£6 for a load in the tumble dryer?

[whereisthejasmine]

someone on the news just said that it will be £6 per load to use the tumble dryer? is that right? I am searching online and the rates I see are more like 37p per hour a year ago - if that doubles its still less than a £1/hour.
Be grateful to confirm the realistic cost for 2022 as if it is £6/hour I will have to abandon it.

We have a heat pump dryer. They are super efficient. They honestly used to cost 0.28cents per load for us, so even double/ triple it’s never going to be £6.

But.. we do only ever use the dryer for towels and bedding. In summer bedding goes out on the line also.

I always find even wool cycle shrinks clothes. We dry all clothes indoors on rack in winter, outside on balcony in summer ( or in winter also if sunny). No need for dehumidifier. Ds reusable nappies dry fine indoors.
I always open a window every day even if it’s -10 outside for 5/10 mins at a time to air the house, regardless of washing. So no damp.

We do max 1 wash a day, family 3. And that includes 3 ish nappy washes per week. So once potty trained down to 3 ish a week. Rewear bits that aren’t dirty.

And yes high washing spin probably helps. 1600 for everything here.

@FleeceNavidadfromtheSheep

I've been using a drying rack and running the dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air.

Then folded laundry goes into the airing cupboard for a day or two if not completed dry.

Obviously hang stuff outside if the weather is fine.

Bonus: I use water collected by the dehumidifier on the houseplants.

Mindful that it is easier to make the change from tumble drying is you don't have several loads and need a quick turnaround.

Is it good for the plants?

I have a washer dryer. After taking out things that don't need ironing, I do a quick 10 minute tumble of the rest then dry all of the load in the airing cupboard on hangers and a gadget that has pegs on it. As I don't need to iron anything i consider that the tumble dryer electricity makes up for the ironing electricity (and I hate ironing).

In the winter if I have a fire on I will dry the washing in front of the fire.

In both house we've owned - and one rented prior to that there's only been central heating no fire of any kind. I don't know if that's particaularly odd.

I partially like the JML DriBUDDi because it cuts down on ironing while still drying the clothes.

Our gas usage and heating costs are much lower than average for house and occpancy this size - I've seen other posters say they have found lower heating can mean higher damp levels despite open windows and line drying where possible. The wet winter rmonths we do seem to need the dehumifiers.

Is it good for the plants?

It's virtually pure. It is water that has evaporated, leaving behind almost all of the impurities, and then recondensed. Like rain.

On dehumidifiers, when I lived in the tropics these were essential to combat mould because from about May to November the temperature averaged in the high twenties to low thirties accompanied by relative humidity in the high nineties (for comparison, in the UK it almost never exceeds 65% RH and is often below 40%.

I live in a new build here in NW England - one of the wettest parts of the country, and the futility room has an always-on extractor, as does every other room in the house with a tap. The house is otherwise virtually sealed for heat retention, which means damp could be a problem.

We dry most things on a clothes horse in the futility room, and never have a problem with damp.

@Shouldbeworkingnotreadingtalkul

".. my tumble dryer is £1.62 ph"

but that means you are paying 54pence per kWh

Are you sure that is true?

having looked at the file with the table of usage

www.nea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Electricity-Consumption-Around-the-Home.pdfg

I see it has a defect in it.

it is true that an immersion, run at 3kW for an hour to heat about 60 litres of water, will use 3kWh.

However the figures for cooking appliances are calculated on the incorrect assumption that that they will run at full power continuously. If you did that, all your food would be burned to a crisp and your oven would overheat.

Cooking appliances are all thermostatically controlled so they run for (say) ten minutes to get up to temperature, then cycle on and off to hold the temperature steady. The same is true of the iron and the fridge freezer. A washing machine or dishwasher takes about ten minutes to heat the water.

As for the immersion heater, a hot water cylinder typically takes about 90 minutes to heat enough for a bath, and its thermostat will then turn it off. It would only run continuously if you insisted on leaving the hot bathtap running all day.

ooops

I see the whole document explains that. I made the mistake of downloading just the table.

though it does say ^"Immersion heaters should only be switched on at
the times when you need hot water and switched off
when no longer in use - leaving one on is like leaving
the kettle boiling constantly"^ which is not true.

@Otherpeoplesteens

On dehumidifiers, when I lived in the tropics these were essential to combat mould because from about May to November the temperature averaged in the high twenties to low thirties accompanied by relative humidity in the high nineties (for comparison, in the UK it almost never exceeds 65% RH and is often below 40%.

I live in a new build here in NW England - one of the wettest parts of the country, and the futility room has an always-on extractor, as does every other room in the house with a tap. The house is otherwise virtually sealed for heat retention, which means damp could be a problem.

We dry most things on a clothes horse in the futility room, and never have a problem with damp.

I'd love a futility room. I'd store all sorts of useless things and jobs in there.

[quote whereisthejasmine]ah ha I have foudn something. This is what I wanted to know, link here in case it is helpful for others. Looks like a dryer load is going to be over £1 a load, but not £6 as per the lady on the news earlier this morning. So I can still use it but will use it sparingly (ie finishing off the washing that I have had out on the line)

www.nea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Electricity-Consumption-Around-the-Home.pdf[/quote]
Maybe the newsreader was referring to the Mumsnetters who do 20 loads a week

There's only 2 of us but we do have a dog that sheds loads of hair. So I'm constantly washing throws and bedding

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

How do you think people managed before tumble driers were invented?

But they were invented to get round the problem of drying clothes effectively. People may have ‘managed’ but there was obviously a need, otherwise they wouldn’t have been invented.

No they weren't. They were invented so people would use more gas or electricity.

I am one of the 20 loads a week MNers. Its ridiculous and I am doing my best, but its people working on building sites, people doing lots of sports, and a very old dog - so much stuff that really does have to be washed. I have a great long line, I have two airers, but the drier is a must most of the year as well. Its pretty new and cuts off when it thinks the clothes are dry, so guess that is good.

@Franklin12

I dont remember my Mum (yes it was just her!) washing like we wash now. I am sure we had clean underwear. The rest I have blocked out.

I remember having one school shirt to last the week - at the height of puberty I might have had two at one point but I definitely was not changing them daily like I expect my teenager to. School trousers were washed even less often, and bras

No they weren't. They were invented so people would use more gas or electricity

Are you sure?

They started life in the 18th century and were known as ventilators. Don’t think they had gas or electricity then……🤔

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

No they weren't. They were invented so people would use more gas or electricity

Are you sure?

They started life in the 18th century and were known as ventilators. Don’t think they had gas or electricity then……🤔

Yes I am sure.

Maybe they took old technology and adapted. But the concept was at least partially aimed at encouraging energy use. Which they are very good at.

Got rid of the dryer and have saved £300 this quarter compared to last year. We are a big family so it was on for hours every day. Now my whole house is covered in drying washing. I miss it. Roll on summer and I can get it on the line.

Interesting thread. We dry outside or use a heated airer in our bedroom - the large Lakeland one. I dithered over its purchase for a few years as it's quite expensive but I got fed up with various clothes horses and stuff on the radiators - and it is bloody fantastic. All but the thickest clothes dry overnight BUT you must use the cover (or put something large like a sheet over it).

I'm a bit mystified by all these comments about dehumidifiers and damp though - that's never crossed my mind and I've never noticed any problems in the room we use. I've a lot of plants in there and occasionally thought they benefit from it but that's it. I've got a device that measures humidity and will see what readings that gives.

Two hints for using a tumble dryer which ime drastically improve the efficency.

1. Fairly well known - Put a dry towel in with the wet load.
2. Not so well known - put something in to help keep items seperate and increase airflow. You can buy tumble dryer ball things for this but personally I just throw in a handful of the rubber/plastic washing liquid holders that come with washing liquid - they work brilliantly.

When I do these two things it seems to take FAR less time for a load to be dry.

@WelshyMaud

Great tips, and also - like someone mentioned previously - run an extra spin cycle at the end of a wash. I've been doing this for years (not at full speed spin, the next one down. Running at full spin cycle will wear the drum bearings faster) and even a full load of heavy fabrics can dry in less than 50 minutes as there is less water when the dryer starts.

@WobblyLondoner I also use the Lakeland drier - when I first got it, Imsaw a reduction in my bills as I stopped using the tumble dryer. I eventually got rid of the dryer and put in a dishwasher and then got a washer/dryer for emergencies when my washer gave out - I’ve used it twice in the last couple of years. I really recommend it - it changed the way I wash. Before I was doing it daily and drying daily but now, the Lakeland drier takes 2 full loads so I wait till Inhave the 2 full loads and then dry it all overnight. Works a treat. Cut my bills. I will be cutting them further by hanging outside this year in the summer, however.

I see my smart meter has moved to the new rates last night. So 48 p a day standing charge now. Kilowatt hasn't gone up too much. 29p as opposed to 23p. We can't do much about standing charge. It's the gas that will be a killer.