To contemplate living without a tumble dryer?

[mrsharrycunningham]

My washer/dryer has conked out and I'm thinking of replacing it with just a washing machine. I don't really have the space for a seperate tumble dryer but am I mad to consider not having one?

I'm very into my mod cons but have never had a dryer.

me, DP and DD here all the time - stepson here at weekends. Radiators and clothes horse in winter - line in summer.

I manage perfectly well.

Don't have one if you can avoid it. Have you got high enough ceilings to have a ceiling mounted clothes airer?

We got rid of ours five years or so ago and manage fine without one.

I think some clothes' lives are shortened by tumble drying, tshirts can come out shrunken or twisted.

I miss having one when trying to get towels and bedsheets dry in winter though.

I manage without - only time its a bit tricky is in spring/autumn when its not warm enough to dry outside and not cold enough to have the heating on and dry over the radiators. you need space for a couple of clothes horses and a bannister for sheets. Especially tricky if you work during the week then want to do several loads at the weekend.

Didn't have one for years but then, there was only 2/3 of us for a long time. Now there are 7 of us 3 days a week, I decided I needed one.

I only use it a couple of times a week though.

I think it depends on how organised you are

If you are like me then a tumble dryer is a god send for those moments when you think oh shit,.. football practice in an hour and his strip is in the washing basket. Or even just for those moments when you think.. how did I end up with this amt of washing.. better get it up to date before we run out of clean clothes

if however you are a better mother and wife who thinks 2 days ahead and always has stuff where it should be when then its much easier to get by without

When we had dc4 we got a tumble dryer and a dishwasher. I had always been critical of both. I love the dishwasher. The tumble dryer is used in the winter for drying sheets, jeans etc without it i'd need about 3 airers. I don't put things on radiators as it is creates a lot of damp air.

It really depends how much you used it before. Ours is in the shed as no room in the house. I could manage without, but it is easier with.

we didn't get one until we had dc3

before i had two clothes horses and the things that attach to radiators

it was actually really time consuming sorting out the wash and hanging each individual piece and i hated having clothes everywhere.

also trying to dry bedding and towels/dressing gowns was annoying!

we have a rotary dryer outside and i do use that when the weather allows.

so if you don't really need it why get another

As others have said, could you manage without?

I´ve never had one, but have always been able to hang washing up in a spare room so that it´s out of sight.

I don't have a tumble dryer - and I use terry nappies and reusable wipes. If I can manage, so can you !

You can't beat the feeling of a towel freshly out the tumble dryer IMHO.

I couldn't manage without it because we live in a cold, damp corridor of a house. Also our radiators never get above warm-ish (due to solid fuel heating them) so things would never dry.

Added to which there is literally nowhere to put an airer.

I dont have one , ive got one of those old fashioned ceiling racks . £20 off ebay , everything drys within a few hours , and nothing needs ironing either.

My house is small, damp and cold and the radiators leak rusty water so yes I love my dryer :)

Posted too soon! I meant to add that when DD1 was a baby I didn't have one, everything had to dry on radiators, it made all her baby clothes stiff and crusty and I hated it :( the dryer makes everything soft and foldable.

When we bought our house last year we had no dishwasher and no tumbledryer and are actually getting on quite well without both. I'm quite happy without the tumbledryer and plan to get an outdoor drying rail put up in the garden next spring.

also if you live near a laundrette then you're sorted. £1.50 gets 6 loads of washing dry at mine :)

Agree with all those who say get rid!I don't have one, never have done. I have 2 DC (one in cloth nappies) and live in a mobile home, and we manage fine.

I couldn't live without it, hate seeing laundry hanging around.

But you should base your decision on how often you used yours.

Had a washer/dryer; hardly ever used the dryer so when the washer packed in, that was the end of it. Managed pretty well for 6-7 of us with two ceiling airers, radiators and banisters, but it depends on your space and the nature of your house.

I think it depends where you live.

At my mum's house she has a garden with a rotary dryer, and in the house she has a multitude of radiators, an airing cupboard and a couple of large clothes horses, plus enough space to have them up without having to squeeze around them to get anywhere. She doesn't need a tumble dryer, and doesn't have one.

At my upstairs flat I have no garden, only a tiny yard that doesn't get the sun, so even on the hottest days things I used to put on the line at 7am were still not dry at 7pm. I have a tiny kitchen with no room for a clothes horse unless I don't want to use the kitchen all day, and no room anywhere else for it. I used to manage by having the radiators on all the time, but clothes tended to get a bit stiff on them, and the flat got unbearably hot in the summer. When my now husband moved in he bought a tumble dryer, and though I at first moaned we had no space for it, now I really, really couldn't be without it!

We could do without ours really. Doesn't get used much at all except to tumble the sheets, duvets and to soften rack dried towels.

If you have ample space for a good drying rack you probably don't need a tumble drier. Modern washing machines spin so fast these days the clothes come out really 'dry' and not sodden at all which speeds up air drying no end.

Plus you'll save money as they are soooo expensive to run.

We've never had a tumble drier because they're so expensive to run.

This winter I bought the electric heated clothes rail from Lakeland for about £75 and it's fantastic. (Sorry, cant do links yet, but if you find it on the Lakeland website read all the glowing reviews and hints on how to place the clothes on it).

I do also use radiators when the heating is on but it does make the house look a bit scruffy.

I manage without in a smallish dampish house with no rads. I'd never have one, I'm on an electricity meter and it would be too expensive, apart from the green issues. I long for a dishwasher though