Tumble dryer vs heated airer

[Porridge43]

Is it cheaper to use a tumble dryer or a heated airer. We are a family of 5

Much much cheaper to use a heated airer if on a standard tariff, as I am. My daughter has mine. She turns the airer on for two hours and then turns off. Next morning, she moves it around before she starts work - puts it on again for two hours. All dry before the next load.

I've now got an ordinary airer, and I can also get a load or more dry in 24 hours, but I use a dehumidifier too. Again in two hour bursts to keep humidity under 60%.

Tumble drier much faster and more convenient, but it's just too expensive for regular use now.

More information here, but it assumes you'll leave the airer on for eight hours: https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/cheaper-dry-laundry-heated-dryer-vs-tumble-dryer#:~:text=Despite%20the%20heated%20clothes%20airer's,1.42%20for%20the%20tumble%20dryer.

My heated airer works out at about 7p an hour but it takes ages to dry stuff so I'm not convinced it's any cheaper than just doing one load in the tumble dryer.

I live alone though, so there's only my clothes!

I've got both. I have a heat pump tumble dryer which seems economical and the heated airer is ok. The tumble dryer dries things very quickly but the airer is for the stuff that won't go in the dryer and takes a while longer

Tumble driers ruin your clothes

Nope. Not when used properly.

My time is valuable to me so I always use my tumble dryer. I put one or two clean, dry towels in with each load and it helps to dry everything much quicker.

We have both. The heated airer (DrySoon Deluxe) takes 12hours to dry three quarters of a load from our washer. You have to space it out otherwise it doesn't dry. I tumble dry our pants and socks, bedding and towels as none of these are well suited to the heated airer (either small size, bulky or big). If I could only have one, I think I'd have the heated airer but I would have do daily smaller washing loads. We're a family of 4 with older children.

Given the volume unless you have a large utility 100% tumble dryer.

We have a small utility and I struggle to dry 2 adults and a toddler in the utility on the heated dryer. I also have to keep checking and turning it which is annoying.

It's pisses me off but my DH believes tumble dryers are the devil's work (who knows why he agreed to buy one when we refitted the utility) so I now use it in secret when he is out or when the weather is so bad he can't argue

Neither! Airer suspended from the utility room ceiling, dehumidifier and basic table fan to keep the air moving. Works like a dream and takes about 4 hours to dry a full load, including heavy cottons like jeans.

I've got both. Heated airer is cheaper to run but there's 6 of us in the house and not a lot of living space so the tumble dryer is more convenient. The airer takes up a lot of space and you have to constantly move things around on it to dry them. I do try to dry stuff on the line outside and some thing on the heated airer so I'm just finishing things off in the tumble dryer.

How long would you have it on for ?

We have this, dries the clothes in two hours and it warms up the room it's in too which is ideal in our high ceilinged house:
https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/jml-a001573-dribuddi-1200w-10kg-portable-indoor-electric-clothes-dryer-blue?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=17688771596&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&cq_plt=gp&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzJSoq52AggMVGK13Ch2PoQ3NEAQYASABEgIN-PD_BwE

Last time I used it, I put it on at about 10am with one load, and it was still damp at 5pm!

My first tumble drier shrunk just about everything - I used to buy things bigger on purpose. When I opened the door and took out the clothes, the would be hot - a jeans button could give you a nasty burn. It was probably responsible for huge environmental damage, but it was super fast. Current model is low energy and takes forever; it doesn't shrink anything though.

Last year, I used an airer. Tumble dried once. I do have the luxury of WFH though, I live on the dry side of the UK and we have an old dehumidifier that helped.

Heated airers are not any better than unheated ones.I did have one. Only the parts of clothing in contact with the rails dry faster so you still have to do all the turning. If you’ve got a reasonably warm house which doesn’t suffer from damp you could dry it in the house such as in the bathroom or over the banisters
I used normal airers but spread everything out in front of the wood burner ( we are very rural) and I can dry most things in less than a day. A relative uses a large electric towel rail in the bathroom and it takes less than a day to dry clothes and tumble dries towels. Another relative uses a dehumidifier but that seems to take longer. If you have a greenhouse that works well.
I read somewhere last winter that heated airers are not cheaper than energy efficient tumble driers

Heated.

I have a large walk in cupboard that has my hot water tank . So its always warm in there
Maybe I should just use that area to dry. Plus bannisters . And tumble dryer for when its needed quickly

A Dehumidifier is a good option:

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/whats-the-best-and-cheapest-way-to-dry-clothes-indoors-aVcs74u56Gk8

I looked at this and decided to stick with my tumble dryer.

The TD costs around 50p per load.
A heated airer 7p an hour, but friends tell me they leave theirs overnight. 8 - 10 hours is 56 - 70p per load. Then you need a dehumidifier running if you don't want a damp house.

Heated airer companies have a lot of advocates who can't do maths in my view.

I use the dryer for towels and heated airer for everything else. You need a sheet or something over the heated airer, otherwise it's not fully dry after 8 hours (although if the heating was also on it might be). I put mine on for the full 8 hours at a time and if covered things are dry. I've never really done a proper cost analysis on the heated airer, I guess it would also depend how much your dryer holds and wether you dry same amount of clothes in a single load in the dryer.

I agree - I did the maths last year and my condenser tumble dryer works out significantly cheaper. And doesn’t make my damp old house even damper.

depends
we have a heated airer and use it mainly as normal airer and only switch it on if we need things dry quicker.

tbh it depends on what you need and how much space you have.
we have no tumble dryer but have a washing line and a couple of airers (including a heated one) in the attic. plenty of space and out of the way and drafty.

Too many variables to give a clear answer.

Heated airers will vary in how effective they are based on how much you hang up on them and how close together etc. How warm and dry the room is that you're using. Whether you notice to turn it off as soon as everything is dry or leave overnight so you're sleeping.

Plus factor in the time to hang things up and take them down (not a huge amount for a single load, but adds up for every load over a week/month/year) and the extra moisture going into your room meaning you need to account for the damp somehow whether that's a dehumidifier, opening windows to air out, whether you happen to already have a large, airy space to do it in or need to actively manage this.

Tumble dryers will vary in how efficient they are based on the type of dryer and the method of drying - heat pump is the best, but won't work properly if you're using it in an unheated area e.g. garage, outbuilding. I don't find my heat pump dryer takes long - around 90 mins - 2 hours for a load - and it automatically shuts off when it's finished. But it's fairly new and was expensive. The upfront cost needs to be considered if you don't already have one. Condenser is more efficient than vented.

You can compare kwH used by multiplying hours by wattage for the heated airer. Tumble dryers are more complicated but modern ones should list the power usage per program on their website/manual.

Matter or mass cannot be created or destroyed - the water has to go somewhere, it will go to a cold spot in your house and cause damp

We don't have anywhere to put a tumble dryer, so we have a heated airer with a cover. I also use a dehumidifier, which I think speeds things up a bit.

OH Aquamarine1029. Tumble dryers wear out clothes faster. Do your research before replaying with the all immature "NOPE". What do you think the LINT TRAP is for? It's tiny pieces of the material of whatever you are putting in the dryer. The best way to dry is to air dry but that's not always feasible. Before snark about your time being valuable. My time and money are valuable. Add in SUSTAINABILITY and your clothes are going to last longer if you're not using a tumble dryer. Scientific fact.