Anyone still using their tumble dryer

[LovelyNanny26]

We are a family of 3 (soon 4) and the washing never ends in our house.Our toddler is constantly messy and covered in food.I would like to wear and outfit more than once but due to my toddler it is impossible and my husband works in construction.I was drying my washing outside but nothing was getting dry and caused condensation on the windows.I have finally caved in and bought a Hoover mid range dryer and Oh my god it is amazing.How I have managed before one I don't know.Are they really so bad like people portrait them to be.Anyway it will only be used during winter months.Can't wait for the spring to come.

Good tips, although I am not stripping my kids off for meals when it’s 13-15 degrees in the house!

About £1 for a 7KG load :)

I could not live without mine- we've got a new heatpump one which is really economical. anything that can't be tumble dried gets put on the airer next to a radiator to coincide with the heating going on.

We only got a tumble dryer last winter (just before the arrival of our first baby) and we're using it more this year than last because he's generating a lot more mess now he's eating/crawling/in amongst everything. Our house is very prone to damp and we're doing our best to minimise the damage being caused, and drying laundry inside was a big contributor. We give everything an extra spin cycle before taking it out, hang thicker/harder to dry items on the heated airer (covered with a dehumidifier running) and tumble the quicker dry items for a set period of time. Then hang any items not totally dry on the heated airer as well. Once the thicker items are a bit drier will tumble those to finish them off if needed. I try and do all laundry in one day so that the total time spent running the airer and dehumidifier is minimised.

I have mine on now

Unless you have an empty room, there's not much choice at the mo

You can prise my tumble dryer out of my cold dead hands.

I use mine - I do dry some stuff on radiators but we don't have enough room for the amount of clothes -we are aren't putting the heating for long periods (just an hour in morning and evening and dost for 30 mins if needed) as the gas for the central heating for a few hours costs more than the electricity for the tumble dryer for 2 hours!! If it's really cold and the radiators will be on longer i won't use the dryer!

We have a sock dryer which hangs from the ceiling which is great for drying small items like pants, cloths, socks etc.

I'm still using mine. I now do all laundry on a cold wash (as in no heat) and the eco cycle. Laundry comes out smelling fresh and is clean. For context I have a 5 year old who attracts muck and looks like he's been working down a pit by the time he gets in from school. DP and I exercise 5 x each a week, so that's a lot of sweaty kit. I used a sports sanitizer liquid wash which removes the stink from our kit, enabling it to be washed cold.

Pre getting the tumble drier I'd do smaller loads of washing, so I could dry stuff on the radiators. Often I'd have the heating on for just the laundry.

So I can reconcile in my head that using a cheaper wash cycle, doing bigger loads of washing (filling the machine) aaaand having the heating on less, balances out the cost of the tumble drier.

I have no evidence to base this on as we don't have a smart meter. But surely it'll be either a saving or similar expenditure.

I've also cut down on the volume of laundry - eg changing bedding once a fortnight instead of weekly etc.

I’m not using mine, I put the clothes on an airer on the landing & they dry with the hot air rising. One load a day fits on the airer & the clothes dry in a day. Between us we do 4 loads a week.

I’ve noticed a considerable difference in the electric we use

No! Emptied out the airing cupboard so now we have a shelf for airing stuff…I bought a clothes horse (old fashioned word for an airer I think) ..SORTED! No more tumble drying!

Yes but only towels and bedding - the rest gets hung on an airer (it dries in a day so works well). It's a heat pump type so is cheaper to run and more efficient.

It'll only cost a quid or two so if you think that's OK then use it, better than having a mouldy house.

I thought I could live without a tumble dryer but it broke and so replaced with a heated airer and dehumidifier. Our clothes aren't getting as fucked as they were by the drier and it's sooooo much cheaper

Same as others. Gave up trying to air dry a few weeks ago and now shifting to regular tumble dryer.

Those heated airers were useless in our house. Not quick enough for the amount of washing I need to get through

No, but I never used it much anyway. Have always done extra spin -> dehumidifier -> airing cupboard. Tumble dryer very occasionally used for towels.

@Reluctantadult thanks, that infographic is really useful!

Towels yes. Otherwise I put them on a clothes maiden beside my my rather marvellous dehumidifier. The clothes dry amazingly quickly, much more cheaply and no damp house.

Ours too plus an EV, around £25 per day, I could cry

Yes every day . I dry everything till almost dry on clothes horses in the house and then finish them off in the dryer. I find if I leave them to dry completely on the clothes horse they are rough and wrinkled. Out of the drier they are soft and wrinkle free and need no ironing

I've got a heat pump tumble dryer & only use it after double spinning my washing, it puts maybe £5 a month on my electric bill & I use it twice a week

Yes, for towels and bedding. Or something that takes ages to dry like hoodies.

I have one too. I used it for a couple of months when I bought it two years ago. The bills were far higher. I hardly use it now.

i bought some of those woolen balls to go in it which cuts drying time by about 1/4. I also tend to only dry smaller stuff, big things (duvets, bedding, towels) go over the bannister and air dry. I take washing out when it's cupboard dry (rather than fully dry) to save a bit too. When it's so cold I think it's ok to use sometimes.