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

The majority of clothes we own have the don't tumble dry symbol on them. Do most of you just ignore that?

This really made me laugh, that’s my current life! Shuffling tiny pants around, it’s never ending!

I’ve got two Lakeland drysoon heaters. They are used all the time.

I did not have a dryer for around 18 years, always thought too expensive to run and no room and ventilation issues to consider.

Well this year I bought a Bosch heat pump off Amazon sale payback in 4 monthly payments. It turned up smaller than I thought, no ventilation issues I just empty a water drawer when its full. The cost I'll be 100% honest I have not really noticed at all and I use it constantly. I would not go with out it now.

I have a washer / dryer for space reasons (didn't want to accommodate both separately) but also a Lakeland heated clothes dryer - the newer models come with a cover you put over them, cheap to run and very efficient at drying things quickly. I don't have a cover but use a fitted sheet, does the job!

I have a dryer and it’s expensive. I grudge it. But it is helpful. Have you thought about a heated airer? I have a ‘drying buddy’ from B&M, cost me £48, cheap to run, drys uniforms, tops and shirts in an hour, quicker than the dryer and significantly cheaper. I can dry 3x loads of washing in a day.
It does make the room very hot though. But safe for kids as it has a cover round it. Really, really worth it and I’d look into it. I got a cheap B&M one but you do get others online. (Also takes up about the same space as a medium sized airier)

For those mentioning the lakeland heated airers, I have found that mine actually costs more than my dryer to have on for long enough. Won't be the case for older/less efficient dryers but worth being aware for those weighing up what to buy.

I don't really understand the 'giving in' aspect of it. Get one if you want one. FWIW I use mine all the time and have no intention of changing that. It does cost money to run, yes, but I'm happy to pay to use one of the most convenient appliances I own.

It’s either a tumble dryer or you take the laundry to a laundrette and use their dryers.
There are hidden costs to attempting to dry items indoors - your sanity, and damage to the fabric of your home and its contents. So you either pay for a tumble dryer (either your own or at a laundrette) or you pay for repairs and replacements of your home furnishings.
Of the three options of a tumble dryer v heated airer v dehumidifier, the tumble dryer wins on all fronts - laundry is dealt with quickly and out of sight, freeing up living space whilst doing so, it also actually gets clothing bone dry. All three cost to run, but it’s a question of running something for an expensive hour or running something cheaply but for 10+ hours.
What do you prefer?

I would sacrifice nearly all my household appliances for a tumble dryer if I had to! It's a game changer. We do a lot of washing and I can have a full load washed, dried and put away in a few hours. I can't be doing with washing all over the house for days on end. Do it, it will change your life!

I have one (actually a combi one, which wouldn't suit people doing several loads a week as you can't wash while load is drying). I wouldn't be without it.
I enlarged an upstairs hall cupboard by taking some space from the bedroom behind and have room to either stack a washer snd separate dryer or the combi I have with shelves above.

I ordered this a month ago from appliances direct can recommend it's about 45p a load. Also not as slow as I thought it would be, I stick everything on 135 minutes synthetics (or maybe it's mixed fibres ?) it's the third one along anyway.

Definitely get one - but also, why aren't you turning up the dehumidifier if it has that option? It's not going to do anything to your clothes it'll just be noisier @Am1beingUnreasonable.

I tend to hang stuff overnight with the dehumidifier on, then wang in the tumble for a few minutes to ensure it's bone dry. Especially helpful for towels and jeans and stuff. Best of both worlds for us.

(Also ours is a small Swan which is not hugely energy efficient, but that does stop me from using it too much and also because it's small it fits into a tiny cupboard)

Check if your dehumidifier is a compressor or a dessicant. If it is compressor type, definitely try dessicant type, like ones from Meaco. Since getting one, never used our tumble dryer.

I’m the opposite, until we moved here, I’d never had one! It never bothered me, even when DD was in real nappies. BUT I’d always had plenty of space to dry clothes and never had to stint the heating, even though in two previous houses, it was only a woodburner!

Now, I am struggling to get clothes dry, even over the weekend, because I am not heating the spare room they dry in. Even aired in the rest of the house, they still feel damp, and it’s only October! I either need to turn on the heating in there (and in all likelihood turn it up, too. It is not drying on 17) move the airer out or use the dryer. I don’t know which is cheapest (the airer is a ceiling airer and would have to go over the stairs. It’s my preferred option, but I physically can’t fix up there without help, which means getting someone in for £££)

OP what is your main barrier? Cost of energy used, or environmental cost of energy used, convenience or space? Options I’d consider are

Having a woodburner fitted at weekend place. They are wonderful anyway and brilliant at drying sheets etc. You enjoy your fire in the evening, then leave your laundry on an airer overnight next to it, and they’re dry in the morning. It will be expensive, but uses no fossil fuels and you also get heat from it.

Having a full weeks-worth clothes (or even just uniform/work clothes) and getting a service wash done weekly at the apartment. Doing all the other laundry on a Friday and it dries in the way in the living areas while you are not there to be bothered by it. Inconvenient (unless they collect and deliver), but good use of space and heat, and possibly cheaper than an outlay on a dryer.

Double checking other sources of heat. I used to be able to get small amounts of school uniform dry over night in the airing cupboard - I fitted a rail and hung it up on hangers in there. I don’t know if it will work now the heating is on so much less. Depends what you have to use.

I’d recommend a ceiling airer. They are great for sheets and towels, and keep stuff out of the way. Usually I say over the stairs out of the way, but obviously not for your apartment! I have one in my tiny spare room, and it does help a lot.

I have this Beko one OP.

It is the dog’s bollocks.

And normally I’d go for Bosch etc but it beats my old one hands down.

Here:

Can’t manage without one no drying space no garden and clothes don’t smell musty either.

It's a convenience I would find it difficult to live without now. We do two loads a day usually and it makes the towels so nice, ready to go, soft. And it saves all the hanging and being surrounded by soggy clothes. Saves time, so I can make more money from my work, saves fiddly hassle which you already get with folding.

I'd do it. Next for me is dishwasher, which I've never had, but dishes take up a lot of time too.

I hate this, love it: www.currys.co.uk/products/beko-pro-rapidry-b5t4823rw-8-kg-heat-pump-tumble-dryer-white-10227246.html

I’ve never owned a tumble dryer as ever since I’ve owned a washing machine, I’ve also outside drying space, even when I’ve lived in flats, and even in rainy Scotland clothes do eventually dry. However in OPs position I would be tempted to buy one.

Only tip I can think of in the meantime is to give each washload an extra spin. Clothes really do come out much dryer after the second go.

A heat pump dryer only costs 1/3 of the electricity of a "normal" dryer. So if you do six loads a week, it is a "saving" of £418 per year in electricity over the normal drier. Ours cost £799 with a 5 year warranty compared to £299 for a normal drier but we made that back in electricity savings within 18 months. It's currently on it's 8th year and still going strong....

Also they don't take that much longer - particularly of you do large loads of washing.

ao.com/l/heat_pump_tumble_dryers-with_a_5_years_warranty/1-18/17-126/

These all have a 5 year warranty so you don't have to worry about an expensive appliance going wrong.

I use mine all the time. I couldn't live without it and there are only two of us. We have cats and it's worth it for getting rid of the cat fur alone.

I have a heat pump drier and use it just for airing off items that have either been out on the washing line or on the clothes airer. Usually takes about 30 mins to finish off a full washload- I tend to put about a third in, let it run for 10 mins, swap over to next lot. For the sake of 30 mins of faff it anything slightly damp gets dried, and I usually do this whilst I am cooking my tea, as the drier is in the kitchen and I’m in that room anyway

@RomeoOscarXrayIndigoEcho I just don't buy children's clothes that can't be tumble dried. And rarely adult clothes (other than, e.g., jumpers). I definitely prioritise clothes that are simple to care for.