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?

What are you all doing to ruin your clothes in a dryer?! Much rather a dryer than having the smell of damp laundry on radiator which is, frankly, much more likely in sunny old Britain than having it blowing in the wind outside.

In a very hard water area I couldn’t be without mine. To an extent I am a bit precious about using it, I won’t use it for the normal loads but towels and sheets…definitely! I want soft towels and the airer doesn’t fit sheets on it very well!

I’m not in England but my tumble dryer is flat out every day! I haven’t pegged out washing in 20 years. Mine is heated by gas, which is considerably cheaper than an electric one.

I do have a lot of my own clothes that I put on a drying rack, but most stuff goes into the dryer.

It’s pretty uncommon here to see laundry out. It’s far too cold in the winter and so sunny in the summer that the clothes fade.

I live in a flat with no outside space and redesigned the whole kitchen around needing space for a separate washer and dryer.

My flat and house in Germany had designated places for driers (in the flat we had an allocated space for the dryer in the drying room, and in the house the utility room was designed to have two machines next to each other)

British houses don't have the same layouts. Dryers are afterthought.

I agree with you OP, this weird thing about the British who swear that line dried clothes are softer, fresher etc. No they aren't! It's a pain to be hanging them out, they come in damp anyway, most of them smell awful (city car fumes and next door's bonfire anyone?) and they certainly aren't soft.

I utterly love tumble dried clothes. Mine are bliss; totally crease free and towels and sheets are soft and fluffy instead of harsh to the skin. Saves time, condensation and quite a bit of ironing. And a batch of clothes can be washed, dried, folded and in the cupboard again in a couple of hours instead of half a day or more.

This site will tell you how much any of your appliances will cost you... Have a peruse.
Mine is the 2nd dryer on the list - £43 for 99 cycles (current average electricity prices). Mine was was one of the most economical of all makes when it was released. Miele and Samsung have outstripped it by miles now.
Yet if you look at a 500w dehumidifier, if it was on 8 hours a day, that would cost you £407 a year 🤷🏻‍♀️
https://www.sust-it.net/energy-saving/tumble-dryers&cl=1&sort=2&company=22

Wouldn't be without mine.

I'll peg out when I can (there is nothing quite so pleasing!), but that's not going to happen for a few months now.

I just can't bear wet washing draped around the house, and if it can't dry quickly, it just smells fusty.

We do have a small airer for things that can't go in the dryer though, and I always check washing labels for that. The new heat pump dryer we've got doesn't seem to run as hot so no disasters yet.

I love mine

And it’s a washer drier because I don’t have room, so it’s not even an optimal drier.

Clothes drying in the garden is obviously great, but not around the house.

I line dry in the summer, tumble dry in the winter. I live semi-rurally so no car fumes. I can't say that line dry smells better or is softer but why pay when the sun/wind is free and it is better for the the environment

Yep, we used to live in Canada, and I realised when we moved there that the reason why people in Briton think tumble driers are shit is because the tumble driers we get over here are objectively shit compared to North American ones.

British ones are often washer driers not standalone driers, have a tiny capacity if you actually check the instructions (about a quarter of a load of washing, most people overload them), and clothes therefore come out damp and creased. American ones are ginormous and clothes come out both dry and uncreased. Totally different experience.

Americans do have to put up with top loader washing machines and crap detergent though, so we win on that front.

Never had one, never would. No point using electricity to dry your laundry when the air will do it for you

I also have a heat pump one, hang clothes out on the line if they’ll dry when the e weather is good. Any other time jumper bras and non tumbleable clothes on a clothes horse upstairs and everything else in the tumble. It’s very economical to run and is cheaper than running my dehumidifier!

Don't be daft. Having moved away from the ul where. EVERYONE used a tumble to a different country where no-one uses one I find it a peculiar British thing

I didnt have one growing up but couldnt live without it. We dont even have a washing line anymore. Everything goes in the tumbler. Ours is a heat pump one. It dries clothes at a low temp. Nothing gets ruined. Everything comes out lovely and soft too!

Do they not shrink cotton clothes?

I have one , that I never use very often , just in case can't get towels dry or teens need their jeans just washed and dried quickly . The British have accepted them in their homes but we have decided it's not as necessary as a dishwasher which we have all decided we can't live without . Why spend the money on drying when you don't have to is a British trait .

I’m tall, I don’t want have mast clothes

I don't live in the UK, and people here mostly hang their clothes outside to dry. I also think they are not good for clothes and I prefer mine to be dried outside, in the fresh air and sunshine. When my drier died several years ago (I didn't use it much) I didn't replace it, and have no plans to ever get another one - the one I had was a gift from my DM when we moved to a house without an airing cupboard.

I have a tumble dryer aversion - I have memories of them having to run for hours at a time and things coming out hot but not dry

am fortunate enough to have an actual drying room with a window and a radiator so I can heat and/or ventilate. Also have room for a dryer, but am now entirely not in the habit and so have never got one

It's definitely not just the UK. I usually stay in self catering accommodation wherever I travel. Tumble dryers are not standard in a lot of countries I've visited.

Isn't it that a lot of houses don't have space? We had one as kids that was for emergencies only (v expensive to run) and it lived in the outhouse; we have one that has to live in the shed and also only gets used in emergencies (and our house isn't that tiny) If it was in the house it would get used much more. Dp loves draping laundry everywhere though, I swear it's his hobby, and he does most of the laundry.

They do shrink jumpers and cotton though.

I have a washer drier but only use the drier sometimes in the winter for bedding. I don't like it as the bedding is always very creased and even when it's meant to be on the driest setting it's still damp.

Everyone I know has a tumble dryer & I’m not aware of any “shame” in using them. I certainly wouldn’t be without mine and am happy to shout it from the rafters! 🤪

I use mine a few times a week. I was very careful with it last year but got fed up of damp washing hanging around the house for days so this year I’ve thought fuck it. Prices have gone down a bit anyway so I don’t feel so terrified every time I switch it on.