To not have known this about tumble dryers? (Fuel bill related)

[HinchcliffeandMurgatroyd]

Not terribly exciting subject , sorry. I’m quite excited about possibly saving £££s though.

I’ve just worked out that my (fairly new) condenser tumble dryer costs about £1.25 a cycle to run, despite the fact I’m on a less-bad fixed rate.

A good heat pump dryer would apparently cost ~50p per cycle.

So £500 now for a better machine would pay for itself in 10-24 months. Tempted.

I knew there was a difference but thought it was a small difference. It took me 15 minutes tracking down the performance data and doing the maths to come up with those numbers.

I use mine a lot due to dogs, dodgy spine etc. So that’s potentially a massive saving.

Did everyone else know the difference between condenser and heat pump dryers was so dramatic?

YANBU = I had no idea.
YABU = Doh, it’s common knowledge.

How do you find out if you have a condenser or heat pump drier?

We live in a block of flats and aren’t allowed to like dry. In addition, one of our rooms is particularly susceptible to mould so we have to leave the windows open a crack.

The best solution I’ve come up with is dry clothes in the day using a Dri Buddy for large items - clothes and towels - and the tumble drier for quick items like socks and underwear. The Dri buddy is amazing, very cost efficient and excellent because everything is already hung up so you can just hang straight into wardrobes. Everyone always talks about the heated airer but the Dri Buddy is so much better.

We just have to accept that drying clothes is going to cost money and cause damp. We don’t really have a lot of choices.

We recently invested in a heat pump that is an A+ , I was drawn to it as condensers are only c or b at tops. We’re a large family and I’ve noticed our bills come down by about £10 a month.
Our condensor was on its last legs so
we needed a new one- very happy with the investment!

Sorry meant to say wash and dry things in the day and have the heating off and windows open.

Another factor in drying times for some could be the efficiency of their washing machine spin. Mine is 1600, so the clothes are already a lot less wet going into the dryer than if it was 1200.

Our Beko heat pump dryer takes 4 hours -ish to dry a 9kg load. You get used to just factoring in that time - it doesn't usually matter how long it takes if you're doing a regular load, anyway.

I sold my heat pump tumbly because stupidly didn't think that it's kept in an unheated porch so on a damp cold winters day it just whirred around for hours never getting past barely tepid, it was about as effective as me blowing on the wet clothes to dry them.

Oh, another bonus is clothes are far less likely to shrink, it's a more gentle heat.

Yes, I often double spin too, add an extra spin on afterwards for fifteen minutes.

I knew that heat pump dryers were significantly cheaper to run as I did a bit of research before buying a new condenser dryer a few weeks ago.

i stuck with the condenser as I only use my dryer to knock the creases out of washing I have dried on airers so 10 mins per load. It saves ironing.

the only time I use it to dry wet washing is before/after holidays or if I have a backlog (which doesn’t happen often as there is just 2 of us).

You know what dries your laundry for free and with zero carbon emissions? A washing line.

We have a meacodry 12L dehumidifier, it says it uses 160 watts per hour.
we can leave it in the small utility room with 3 drying stands full of clothes and most will be dry in the morning, and it feels warmer when you walk in. If the heating is on too they will all be dry.

trick to using a dehumidifier for drying clothes is put them in a small space/room and it’s much more efficient.

Drying racks in front of the woodburner in winter works a treat too, drys the clothes and the moisture gets drawn through the fire. Never get any condensation drying this way as opposed to using the central heating for drying.

@Tulipomania yeah but when it’s 5c and pissing it down in January that’s not gonna work 🙄

I have a vented dryer that i use for everything that is able to be tumble dried (non tumble dry items i hang up indoors on a rail to dry), I never set the timer for more than 40/50 mins, usually gets everything dry. the odd towell might need a bit longer after i have taken everything else that is dry out, but rarely do i ever go over 60mins total.

I didnt know this. I have a condenser drier and 4 kids. If the washing can it's out on the line most of the year. In winter on wet days I sometimes dry things for 30 minutes, pull it damp, stretch it back into shape and hang it damp in the hall window. I don't put anything on the radiators any more.

Hanging the damp washing while it's still hot from the drier seems to work quite well but unfortunately its labour intensive. I'm.dreading the winter fuel bills

Not much longer then the condenser drier I had previously. I think ours is a Miele

It’s not really warm air though, not compared to a heat pump dryer. I’ve just measured the air coming out of mine and it’s 37C

Not everyone has that luxury. I live in a block of flats with huge communal gardens but we are not allowed to hang washing outside - or even have washing drying by the windows and therefore the sunshine! I would LOVE to line dry.

Doesnt work for me due to disability. I could wheel myself down a ramp with washing in my lap and up to a washing line, but actually pegging things out is a bit of a reach (pun intended)

When you read about extra costs people with disabilities face, hopefully this will pop up in your head as one such cost.

Yeah thanks @Tulipomania

I think I’ve mentioned at least three times that I have a spinal injury. Other posters have mentioned chronic conditions, large families, lease conditions, flats, or damp homes.

I forgive you though, because I was a smug arse once.

Don’t you find folding washing whilst sitting quite challenging too? Drives me mad.

I discovered this two years ago when we needed to buy a tumble dryer that didn't need venting for a new house.

Took me a while to get used to it though, I found the pre programmed settings didn't quite dry a load, it would sense it was dry enough and stop but actually the clothes were still very slightly damp. So I now put in a manual time and with dryer balls chucked in it takes 2hrs for a full load. I clean the pull out filter every time and there's also a built in filter which I wash out every month or so.

I know a washing line is free but with small children nipping at my heels and a zillion small items to hang up it is much nicer to be able to just chuck it all in the dryer. It runs off solar panels and I chuck the collected water straight onto the garden so I feel minimal guilt using it!

Tldr but if you save 75p per cycle, it will be 670 cycles to "pay back" the 500 extra spent. It would take us around 10 years for us to get "pay back" (we only use it in winter, usually twice a week).
My energy saving idea is to put our condenser dryer into a room that we actually use. The heat from the dryer will warm up the room 😀 but we will have to put up with the noise I guess 😞

I really miss the smell of mine dried washing.

No point crying over it though. Needs must. If I couldn’t tumble dry, we would probably all end up in grubby or mildewed clothes.

When our washing machine died during lock down it took out the plumbing and I couldn't replace it for months, so I bought a spin dryer. I still have it for hand washing, and it can wring a pint of water from a machine load.
www.whiteknightdryers.com/product/english-electric-black-gravity-drain-spin-dryer-28009b1-5-2kg-capacity/

Yeah me too. I really wish we could but the property managers are having none of it. It must be so hard having disabilities that have such an impact, I really feel for you.