Tumble dryer or dehumidifier?

[ThatsWahtYouGetWhenYouLetYourHeartWin]

Hi, we have always just dried our clothes in winter on clothes horses but the place we moved to a year ago gets very damp with a lot of condensation so we ended up buying a tumble dryer for the first time ever.

I don't like using it when the clothes can dry from the heating warming the living room and also our living room window is massive so the clothes dry well in front of it.

Does anyone know if it will be cost effective to buy a (relatively cheap) dehumidifier to deal with the condensation from the washing so we can use the tumble dryer less?

We've done it in the past, and are going to do it this winter. Tumble drying uses about 5kwh a load for us - often more because I put some of back in to get properly dry. The dehumidifier uses 180w, so I'm thinking four hours a day 5 days a week will be cost less than one tumble dryer load.

Given what you say about your house a dehumidifier sounds like a good idea.

we’ve only started using a tumble dryer in the last few years and I like using it for towels as it makes them softer. Also handy for when you wash a lot of beds instead of having sheets everywhere. However, I don’t like it for most clothes shrinking etc
we tend to do a big batch of washing on one day and in the winter put out on several racks overnight with the dehumidifier on and it’s all dry in the morning.

id recommend the Meaco 12l dehumidifier. It is expensive (£160) but will last for years. I just had a quick look and notice qvc has it on easy pay which may help. Good thing about qvc is you can buy something and use it and if you don’t like it send back. Also Amazon has finance on it but not sure how that works.

I think it depends how much the dehumidifier costs to buy (and run). You already own the tumble dryer. I personally am going to try to create less laundry in the first place...

Following with interest as I browse dehumidifiers and give my tumble dryer a dirty look since it sends my in home display glowing red everytime I put it on.

I was reading that someone had purchased a spin drier and said it was helping them save?

We’re slitting but clothes still be washed together for economy tumble dryer used because no room for anything else otherwise clothes smell awful. Bedding towels separate so two load a week one clothes one bedding towels.

When it comes to solving condensation issues it is important to solve the problem quickly as it can lead to issues with mould growth, this can worsen health issues, especially raspatory issues such as asthma.

A dehumidifier unfortunately don't work as long-term solutions, there are multiple reasons why they're short-term fixes to condensation such as the placement of the system, one dehumidifier won't provide a solution for the entire property. The other issue with a dehumidifier is that by taking all the moisture from the air can lead to the environment becoming overly dry and causing further health issues.

It is recommended to have a long-term ventilation solution installed, there's plenty of options available from whole home ventilation, such as Positive Input Ventilation (PIV), to single room solutions such as an extractor fan. Both can be cost-effective and energy efficient with PIV costing less than £6 per year to operate.