To give in and buy a tumble dryer

[Am1beingUnreasonable]

At my wits end!

There is myself, husband and two children (1 and 5) in the house. I can keep on top of the washing but drying everything is driving me insane!

We have a small apartment in the town so that kids are close to the school, and a holiday home out in the sticks by the coast that we are at most weekends. The holiday home is much bigger, but no garden. The apartment we are in most of the week also has no garden. So drying outdoors is out of the equation.

In the holiday home I have room to dry more clothes on airers but the holiday home is colder even with the heating on, so clothes don’t dry over the weekend whilst we are there, so doing laundry there doesn’t really work.

The apartment is warmer but I only have room for one small airer, which isn’t enough for the washing for a family of 4!

Ive tried my best to avoid having a tumble dryer because of the rising costs but I’m at my wits end. We tried a dehumidifier on the laundry setting and it barely made a difference. Same for heated airer.

Does anyone have any magic ideas about what might work before I just cave in and buy a tumble dryer?

Also, what are your costs vs benefits like? I’ve worked out it’s going to be around £2 a load for washing, which will be £10-12 a week for us which isn’t horrific but obviously not great if there’s a cheaper way of doing this I’m not thinking of.

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MNHQ

Way too much info.

If you can afford it and it makes your life easier you don't need validation from random folk on the internet.

Just get one.

Ok. Not cost effective then. I used to like going to mine, as I’d say to dh “you’ve got the kids I’m off to the launderette”. It was peaceful and nice there!
I’ve also got a choice of laundrettes.

We got our first tumble dryer last year. It's fab, and I'm so annoyed we didn't have one when the dc were little! This is the one we have ao.com/product/dtlp71151w-beko-heat-pump-tumble-dryer-white-77816-126.aspx?ef_id=Cj0KCQjwhY-aBhCUARIsALNIC07e08lJ_9UhocHT1gaaAFWpDxtZnkHJO_zn2y0FA9p_GvhfMTMnXVYaAp20EALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!8149!3!546446800987!!!u!1628000628472!&&utm_medium=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=mda%20-%20tumble%20dryers%20-%20smart%7ctumble%20dryers%20-%20smart&utm_term=smartshopping%7cDTLP71151W_WH&utm_content=pla-1628000628472%7cpaidpla&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhY-aBhCUARIsALNIC07e08lJ_9UhocHT1gaaAFWpDxtZnkHJO_zn2y0FA9p_GvhfMTMnXVYaAp20EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

www.currys.co.uk/products/logik-lhp8w22-8-kg-heat-pump-tumble-dryer-white-10238225.html was this one, gone up £30 though. brand new model for this year

If you’ve not got space to dry outside then It absolutely makes sense to get a dryer.

No point living surrounded by damp washing and making yourselves ill either.

A tip for little bits that’s I’ve seen is like a retractable line over the bath tub that way you can dry in there with an open window for those bits you don’t want to shove in the dryer or need as fast.

Definitely get a heat pump dryer, I have a Sharp 8kg one and it’s quite cheap to run, takes about 1 1/2 to dry a full load - I tried a heated airer and it took up so much space about 12 hours to dry anything which meant it cost the same as using the dryer.

Well I've just looked and it's now over £600! www.currys.co.uk/products/bosch-serie-4-wth85222gb-8-kg-heat-pump-tumble-dryer-white-10222387.html
It was more than I'd normally pay at £459.00

This was it then

After having our second child I decided that it was time to get a tumble dryer. I'm sick of drying clothes around the house and we suffer terribly with damp anyway. So we invested in a heat pump dryer and my goodness it is life changing! Dries clothes in less than 2 hours, no shrinkage and cheap to run. It wasn't cheap though to buy but we could afford the initial outlay. You need to do your research on them and find the best one uo can afford to buy.

I have recently replaced our TD for a heat pump one as it was on its last legs. It does take longer so requires a bit more planning. I have two teens who decide at last minute that something needs to be washed and dried in a hurry! We have already noticed a decrease in our electricity comsumption.

I love our tumble. Just get one OP

We have a dehumidifier too but if it's on for an hour we all wake up with sore dry throats the next day.

And it kicks out so much heat! It's not cold enough here for heating yet.

Dehumidifiers don't suit everyone x

YANBU. Ours was my pre-condition of having a second child. Mostly I put things on the line or on the airer but it's a good backup, and a godsend when something needs turning around quck for school.

Have you thought of getting a spin dryer?
It takes little space and spins the clothes nearly dry so you could then put them on the heated airer and they'd be dry over night.
I can't remember what the spin speed goes up to but it gets out alot more water than the washing machine spin

www.easytechjunkie.com/what-are-spin-dryers.htm

We have the Bosch Series 6. On the pricier side but just love it. And the drying time isn't that long. 2 hours for a full load.

I've had all types of driers in the past, my heat pump absolutely does not take longer to dry stuff than other types In my experience. It also wasn't more expensive in the first place, its a Grundig with a 10 year guarantee. Its brilliant.

I’m still drying things on airers too… reading this makes me feel like I’ve missed a trick! Definitely going to get a heat pump when I can - thanks all!

This is really good to read! I’ve had it in my head (must have read it somewhere) that they take hours and hours to dry! Currently reading through reviews for a Samsung heat pump on the curry’s website and they say the same as yourself that it doesn’t take any longer, brilliant!

Really helpful.

Second suggesting a spin dryer. (I don't have one but would like one). I've never had a tumble dryer in my life! I do have a outside space though.

However I manage all winter when I'm drying inside.

I double spin all loads, I chase the sun (for the solar gain) during the day. I leave airer (not heated) in a room with the windows open locked overnight. I have special hangers for big things. I don't over load the airer - items need space to dry quickly.

I can dry 3 sets of bed linen (1 x king, 1 x double and 1 x single in a day indoors)...but that's all I'd have drying that day and there'd be washing everywhere!

I have to plan washing and drying like it's a military operation though.

My bosch heat pump is way less than this - think it's under 2kwh for a full cycle so even though it runs longer it's very efficient. If you're using it a lot you might find it's worth spending a bit more upfront to get the more efficient ones

www.currys.co.uk/products/bosch-serie-4-wth85222gb-8-kg-heat-pump-tumble-dryer-white-10222387.html as an example this is 1.87kwh for a full load

I live in a small flat with no outside space and wouldn’t be without my tumble dryer. Summer isn’t too bad as things dry on the airer overnight but drying towels and bedding in winter is dreadful. There’s only me here and I probably use it at least 3 times a week. Laundry hanging everywhere is depressing!

I don't see the advantage of a tumble drier for OUR set up. 4 of us, but we have outside drying space, and corners for airers on occasion. I'm also not away every weekend. Astounded that people think they are always essential.
All that said, I can totally see why it would be beneficial in your situation. If you can afford it, buy it.

I didn't have one when my children were very little for cost/space/environmental reasons - then I read somewhere that the heat pump ones used less energy than the extra heating costs needed to dry indoors or something. Can't remember the details but went out and bought one the next day. OMG - felt like I gained something like a day per week not shuffling tiny pants around to try to get them dry. I think there were other savings as well - my kids needed fewer clothes as I could get them dry, no ironing etc. I have a Samsung one.