tumble dryer

[addictediam]

Having spent the weekend washing the new babies clothes, keeping on top of 2 adult and 1 toddler washing, having no room to dry anything and only having 3 racks and stupid tiny radiators I NEED a tumble dryer!

I have a budget of around £200 and have no idea where to go or what I'm looking for!

Please help

is it a rented home? I ask because it is always best to have a vented drier and poke the steam hose out through a catflap or a hole in the wall. You can hire a core drill to make the hole very easily but would need owner's agreement if rented.

Vented driers are cheaper and more reliable than condensing ones.

It's not a rented home, we own it. We have a hole for a hose the previous owners blocked up with expanding foam so we can unblock that.

I didn't realise there were 2 different types. What's the diffrence between condensed and vented?

a condensing drier cools the steam and turns (more or less) of it ino water which either goes down a drain or collects in an internal bucket collecting vessel which you tale out and pour down the sink. Hence it is more complicated, hence more expensive and goes wrong more often.

A vented drier just blows the steam out of the house through a trunk and so is very simple.

As you already have a hole, I think a vented drier would suit you better. Gas ones are available which are very cheap to run and supposed to be very good, but have to be fitted by a gas-safe engineer with the extra qualification

looking at Which best buys, vented, up to £260, only one is shown:

Whirlpool AWZ3303, typically £184

p.s. there are two Gas driers which are best buys, made by White Knight, about £300. The extra fitting cost would be outweighed by the cheaper running costs in time, but I can't find the cost figures. I believe an electric drier costs about 40p - 50p per cotton load. Gas costs about half as much as electricity.

Here's a genius idea - a rotary clothes line cover. It fits over a rotary washing line so you can dry clothes outside even when it's raining. IT REALLY WORKS!!! It's called the Rotaire Dryline - you can order it online. Costs about £50 but when you pay 50p per load in a tumble dryer it soon pays for itself.

Nothing would dry out in my garden in the weather we have atm.

Do you work for them biscuit?

Was going to say I have a pulley in my garage next to my tumble dryer so that warm air from dryer dries the pulley stuff but hopeless in winter. No way would it dry outside so don't buy a rotary cover.
I got an own brand John Lewis one, v good

Slightly off on a tangent but any recommendations on radiator drying racks? We have a tumble drier but try not to use it unless I'm desperate. Currently we hang all our washing on radiators or on free standing airers in our bedroom, which can't be good for us. Need an alternative and wanted to buy some racks for the radiators which I can put out on a regular basis but take down easily to tidy away last minute when visitors arrive. Can anyone recommend any brands/specific types?

CJGilly how about those heated airers from Lakeland?People always rave about them on MN

this is the first dry day we have had since christmas, and it has been zero degrees an the frost has stayed thick on the ground all day

i have a north facing back garden, and the sun is just about to dip elow the horizon (i live quite far north)

I look forward to your suggestions biscuit

to the op....buy the biggest capacity dryer you can stretch to, try and get the best efficiency rating, and make sure you fold the stuff when it comes out, you may never need to iron again unless you are an antiwrinkle obsessive

I ended up buying a zanussi in the sale at curries. It arrived at 11am and I have already dried 2 loads of washing! And am waiting for my washing machiene to catch up. I have around 4 loads to wash and dry before i have 'caught up' :o

The lakeland ones are apparently really good Lots of people rave about them

I have a condensed tumble drier and not had no problems with it no hoses through cat traps or in wall - all you have to do is go to bottom of machine from time to time and open it up you will find a area where the water is held from the drier - just pull it out and empty it.

We did have a normal tumble drier must admit was cheaper but was noisey and broke down to much.

But i wouldn't be without the tumble drier now.