Tumble Dryers!

This is definitely off. My heat pump drier is amazing! It’s a bit longer than an old style condenser one, but worth it as no shrinkage and clothes smell great.
it dries a full 9k load in 2 hours.

Thank you!

That’s great, do you have a link?

Bought a Samsung heat pump dryer when we moved into current house. Never got it to work and we were eventually refunded. Not all brands are as bad.

That does sound really wrong. I've had a Miele heat pump dryer for nearly 3 years, it's usually just over one hour for a fully wet load to dry completely.

You should be able to reset your tumble dryer to dry dryer if that makes sense

The factory settings for my Miele heat pump dryer weren’t hot enough for my liking on Cotton setting so I reset to a hotter setting - it can go even hotter if I wanted but I didn’t want or need to.

I. have always used condenser driers - Beko do a brilliant one that is reasonably priced and dries incredibly well. Recently replaced it with a heat pump - it's rubbish- takes hours - no element of convenience about it

I’m totally with you op, worst thing I ever got. I put towels on for 3 hours and it then has a sensor so it changes the time and adds on more of it needs us. A load can take 5 hours plus. I hate it!! For anyone looking at a new dryer and has a lot of family washing, do not get one!

We have a Bosch heat pump dryer and it definitely dries towels in under 2 hours, so sounds like something is wrong with yours, especially if the tank is empty and the filters defluffed.

I read that condenser dryers are being phased out and certainly the range available on eg AO has shrunk recently. Have just taken the leap and ordered a condenser to replace my old one as don’t think I could cope with a heat pump. I can do several loads a day (sporty family, bedding, towels, dog walking uniform for various things) and couldn’t cope if it took so long.

As part of our really geeky research, we found that we can run our 9kg heatpump drier 3 times a day before it overtakes the dehumidifier for energy use- clearly dependent on individual models of both machines and how much time the dehumidifier is on for etc so this balance would work out differently for each household. We were running the dehumidifier about 18 hours day to dry 2x 6kg loads of laundry. That said, the price of the drier probably offsets the savings, and because our house is generally on the damp side we are still running a dehumidifier quite a bit as well- but on a lower setting in a central location rather than just doing one room with the doors shut.

This means in our house, not taking the purchase prices into account, the tumble drier is cheaper to run for laundry than the dehumidifier- I can dry over 27kg now for less than the cost of drying 12kg with the dehumidifier.

Plus we no longer have drying racks taking up as much floor space as we used to meaning a bedroom is back in use. (We've installed some small, wall mounted racks in the utility room for the things that don't want to go in the dryer). Plus I find that it takes a lot less of my time to bung stuff in the dryer- i can do that while waiting for coffee to brew while I'm WFH, but hanging stuff on racks would take too long for that.

We use a dehumidifier with laundry mode on it, set it up in a room with clothes airers, would be much cheaper to run and cost £100 , from supermarket. Claim back your kitchen space with a unit. But do you have a room you can use?

heat pump dryers are great for airing off items that have been hung overnight to dry, or outside on the line but still have a slightly damp feel when you bring them in but useless at drying items from soaking wet. Mine does a standard 30 min cycle and I can air off an entire wash load to put away in 2-3 10 min batches if it has been previously hung overnight on a clothes airer.

@Tallulahbella we have a great heat pump drier and I strongly suspect the problem is you’re setting it to sensor dry - if you are then it’s often left a little damp and keeps spinning over regularly to prevent creasing. Put it on timed drying instead of - ours takes about 4hrs for a full load and we get on great with it now. Has to be worth a try before the tip!

We did exactly that. Changed our expensive fashionable grey touch screen all bells and whistles Samsung heat pump for a cheaper white Beko condenser. Best thing we ever did.

I recently replaced my aging Siemens heat pump dryer. It used to be brilliant when I bought it 6 years ago but recently was taking ages to dry and clothes were never properly dry. We are a family of 7 and I work full time so a dryer is essential for me. I do not have the time to run inand out all day hanging stuff on the line and bringing it back in when it rains I have 5 kids that have to go to school in PE kit twice a week on different days and kids who play Rugby and football 3 or 4 times a week. My life would be a living hell without a washing machine and dryer.

Anyway, I thought 6y wasn't bad for what would have been an early heat pump model so decided to stick with the technology as my energy costs are high with washer/dryer/dishwasher on every day, but not pay a lot as I dont think they last that long. I got the cheaper Beko one, the one that is the which best buy for heat pump dryer, and so far it has been brilliant. Dries most things in 40min - hour (I dont use the recommended eco setting though as I like things really dry to go staright into school PE bags where they will sit overnight).

It sounds like it’s faulty. Out Bosch heat pump condensing tumble drier has different heat levels. The cupboard dry cotton setting for a full set of bed linen plus a couple of towels takes about 4 hours and the load is bone dry. We’ve had it about 18 months and so far so good. You just have to clear the fluff filter every now and again.

And I’d never have any less than a 1600 rpm spin w/machine.

But weren’t these infernal heat pump machines supposed to be the answer to all our prayers?
….More eco friendly and also cost effective?
That was the “blurb”

So I’ll stick with my 10 yr old Bosch condenser until it breaks down given it’s used sparingly anyway.

In wet months I’ll set up a wash load to dry on an airer in the bathroom, door shut and dehumidifier left on humidistat shut off.
Fluff it up 15 mins in the tumble dryer on return home. Job’s a goodun!

Some of us live in flats with no garden and no room to hang things to dry. We don't all live in a perfect world with lines of clothes in the garden being buffeted around by a gentle breeze in the sunshine

I’ve just bought a fairly pricey AEG. It has a 5 year warranty so I should imagine it’s reliable.

I have a Beko heat pump one and it doesn’t take anything near that long. About 3h for a full load of towels I’d say

We've got a Samsung heat pump dryer. It works brilliantly but you do need to keep the fins on the heat exchanger clear. Once a month, use the brush, but also hoover it at the same time. Without suction, you'll just be pushing the gunk deeper between those metal fins.

Eventually, the gunk will clog up to the point where air can't pass through the fins at all. This means no moisture escapes, and sounds like the problem you have right now. The best thing I found was to use a small allen key to 'hook' the gunk out from between the fins and hoover it at the same time. I've only had to do this once in the last 5 years. It'll take a while, but when you've finished you should be able to shine a torch through the fins and see the second heat exchanger behind the first one. After I did that, the machine was good as new again.

If your waste is plumbed in (rather than emptying via the drawer), check for a blocked waste pipe. You can take the flexible pipe off and try running water through it from your garden tap.