've used most of my socks and pants. So, towels, underwear, t-shirts, jeans.

Because of my Samsung Ecobubble washing machine, I don't know if I'd be able to connect a drain hose for a dryer. So is it easy enough to empty the internal tank that collects water?

Should I get a heat pump or condenser?

Apparently heat pump dryers are A+ energy rating so would save me money but take longer to complete a cycle, like over 3.5 hours compared to maybe 2.5 hours on a condenser dryer. Over a year though, roughly what could I expect to pay for a once a week drying cycle with a heat pump dryer and is using any dryer generally cheaper than turning the radiators on?

I don't really want to spend a lot, I was thinking something in the £250 to £350 price range. Is there anything recommended? The only heat pump dryers at Currys for that price range are their own brand Logik, and Candy, but I've no idea if they've improved or if I should steer clear?

I'm a bit worried about clothes shrinking or being mishapen like t-shirts and knitwear. Is that mostly avoidable? I did have a Hotpoint washer dryer years ago and I seem to remember some clothes getting misshapen. But perhaps dryers are much improved today.
 
Our old dryer died, found a laundrette and we use that for drying instead, and that’s only when it’s raining, otherwise the clothes get dried outside. I’m considering trying a dehumidifier to dry clothes.

The price of a decent dryer and it’s energy usage is mad.
 
Tinders said:
Our old dryer died, found a laundrette and we use that for drying instead, and that’s only when it’s raining, otherwise the clothes get dried outside. I’m considering trying a dehumidifier to dry clothes.

The price of a decent dryer and it’s energy usage is mad.
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You know a heatpump dryer is basically a dehumidifier right. They're great use ours even in dry weather it uses so little power.
 
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robj20 said:
You know a heatpump dryer is basically a dehumidifier right. They're great use ours even in dry weather it uses so little power.
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Yeah, but the price of a HP dryer is a bit too much for the usage it would get, and I have a dehumidifier already.

FWIW it costs £1 for a load of washing to be dried at my local laundrette, which isn’t bad I thought. We are a family of 5, we could get 2 loads in the laundrette dryer.
 
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We have a Beko 8kg condenser dryer that get used on wet/cold days when laundry won’t dry outside.

It’s not the most energy efficient and is quite noisy, but it’s served us well as our laundry room cant have a vented dryer.

Water tank is super easy to empty and only needs emptying every 2-3 loads. Clothes do not shrink if dryer at correct temperature.

Top Tips:

1. Use two of those studded dishwasher balls in each load to stop laundry bunching together.

2. Empty the lint trap every load and check for stray lint around the trap housing.

3. Clean the condenser matrix regularly as per user manual. I’ve found washing it out with the shower head on jet to be the easiest way to do this.
 
Here's a list of tumble dryer brands for you. I wouldn't go too cheap as you won't get the performance you want. Brands I would consider are LG, Samsung and Bosch.
 
I got a Candy HP tumbledryer last year for £350. Works great, and uses 350watts while running. Candy/Hoover are identical except a bit of chrome bling and a £50 mark up.

I usually leave cloths to dry for a day or two depending on the weather and then put them in the HP dryer to finish them off overnight.

The Candy can deposit the water into the door - or can be plumbed into a drain (as I've done).
 
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Sorry to hijack the thread a bit but anyone got any recommendations/ links to dryers with controls at the bottom? We're thinking about wall mounting to allow for bit more worktop space in utility room when we eventually buy one. Not a huge issue as the utility room is step lower than the hall so GF can stand in the door to reach the controls. Would be more convenient though.
 
Bug One said:
I got a Candy HP tumbledryer last year for £350. Works great, and uses 350watts while running. Candy/Hoover are identical except a bit of chrome bling and a £50 mark up.

I usually leave cloths to dry for a day or two depending on the weather and then put them in the HP dryer to finish them off overnight.

The Candy can deposit the water into the door - or can be plumbed into a drain (as I've done).
Click to expand...

We have a Candy HP dryer too. Paid £320 in a Currys Sale after our condenser died (motor).
We have 2 young kids so it's kinda an essential during the winter.
 
Resident said:
We have a Candy HP dryer too. Paid £320 in a Currys Sale after our condenser died (motor).
We have 2 young kids so it's kinda an essential during the winter.
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3 football kits a week.
2 rugby kits OR 2 cricket whites
2 hockey kits.
2 gymnastic kits.
4 PE kits.
10 school uniforms.
6 work outfits.
Bedding, towels, daily dog walking items.

That's before you even consider me getting dressed every day.

The amount of washing done per day is crazy. Thank god for sunshine and solar. :p
 
bayo000 said:
Sorry to hijack the thread a bit but anyone got any recommendations/ links to dryers with controls at the bottom? We're thinking about wall mounting to allow for bit more worktop space in utility room when we eventually buy one. Not a huge issue as the utility room is step lower than the hall so GF can stand in the door to reach the controls. Would be more convenient though.
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Not seen any with controls at the bottom, but the Samsung's with smart controls she can program from her phone.
 
Bug One said:
3 football kits a week.
2 rugby kits OR 2 cricket whites
2 hockey kits.
2 gymnastic kits.
4 PE kits.
10 school uniforms.
6 work outfits.
Bedding, towels, daily dog walking items.

That's before you even consider me getting dressed every day.

The amount of washing done per day is crazy. Thank god for sunshine and solar. :p
Click to expand...

Yeah we have 2 kids as well and we seem to get through so many washes! We don't use the tumble drier though (as it's a washer/combo) as we're lucky to have a dedicated utility room to hang clothes in and use a dehumidifier.

per week on average:

10x school uniform
6-7x my shirts
3x martial arts uniforms
10x gym kits (kids and us - I'm gross and reuse some of mine - but I train in my own gym - but my BJJ kimono is washed after each use as I'm drenched).
5-6x towels
4x bedding
a week's worth of casual clothes / underwear / socks etc... (tshirts, trousers, jumpers etc...)
cloths / hand / face towels


Then it's of course splitting it between colours, whites, high and low temp washes... oh the joys of middle age excitement!


I hear the heat pump ones are good though - and are lower heat and less likely to damage the clothes.
 
We have a condenser.
For the use it gets it was the obvious choice.

Heat pumps are a forum favourite, but they are only worth the cost if you do a lot of washing.

I put the clothes out whenever I can. And time loads for this.
From may until September I never use the tumble. Even some winter days don't need to use it.

So it probably gets used 30 times a year or less.
 
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Yeah we use the tumble dryer maybe a dozen times a year max. However, I can understand why they're popular, especially if you don't have the space to hang clothes.

Is £250-300 enough to buy something worthwhile?
 
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Freefaller said:
Yeah we use the tumble dryer maybe a dozen times a year max. However, I can understand why they're popular, especially if you don't have the space to hang clothes.
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Thinking about it, it's actually probably 20 for us too. What with 25 weeks in half a year and all being able to dry outside some of those
 
dLockers said:
Not seen any with controls at the bottom, but the Samsung's with smart controls she can program from her phone.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's what I was thinking, we're already invested into Bosch system and already have several appliances as she can get 30-40% discount on Bosch through work
 
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