Reluctance to use a tumble dryer is a British quirk

[User3735]

I've noticed that there is a lot of shame around using a tumble dryer, and even people who have one are reluctant to admit it, and make excuses why they have one and say they use it rarely. The claims of them being extortionate and terrible for the environment seem exaggerated to me whenever I look at the latest energy uses and cost. According to Which, the average tumble dryer costs around £150 per year to run (and less than £60 per year for a newer heat pump dryer). Yet people will buy expensive heated airers, rails and dehumidifiers to probably a similar value.

I have observed this tumble dryer reluctance from people from all financial backgrounds. The only pattern I have noticed is those who had one in their home growing up are more likely to use them, and those who didn't think they are to be avoided at all costs. I wonder if they did cost significantly more when they were new, and it is a misconception of running costs?

I have always had one, and when they have broken I have replaced asap. Our current dryer broke down this summer, and I put off replacing while the weather was better, but I now seem to have been influenced by the tumble dryer haters and I have a strange sense of satisfaction of powering on through winter without one. Whilst I get an utterly pointless sense of satisfaction that I am winning, the time spent shaking out, hanging and turning clothes takes up quite a ridiculous chunk of time compared to tumble drying and I am very time poor. Given our wet climate and issues with damp, I really can't understand why so many people are against them?

American here, grew up in California and I only use the dryer in the winter and only for certain items. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I prefer hanging clothes outside to dry, but am glad to have the option when it's too damp to dry anything outside.

I don’t have one because if I did I would only use it for towels. I would not even use it for sheets, etc because my bedding is made of linen and needs to be looked after! I am very time poor but don’t think drying on a drying rack takes any more time. I have a couple of really good ones. In the summer they go outside. In winter, I use a dehumidifier. Everything dries quickly.

Never used a drier in the UK or here in Australia. No need as in both cases the utility room is heated so clothes dry quickly and the house is warmed too.
Line drying is best, though as noted upthread you have to be quick on a sunny day to bring it in as soon as dry. I once had a full line dry in 40 minutes!!!

I always remember PigletJohn saying drying wet clothes around the house was like throwing a bucket of cold water at the walls. 😄

We had one growing up. As soon as they appeared in the 70s, my mum got one. Didn't have room for one for a while but got a heat pump about 10 years ago. I don't miss clothes drying around the house or having the heating on even when not really cold just to make sure that the clothes were dry.

Line dry in the summer but simply not possible to do that reliably year round in the north west.

Canadian here- always had one, absolutely love it.

I have some clothes that never go in, so in summer they are on the line, in winter on a rack. But towels on the line are crunchy and I hate that

Same on all counts. It's just not a topic to of conversation here.

I own one but rarely use it due to owning a wood burner and washing dries fast in front of it. In some houses I’ve lived in I’ve relied on the dryer all winter. I agree heated airers and dehumidifiers are a waste of time using the same amount of power

@EverybodyJumpsuit

”I just HATE the way they make clothes feel. Can’t stand to touch or fold tumble dried clothes- the texture is horrible. Nothing feels nicer or smells better than bedsheets done on the line…”

Unfortunately, in the U.K. hanging clothes out to dry on the line is limited to a few weeks in the summer.

I use a heat pump tumble dryer and use it every week.The clothes are dried at a lower temperature and they come out all soft and warm… never hot, which was the case with my old traditional drier.

I bought it after reading that hanging clothes to dry indoors fills the house with moisture which then makes it more difficult to heat.So it costs you that way.

Also, the habit of draping clothes over radiators reduces efficiency of the central heating system which leads to higher heating bills.
This is totally believable when you see how much water is collected in the tumble dryer tank.

That tumble driers are expensive to run is a myth in my opinion.

For those saying they don't have space. Stack your washing machine and dryer. It was a game changer for me.

They are expensive to run so I try to only use mine in the winter for towels and bedding. Summer everything goes outside. In the winter I use an airer and dehumidifier (cheaper than an hour in the tumble). Clothes are dry in 12 hours and no damp/mould.

I've never had a tumble drier or a microwave. I'm a bit old fashioned LOL but my clothes dry in the space of one day hung on a long rail in my large airing cupboard, so no need.

I use mine all the time. I love the fact that the clothes come out perfectly dry, warm, crease-free and - in the case of towels - wonderfully fluffy. Mine takes the full load of washing, is economical and dries everything (I even tumble dry clothes that say that they can't be tumble dried and have never damaged anything). An hour after the washing cycle ends, my dry clothes are ready to be hung away. I don't understand friends who talk about whether it's 'a good day for washing' and are happy pegging out around showers, drying clothes inside and making their homes feel damp, or using scratchy cardboard towels. I hate the smell and feel of washing that's been dried on a line.

I use mine all year round - i never line dry.

In a world where we are perpetually asked to be as environmentally conscious as possible, using a tumble dryer is wasteful. I do try to limit my carbon footprint, within reason, and a tumble dryer falls outside of what I consider reasonable.

Tumble dryers do damage fabric - that's why you need to remove and clean the fluff filter all the time.

I don't use heated alternatives; if clothes are still slightly damp from line drying outside they are re-hung inside, near the radiator, where they dry when I heat the house, and the excess moisture is removed when I air the house, all of which should be done regularly in this weather anyway.

Granted I don't live in the UK, but I mostly dry my clothes outside. I might finish them off inside in the winter, or occasionally dry them totally. I can assure you my towels are not "scratchy cardboard", and I've never in my entire life had damp in my houses.

The smell of line dried cotton sheets on a windy day is truly one of life's great pleasures. Clothes dried in the dryer never smell that good!

The majority of people here dry clothes outside, it most certainly is not just a British thing.

I have a tumble dryer in the shed because we don’t have space for one in the house. I always use it to complete the cloth drying process. We normally have damp issues in winter even without drying clothes so we bought dehumidifiers which is on throughout the winter to tackle that but it dries clothes as well so it’s a double win.
I however don’t like how the clothes smell after some days in the wardrobe if I don’t finish it off in the dryer as I don’t like putting clothes on the radiators.
Just 10-15 minutes each time in the dryer and the clothes come out perfect, no fabric destroyed and super cheap as the dehumidifier would still have been used either way.

Parents had one but was rarely used when I was growing up due to costs they said. However, I don’t find them that expensive to run. Use ours all the time, it is a large capacity one. It rains a LOT here. Do dry on the line when we can, but that is a rare occasion between July-April.

I can't stand the floppy feel of tumble dried clothes. I do use mine occasionally but hate doing so - it's always a last resort.

I do same. Also I can't stand having laundry all around the house, looks so untidy!

We rarely use one, when I lived in the states everyone either line dried, balcony dried or used a clothes horse inside. Where we live now people tend to either line dry, use a clothes horse, or people with bigger homes or who live in a more expensive complex will have drying cabinets. When we lived in the UK we had a tumbler, but we sold it as we weren’t using it and it was taking up vital space in our flat.

Gosh I wish they were mostly dry overnight. The toddlers room is kept at 16 degrees which is the warmest room so they’ll still be pretty wet.

But to answer your question, I have it on whenever he’s not in there because I don’t want him getting used to the white noise and also because he doesn’t let me and tells me to turn it off when he wants to go to sleep!

For most UK households that would either mean cutting out a large chunk of their kitchen worktops, or having one sat directly on the kitchen worktops. People with large enough homes to either not have the washing machine in their kitchen, or who have a kitchen large enough that nothing is above the washing machine aren’t going to have a space issue.

Its not great for your clothes either.

I was adamant I never wanted one but when I became pregnant 3 years ago I decided because of the size of my house (and the fact it's old) and that I was having a winter baby, I needed a tumble dryer.

Oh my goodness I wouldn't be without it now.

I try to hang a lot on my pully airer but my tumble dryer is in use now the weather is cooler. I would still try to hang bits out but my garden is north facing so it feels fruitless when it gets to a certain temperature.

I find it bizarre when people use them regardless of the weather, putting clothes straight from washer to dryer when it’s blazing sun outside is ridiculous

Had one at home growing up but never as an adult.

Two homes were two small for one and now we the space we also have a laundry room where multi airers can be left out indefinitely. To be honest that feels like more of a luxury than a tumble dryer!

I've always used a tumble dryer, since I had my first home 40 years ago, I'd never be without one, had 6 kids over the years and it would have been impossible to keep on top of washing without one. Can't stand wet washing hung all over the house, now I've only got 2 left at home, I line dry when I can, then finish in the dryer, it's saved me so much ironing over the years too.