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?

I wouldn’t be without mine, the things that can’t go in the tumble drier I put on the Sheila’s maid above it in the utility room so I get a double whammy of using the tumble drier and it dries the clothes on the airier above by default so I find it a very efficient way of drying everything.

My reluctance to use it is a mixture of being tight and environmentally conscious.I'm not spending money and consuming energy to dry clothes when there's viable alternatives.

I think we take a common sense approach so line dry as much as possible, use a drying rack indoors for some things, and tumble dry others so we don't have racks and racks of wet clothes making the air inside cold and damp.

I was chatting to an extremely wealthy family friend the other day, I mean really very wealthy, and she was telling me she hates having to use hers as it’s so expensive and she prefers having laundry all over her dining room. So you have a point.

I have one and use it but not if it’s warm enough to hang it outside. Takes longer but just feels nicer in a variety of ways. I like a crunchy towel so never tumble those.

I totally agree with you OP, the reluctance to use a drier on MN is something i haven’t experienced in my own life. I use it for everything except jumpers, tracksuits and shirts. It’s quick, it’s easy, it means you get a wash done dried and back in the cupboards quickly and I hate having washing lying around the house. A decent drier leaves your clothes soft and not creased and smelling lovely. I wouldn’t be without it but I agree you do tend to need a decent one to get the best out of them

I've never figured out how to just use a tumble dryer without everything shrinking. And if it doesn't shrink it gets trashed. I hang stuff up and then give it 10 minutes in the dryer at the end.

The ones in America are amazing. Why can’t we get those types here?The clothes actually come out DRY.

I think any shame comes from using the drier and wasting electricity for hours and the clothes still come out wet 😁

I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have ever discussed tumble dryers with anyone, so I'm a bit baffled by your post to be honest.

We don't have a big enough house to have a separate tumble dryer, and a washer-dryer doesn't really have enough room in the drum to tumble efficiently. We use it for towels and bedding and for DH's work clothes, but not all that much for anything else.

We have a washing/dryer, we use it of course mostly in the winter and no shame about it. Towels/bed sheets/socks etc. they all go in, in winter.

Moved to US when I was a kid so had a dryer there (wasn't a UK thing) and have had one and used it ever since. Yes it's lovely to hang the washing out but at least 8 months of the year this isn't feasible in the UK.

To address the space issue. Yes I can see that can be a problem, it is something I looked for whenever viewing houses. I once lived in a flat and kept a dryer in my bedroom. In my current house, I have a chest freezer in the basement so I can fit a dryer in. But without using the dryer, we have had to convert our dining room into a drying room as there was no room anywhere for a clothes rack without tripping over it constantly. The clothes hanging from doors and radiators is a pain too, and the added damp in the house means we have to run a dehumidifier constantly to keep mold at bay.

I find social media posts at this time of year flooded with posts about damp, mold and heated airer and dehumidifier recommendations when a tumble dryer would solve most of these issues.

I also have had to start ironing uniform that came out crease free from the dryer. Another huge time wasting activity! I have noticed this is causing them to show wear much more quickly. Dryers seem to prevent certain clothes from bobbling too.

I understand some people don't like the feel of tumbled clothes. I have always preferred air dried towels. We also have a lot of wool clothes too, but I like them because they rarely need washing.

I love mine for socks and underwear that are a faff to hang on the airer or peg out. Bedding always goes in the dryer except for a few warm windy days each year, and towels go in all year round.

I never tumble my running kit (4 lots per week) or my clothes, because I don't think it's good for the fibres, but DH's work shirts go in, as does his gym kit (which he's less precious about than my running kit).

We both work out of the house, leaving early and getting back late. Washing hung out in our very sheltered (hardly any breeze) north facing (no sun in winter) garden only gets dry on hot summer days, so it happens rarely. Most things are dried on an airer in the spare room, but using the drier for underwear etc makes a huge difference.

I personally know 2 people that have had house fires due to their tumble drier so for that reason alone I won't have one in the house. And yeah they shrink clothes, make them feel horrible. I have a lakeland heated airer and find it so easy to hang everything out, put it on a timer and leave it.

Some of the replies are validating your view that the British are quirky about tumble dryers, OP.

I wouldn’t be without one. Used properly mine minimises wrinkles and therefore ironing. Also shrinkage.

Hanging laundry outside in the winter is a nonstarter and hanging more than a few items at a time inside makes my house damp I cannot believe this is unique; the British just don’t seem to care.

Grew up being covered in animal hair.

Went on to live in a place with no space for a tumble dryer (or venting), no radiators and no outside space to hang things up, so when the launderette closed - compulsory council purchase to enable flogging the land off for flats - everything smelled dank and the flat developed mould, both black and luminous orange with the occasional bit of green.

First thing I bought when I moved here was a tumble dryer.

I only use mine for bedding in the winter, so handy, but not essential. I was brought up without one, so not the norm to me.

We've not had one since the DC were small (washable nappies). I don't miss it but then I like the soothing activity of pegging out laundry and it smells so yummy. I'm busy but I am not that short of time that I can't find 10 minutes in the morning. And while a tumble drier may be relatively cheap, pegging out is free. Also I think £150 a year I don't need to spend is better in my bank account tbh.

I agree with a PP that they can damage clothes - things like T shirts with pictures on for example. And I also agree re the faff of a load - we had one in a summer holiday cottage and while it was useful, it was a bit of a pain to keep putting bits in and taking them out. I have a very big washing machine and I think any tumble dryer would struggle.

I've got a Sheila maid in the utility room plus an airer set up over the radiator there so all good. Tho I peg out in December if I can!

We have a washer/dryer and use it year-round. It makes life so much easier and laundry only takes a minute or two.

We had one when i was a child but my parents spent a lot of time saying how expensive a load was, and then how clothes seemed to get damaged.
We've never had space for one as an adult but Id like one.

I was a massive tumble drier refuser for years - it was a bit of a badge of pride tbh.

Now we've moved and I finally have room for one - and I love it. Haven't noticed anything shrinking (we have a heat pump one). And the cost of running it is no more than the cost of having a dehumidifier running practically 24/7 in the winter which I used to have to do in my old place, plus regularly turn the washing. Before we got the dehumdifier things like jeans would take up to 3 days to dry inside.

I line dry when I can between about April and October. We have a north facing garden that gets barely any sun over the winter so hanging washing out is pointless the rest of the year. I happily use my tumble dryer the rest of the time.

Laundry only takes a minute or two?

So do mine, they dry completely in about an hour, maybe an hour and half if it’’s a full load. Bosch drier

Let's put it this way: tumble dryers in student housing, which are my experience of tumble dryers, weren't great for clothes. Nothing was ruined. I was still glad to move out and get a room in a flat with a normal washing machine and space for a clothes dryer.

I'm very happy to use my tumble dryer. Wouldn't be without it. Love the way clothes feel and smell.

I agree OP! Mine doesn’t shrink clothes and isn’t expensive to run at all. Total myths.
I love mine!

It's complete rubbish that they knacker in your clothes, I've used one for the last decade and my clothes are all perfectly fine, I mean I wouldn't put a delicate in one, but I don't have delicates any more in my household! Just lots of cotton and teen girls clothes...

I use mine all the time, OP. I hate clothes hanging on radiators. Plus we live in a rainy part of the country, so getting things dry on the line is a nightmare. I don't want to smell stale/dried too slow smell.