Should we get a tumble dryer?

[MrsD28]

Should we get a tumble dryer? I have never had one before but currently seriously considering it - sitting here on a drizzly day surrounded by half-wet washing and not able to do any more as I have run out of airers / radiators / backs of chairs on which to hang things. For context, there are four people in our household (DH and I plus pre-schooler and newborn). Both DC make loads of washing - lots of messy clothes plus sheets and towels. I am currently on maternity leave but ordinarily we both work full time and I feel as if laundry is taking over our lives (and home!). Can dry outside during summer but when it rains we really struggle. Is a tumble dryer worth it?

Yes they are great.

Frick yes! The tumble dryer and the dishwasher are the two great loves of my life.

Yes. I lived for the first few years to two children in a small flat then small house surrounded by racks of wet washing permanently! It wasn't fun!

Wiping the condensation off the windows daily was also a pain.

It has made an enormous difference my dryer. I peg washing outside from March to Oct, and then my dryer comes into play.

Get one!

Yes, you'll wonder how you ever managed, once you get one.

Yes 100%

Yes

It's essential! We have a condensing dryer that doesn't need venting - I couldn't live without it.

Yes, I've had one for ages - totally life changing!

I got a condenser dryer so I just have to plug it in. Space in my kitchen for it but a friend has hers in the garage.

It can be noisy but I put it on either when we go to work or late at night - can't really hear it upstairs.

Yes definitely!!! And it's much better not to dry things on radiators and drying racks as you don't put all that moisture into your house.

I have three children, I would seriously struggle without one with all the washing we do.

Yes. I just use ours for bedding, towels, t towels and some underwear that won't shrink- I still have to do a wash most days and put it on the airer in autumn and winter, but it massively helps.

Mine is in the garage.

We have a tiny home and no room for one so I use a dehumidifier which hugely speeds up drying process on days which are too wet to dry outdoors. I don’t think it is much more economical or green than a tumbler dryer though.

Yes. It's a godsend for sheets, towels and those 11pm 'mum is my PE kit washed' moments.

I still put clothes on the airer as I'm concerned about the running cost but I couldn't manage without mine.

I think they’re undeniably convenient but not great for the environment or your electricity bills. You might find a pulley works much better than a clothes horse - they’re screwed into your ceiling and clothes dry so much faster at the top of the room than on the floor. They’re better with high ceilings but work well above the stairs if you’re in a house. Honestly, I’d have one no matter where I lived, they’re so useful.

www.thatchandstone.co.uk/products/ceiling-pulley-hanging-clothes-airer-6-lath-2m

Yes, we got one about 2 years ago and it's fantastic to be able to wash and dry clothes in a couple of hours. I hate having laundry hanging everywhere in the house.

Condenser dryer so plugs in anywhere and we only use it when it's wet out, if it's possible to dry clothes outside then we do, sometimes just finishing them off in the dryer.

I barely use my tumble dryer. I have the dehumidifier on much of the week.

I think tumble drying costs about 70p a go in electricity, whereas the dehumidifier is £1.50 per week, if on 24/7.

To my mind, that makes it a no-brainer for budgetary and environmental reasons... especially in our household with a baby and cloth nappies!