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?

This. I know basically how long various loads take to dry, and I just put them in and leave them.

What can I tell you…. we dry over airers in the kitchen, it works fine (plenty of space, underfloor heating). In our previous two houses we dried over airers in the dining room. We have always wfh, so there was always some heating on at least part of the day, and with the UFH, it’s constant. The heat from that is sufficient, and since it’s only the two of us, the time taken to dry is not an issue as I can space the washing out over the week.

If it didn’t work for us, then I suppose I would use a dryer. But since it DOES work for us, I save the energy.

I have come across the stiff ones from friends towels. I'm not sure what the difference is but mine dry soft and not stiff but not fluffy soft like a tumble dryer.

My dryer takes a whole wash load as I try not to pack the washing machine. Other people in the household, however...

Nice socks, bras and wool doesn't go in it. But I rarely wash wool clothes anyway as wear clothing underneath.

We have a Bosch washer dryer and that thing is incredible. The dryer part gets used in the winter but as soon as the weather is warm/dry enough I switch to pegging things out in the garden.

Only non shrinkables go in the tumble dryer. Jumpers and delicates are dried over the radiators in winter or heated airer in spring/autumn if it's not cold enough to have the heating on.

I've never seen tumble dryers as a big deal but then we always had one at home for I suppose, for me, it was just something normal.

It’s not so bad with a large utility room with a built in airer, but otherwise taking airing racks in and out of cupboards and drying things around the house - no thanks.

You make it sound like some huge chore. It really isn't that much work.

If climate change results in a "hellish" three-degree rise in temperature, as researchers are warning, we'll all be facing much greater hardships than this.

It does make me wonder what size load people's washing machines do if they'd have to have clothes hanging 'everywhere'! I just have an airer which I put outside on my decking most of the time and then inside when necessary. It can take 2 loads of washing so no need to put things anywhere else.

Who wants a dryer in the dining room? I don’t even want one in the kitchen.

You make it sound like some huge chore. It really isn't that much work.

With kids it’s a constant round of washing and drying. I’ve got better things to do with mu time.

We use ours all the time, including in the summer to avoid pollen on line dried laundry. However, fine wool and woven cotton items are air dried over the bannister to avoid shrinkage

Grew up without one and loathed trudging to the launderette to dry the family’s washing in the winter.

We have both indoor and outdoor clothes lines and rarely need the tumble dryer. We did use it when the kids were little (cloth nappies), but it’s just so rare we need it…

@Mirabai

Who wants a dryer in the dining room?

Someone whose dining room is only used for eating in when there are guests and who has a smallish kitchen.

I don’t even want one in the kitchen

It’s a dining kitchen, the airers go in the dining end. This house doesn’t have a separate dining room.

I guess my house/family/routine are different to yours, so I use a different solution for drying clothes. I don’t find the airers standing in the kitchen to be a problem, so I prefer to save the energy and not use a tumble dryer.

I use mine at least 5-6 days per week. If it's dry outside I will hang on the line but I always finish in the drier as the clothes smell and feel nicer/ softer and saves me ironing.

so I prefer to save the energy and not use a tumble dryer
But in the UK in winter you will need to use energy of some type to dry clothing.
Such a myth that you don't.
Heated airer, heating,humidifier or TD.
I don't want wet washing creating damp in my house.
It's very bad for you.
Even if you air your house.
I mean really ?
Heating on and windows open isn't very environmentally friendly.
I'm in the South so haven't even put the heating on yet !

This goes back to my earlier point - if you have a utility room for a permanent airer ok, but I do not want clothes drying around the house, it’s just annoying.

I haven't encountered shame, either. No one IRL saying they are against, just some feelings like that online (biased minority).

Concerns that it's envionmentally bad are valid. Line drying is a good thing if you can make that work.

I have a heat pump tumble dryer that I can put everything into. I’ve not found it shrinks anything yet. DH is very tall and doesn’t go round looking like a Victorian orphan with his clothes half way up his limbs either.

I prefer to use my washing lines where I can. My favourite smell is line dried washing. I got two loads dried outside last Friday. We live in a spot where it’s always blowing a gale there’s always a breeze so that helps.

New heat pump driers are a lot more energy efficient than older ones. If you do a lot of drying one of these can pay for itself over an older one pretty quickly.

The bit where you save the money is at the margins. I have a dehumidifier and a washer drier with a high spin speed (1600 rpm). Most of the time I don't use the dryer except when I need something dry in an emergency.

In summer line drying works for me, in Autumn a combination of bannister/radiators (not on), dehumidifier and extra spin does the job. In the very coldest month or so then maybe the dryer will be used for cotton stuff (synthetics like microfibre come out of the machine almost dry anyway).

Part of the issue is that people have very different living conditions. If you are 4 people with two young kids living in a 1200 sq ft house then that is a lot different to 1 person living in a 700 sq ft flat. The single person not only generates a lot less washing, but when drying it generates a loss less water per sq ft - humidity and has a lot less background humidity from cooking/other activities. This is why some people find dehumidifiers and bannister drying perfectly acceptable, whereas others it will wreck their house.

Add on top of that things like the fact that people wear different types of fibre, some of which is very hard to dry and other is very easy and change clothes at different rates, and the drying problem becomes very personalised. So comparison is a bit futile. All you can really do is look at what other people do as ideas, and then try to figure out what works for you. But there is no one thing fits all best solution.

I think in the past before things were sold with energy ratings they were probably really expensive to run
The energy ratings will have made them more efficient.

Back in the day they were vented by hanging a tube out the window. So on a cold day when your drying inside because it was too damp to dry outside you needed to open a window. Must have been a PITA

I have an old style one and it is vented through a hole in the wall behind it, I have never had a pipe out of the window, it's far easier to use than a new type as you have to empty them unless they can be plumbed in

I have never had a tumble dryer although did have one growing up. Mainly due to never having space in the houses for a dryer and I prioritise having a dishwasher over dryer. I have always used a decent sized clothes horse on wheels tucked away in the kitchen. I have never had any issues with moult or damp in any of the houses as a double spin then hang up and leave window open washing is dry by the next day. Washing is line dried outside every opportunity available

@User18650674
”dreading it breaking and having to get one with umpteen settings or even worse a heat pump one with umpteen setting's. I have it on hot for towels and sheets and some sturdy clothes and warm for everything else, always takes under a hour to dry, even with a load of towels.”

I have a heat pump one.
I’ve only used one setting for everything … “mixed fibres” and “cupboard dry” since I bought it and everything dries hunky dory 😬

No need to dread !

I wouldn’t be without my tumble dryer. I rarely have to iron as I either fold or hang and the thought of my house being festooned with damp washing is extremely depressing. I wonder at all these people who refuse to use a tumble dryer and instead use a humidifier for days on end.

I line dry as much as possible but have no shame/guilt about using my dryer when needed.

We got a washer-drier before DS1 was born and I don't know how we would've managed without to be honest, now we have 2 we use it most days. My mum definitely falls into the weirdly proud of not using one camp (see also: dishwasher). We also have a heated airer which we use for anything that can't be tumbled, like woollen jumpers. I will hang things out if it's sunny, but it rarely is, and the drier means I don't have to sit with the heating on all day.