What to put in the tumble dryer

[decorecor]

I've got one for the first time (left by the people we bought the house from) but it seems like almost nothing can go in it. I've been checking labels, and I'd say 25% of our clothes can go in on a low heat only, the rest can't at all. Nothing can go on high heat that I can see, except towels. Even most of the bedding says low heat only, and my mattress protector says no tumble drying, which is a pain, as that thing takes DAYS to dry.

So I can never just wash a load and dry it. I wanted to use it those times I run out of hanging space (a lot) to stop the washing building up, so ideally I'd be putting the full load in.

My question is: are the labels to be believed? Can some of the "low heat" stuff go on a high heat (jeans, baby vests, etc.)? Can some of the "do not tumble" stuff go on a low heat? Are there secret rules I don't know? I just keep thinking there's countries like the USA where people seem to use tumble dryers for everything, so how come the labels are so strict?! I assumed wool couldn't go in, and pretty much everything else could!

We have a heat pump dryer and it's definitely gentler than other dryers I've had, but even so I'm a stickler for the labels. It's mostly for towels/sheets etc at the moment. We put a Sheila maid and wall blower in the laundry room and there's usually quite a lot of the load hanging up that can't be tumble dried.

I tumble dryer everything as I don’t have time working nights and 4 children so everything goes in and my tumble dryer has a lot of settings
jeans
delicate
wool
beddings
mixed
synthetic
nylon
etc

I put everything in apart from Wool / tailored things / special things which I would hate to lose. DS too old now but yes t shirts sweat shirts with plasticky emblems on looking at you DMIL - ha ha ) - no I would not do those they may crack

All underwear socks , towels , non iron shirts , cotton jumpers , casual trousers - eg chinos etc and bedding - all go in the tumble dryer here but ours has a low heat setting which I tend to use . Also we do not have a garden we can dry things nor a room where we can get a big lakeland dryer type thing.

In the last 8 years I have lost two cashmere jumpers owing to my Dh helpfully swapping over the washing. But I suspect he only got to them before the moths did so I can't complain. 😊

Some of Dh's sports tops say do not Tumble dry , but they are of some fabric which dries overnight on the towel rails.

I only put bedding (including duvets and pillows) towels and DH's socks and pants. Everything else would shrink.
I've got 3 huge racks in the spare room for everything else.
SIL tumble dries everything and all their clothes are shrunk. DN is always in too small clothes despite the labels saying they are the correct age.

Bamboo socks will shrink as I learnt to my detriment.
I tend to put most things in.
I'm more careful with my sons expensive T-shirts especially those with printed logos, I don't put those in.

@fallfallfall thanks for explaining! That sounds pretty impressive. I will have to see if we can buy one like that over here when ours needs replacing.

I tumble dry everything pretty much and only use hot setting. Wool is a no and some chiffon tops I leave out, although they have made it through before and are ok. I even tumble dried my faux suede sofa cushion covers and they were fine despite saying 'no tumble drying' 😄

It’s a bit random, I have a cotton hoodie that says its ok to tumble dry, I didnit on low heat and it shrank to half the size 😱

Basically anything with lycra in will shrink, but anything pure cotton should be fine on low heat.

Remember that if you hang the delicates on a rack next to the tumble drier, the heat from the tumble drier will dry the delicates much faster.

@Unseelie how absolutely strange are these machines your discussing not insulated? No joke I run my machine back to back 3 loads 2.5 hrs total and certainly no significant additional heat to the utility room.

Unfortunately this one is in a very cold and damp standalone garage where no washing would ever dry. It also sounds pretty basic compared to these ones with lots of settings!

I don't put wool jumpers, bras or hand-knitted socks in. I'm cautious with anything expensive or which feels like it might be too delicate. Other than that, everything goes in. So out of each wash I'll usually have maybe 2-4 things that won't go in the dryer.

I mainly use it for 100% cotton or linen. And bedding and towels.
And one load of underwear and socks per week (we don't buy expensive stuff just M&S)

not a Stagecoach tshirt, thats for sure

How much I risk in the tumble dryer depends on how wet it is outside, in this weather, I stick most things in on a low heat and try to take them out before they are bone dry. I don't have too many mishaps. In the 'tumble with care' category I have jeans, trousers and t-shirts. I never tumble dresses, jumpers/hoodies or DDs pjs. Everything else goes in willy-nilly, including the bamboo socks and my bamboo pj top, these have survived just fine!

I find that most clothes shrink at least a bit and I hate that. My husband buys his T-shirts and sweatshirts next size up, with shrinkage in mind (I hang my own to dry). I use dryer in winter to finish off bedding and towels, sometimes husband’s clothes except jumpers. Other stuff we put on racks on radiators.

I would be cautious with jeans that have any kind of elasticity in them. It can break down the elastic and leave little puckered lines.

That said, I put jeans in for a bit to remove a bit of the dampness then air dry.

The one I’ve just got rid of (was only 5 years old) would heat both the utility room and my kitchen so anything I needed to hang up went the top of the door between the two rooms and would dry in next to no time. Actually it was very hot to touch.

Ive had the new tumble dryer on today and haven’t noticed any excess heat yet, but this one is taking a lot less time to dry so maybe the old was wasn’t very efficient.

Thanks! I had assumed socks might shrink too - good to know they don't!

Mine do, gradually over time and eventually are too uncomfortable to wear because they keep falling down where they've become too short and my heel isn't in the heel part.

I put everything in and I've only ever lost a few things. Most things will shrink a little but it may take years before you realise it's no longer wearable. I don't think that's a reason to not use the tumble dryer though, sometimes you just got to get things dry quickly. If you'd cry if you lost the item, don't put it in.

Mostly clothes and bedding are for wearing/using, they're not precious, they need to be washed and dried, if you lose some over time through shrinkage or the occasional disaster it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Worry less.