Tumble dryer

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,815
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.
 
Thanks very much for all the replies, chaps.

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).
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That was a good deal. I popped into Currys today to check out the dryers. I can get a Candy HP for £399 but it seems to be in white only and I'd prefer graphite to match my Samsung, or even black. £379 gets me a Graphite Hotpoint Condenser dryer, plus £20 delivery. It's going to work out only about £80 or less per year to run it on a condenser so tbh, a heat pump doesn't seem that essential for my needs. I'll take a look at the AO website and see what they've got.

Does anyone know if most of these dryers have a moisture sensor that tells the dryer when to stop drying?

radderfire said:
Generally speaking you can't put knitwear in a tumble dryer. In case you didn't know, there is a symbol on the clothes label which will show whether something can be tumble dried or not. It's a symbol of the machine for ok, and if it's crossed through you can't tumble dry it.
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Ah, thanks, good point. That's no problem, I don't wear much knitwear and can just let it dry naturally.
 
Bug One said:
The Candy ones does. The symbol on the panels let you set how dry you want the cloths and it'll just run till it hits that dryness.

I suspect most modern dryers are similar.

Fortunately my dryer is in a utility room, so looks were least of my priorities.
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Thanks. I'm going to look for an HP dryer in my budget with ideally the colour I want. If not, hopefully condenser dryers also have moisture sensors.
 
dLockers said:
Have a thorough search as the Samsung stuff often comes up with a 5 year parts and labour warranty. I got mine from Samsung direct on micro finance (40/mo for 12 months at 0%).
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Yeah, as far as I've seen they all seem to come with the 5 year warranty. In fact, there's this one as well.


It might be the same model I saw on the Costco website, I'll have to check. But yeah, the 5 year warranty is a big part of my decision for peace of mind.
 
Hey chaps, I just found another Samsung which has a couple of advantages over the one I linked above. It has an extra energy efficiency plus making it A+++, it also has wifi and is only £9 more at an online shop called appliance electronics. It has a different looking user panel too so I'm guessing it's a newer model? Is it a no brainer to buy it instead? Has anyone heard of appliance electronics? Just wondering if they're ok to buy from. Trust Pilot reviews overall score is 4.7 which seems decent and they do PayPal so that seems safe enough?

Appliance Electronics | Appliance Electronics UK Ltd - Page not found

Buy safely and securely at Appliance Electronics UK Ltd
www.applianceelectronics.co.uk www.applianceelectronics.co.uk
 
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413x said:
Just curious as to why you've gone for an expensive machine when you don't use it much?
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It's a good question. Well, I couldn't find anything in the colour I wanted that had excellent reviews and I really don't want white. With the Samsung I get a matching look and colour to my Samsung washing machine, and a long warranty.

Dryers in a colour I'd like start at £400 to £460, such as Hoover. Reviews I read on Hoover weren't that great with things like flimsy plastic bits breaking off, and of course it's often the case that you need to pay for a repair or part after the 1 year warranty has expired.

I think Samsung, LG and Bosch have better build quality with motors that are possibly less likely to go wrong. I won't use it that much, maybe 25 to 30 times a year or perhaps even less. But as I'll have it for several years I suppose it's worth paying about a hundred or hundred and fifty quid extra for that.

I probably won't use the WiFi that much but it's nice to have. The A+++ will be better than A++ I imagine for a little more cost saving.

Another thing is that I enjoy using my Samsung washing machine which is 3 years old now, it just feels like quality including little details like the smooth opening and closing of the door compared to cheaper brands. I remember being in Currys when I chose the Ecobubble and trying all the doors on every washing machine in the shop, lol. Most of them didn't feel very good to open and close. So I think a Samsung dryer will also be a nicer user experience.
 
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kieran_read said:
I have a Candy Heatpump dryer, got it off Marks Electrical.
It's pretty good and i like having it as a condensor it has helped with damp.

The one issue is though it always needs 2 runs, it's not quite dry even when it stops. But it has some kind of sensor that says it's ready. Only thing i don't like is that any scent from conditioners are completly removed by the drying process.
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I was chatting with my niece today about tumble dryers and she recommended these, she said they add a nice fragrance.

 
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