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'm in the UK and my towels dry fine inside. If I hang them in the morning they're dry by the evening. It might depend where you live. I'm in the South east. We don't get that much rain here, either.

I'm in the US and have never hung clothes to dry outside. I have a rack inside my apartment to dry items that can't go in the dryer.

I can say hand on heart that dryers do not shorten the life of clothing, nor do they shrink fabrics that are ok to tumble dry. If you put a wool sweater into one, then yes, it will shrink, but laundry labels are not there for decoration.

The US is more tuned into tumble drying than U.K. though. I’ve noticed a lot of USgoods can be tumble dried, and U.K. thingd can’t even though they are same fabrics.

The reason being that clothes retailers in U.K. don’t test garments propetly. So rather than seeing if they will shrink when tumble dried they just put a no tumble label on. I wish the U.K. was more like US in terms of wash care.

( 10 years in U.K. clothing industry)

I have one but only tend to use it for Bedsheets, towels and emergency items. I think it's a mix of cost, they can shrink delicate items and also danger as at such a high temperature there have been incidents of fire risks. Not sure really, but probably the cost afywr having dishwasher on, washing machine, hearing etc it does feel like an extra expense. X

Yes there are housing associations that don't allow hanging washing outside, but not all ban it. The US is massive and there can be differences in attitudes to drying clothes in the same local community. Also, even if people aren't hanging clothes outside plenty are hanging them in their garages to dry.

As others have mentioned, there are times it works be stupid but to hang out clothes in a hot and dry climate. Often in the summer clothes can be dry as soon as the last item is pegged out. And as they dry so quickly the fabric isn't hard and crunchy.

I have one but I only use it to finish off clothes that have already either been hung outside all day or hung inside for 24 hours. Uses too much electricity otherwise.

If I had the choice I'd always dry outside on a line but I've got a heat pump dryer as I live in a flat without outside drying space.

I have a drying rack in a warm cupboard so don't need to tumble dry anything that might shrink. I do use it to finish drying towels though, and for socks and clothes that I need in a hurry such as school uniform.
I don't find them much use for things like large duvet covers, they just come out all crumpled so I prefer to fold and hang them on the rack.

Our owner-occupied estate (in Greater London) has it written into our leases that we can't dry clothes on our balconies. The idea is that washing outside makes it look like a council estate, but this is really so outdated now. It would be so simple to dry things outside during our hot summer days at least.

Well, if you follow the laundry labels on things in the UK half can't be tumble dried and the other half are dry clean only!!

For me, the main issues with line-drying are the weather (we're in Cumbria and it rains a lot) and also the smells that come off the sheep field that's 200m away. I don't want my clean washing to smell of manure, thank you very much

I hang items to dry in the bathroom, where the window is always slightly open.
Summer it takes one day; winter two days.
It's not convenient for all though.

If the rest of the world is happily using electricity to dry clothes, that’s a huge part of the problem and is exactly why the climate is going to hell in a hand basket. Bravo to the Brits who are reducing their electricity usage - other countries should take heed!

That's very strange.
I have very few clothes that can't be tumble dried.

I have hardly any clothes that can be tumble dried. If
l do 3 washes, usually l can only tumble dry socks and some pants. It takes 3 washes to fill the tumble dryer. Dc secondary school uniform could never be tumbled. I can’t tumble sweatshirts.

I’d tumble Levi’s but not other jeans.

I've just bought a Curry's Logik model. Basic, cheap enough, does the job.👍

but laundry labels are not there for decoration

They might as well be in U.K. Most clothes are wash at 30 with gentle spin.

I don't think dryer use or lack of it is going to make any difference.

And I don't think there's any reason for smug superiority either. British floors are covered in synthetic carpeting or vinyl, made from petroleum, Britons fly long distances for holidays, and spend a lot of time shivering in poorly insulated homes when they're not basking on a beach somewhere.

Dryers in North America tend to run on natural gas.

@Zebedee55 thank you, I’ll check it out!

Really? I own hardly anything that is dry clean only! It's usually only something that I've seen on evening gowns and coats. Hand wash only I've had, but honestly I'm careful not to buy things with that label because it just languishes at the bottom of the washing basket until I throw caution to the wind and wash it anyway.

I agree that probably half of everything we have says no tumble drying. I generally throw it in anyway and it's usually fine.

It's basically the same approach I take to the dishwasher. If it can't survive that then I can't own it anyway so if it gets ruined it's no loss.

My NDN uses hers all the time. She never hangs washing outside ,Even on a really hot day I can hear the drier going . Her electricity bill must be enormous,
We have solar panels but they dont

I don't own any evening gowns! But I bought a jumper from Primark the other day. Went to wash it - it's dry clean only! I put it in the washing machine anyway as I take the same approach as you!

Can't it just be a "some people like to use it and some people don't like to use it" thing? I've got a washer dryer and sometimes I use the dryer function and sometimes I don't. It's got nothing to do with my nationality.

As has already been pointed out, it is NOT just the Brits who line dry their clothes. Why would you imagine that everyone who lives in a country with plenty of sunshine and/or wind would use a drier?

I don't have space for one and can't really afford to buy and run one. If circumstances were different though, I'd have one for towels, flannels and bedding. I'd tumble dry very few of my clothes as I have quite a few silk shirts/blouses and cashmere and wool jumpers. I don't have massive amounts of clothes but a lot of what I have were quite expensive so I'm very careful how I look after them.

Depends what you think is a high electricity bill. Ours this year (rates have gone up since last year) averages at $115 a month, which works out at about £92 I think at current exchange rates (fluctuates all the time). Our electricity is produced 50% by renewables, a large chunk of which is hydroelectricity, and about 33% is produced by natural gas. Most of the rest is produced by biomass. Between the two of us we produce about three loads of washing a week, but we also have a 4 bedroom house.

Just to kill off any pretensions to environmental friendliness however, our heating is oil, which is common around here. We don't have a gas connection to the house.