Condensor Dryer, anyone got one? Like it? Should i buy one?

[mamadadawahwah]

I'm finally going to give in and buy a dryer. Ok, the fresh air and wind is great, but i can never get things to dry on demand and my radiators are always covered with drying clothes.

Anyone have a condensor dryer? Do they get as hot as other dryers?

If you have one, what brand have you got? Is it a good one?

I have a Creda, and it is just the same as a normal kind, gets just as hot etc., so I am thrilled with it. Not only that, even if I have line or airer dried clothes, I pop the wrinkled ones in the drier for 20 mins, and most no longer need ironing. This has saved me between 2 and 3 hours of ironing time a week.

yes i have a large dryer and there fab no vent pipes just plug in and go. and thay dry realy fast

I have a hotpoint condenser dryer and I could not live without it! It is about 4 or 5 yrs old, the thermostat does go every 6-12 mths but I have it under warantee, which costs me only £45 for 3yrs and a little man comes out within a few days of me phoning and fixes it. It is wel used, everyday, so I think it's great!

Where does the water go??? Do you need a vent to the outside??

We have a Zanussi

It is brill

No. there's a thing that the water drains into which you empty every now and then.......

Puff! How can you go from the footie to something as pedestrian as this!!
(No offence mmdd!!)

Yes I have one. Yes they get as hot.

It is a Miele. It is thought to be high quality and long lasting. Pricey, but we've got it in such an impossible to extract location (2mm between open door and boiler) that I really didn't want to deal with breakdowns for a good few years, so I thought I'd trust the Germans.

I believe whether it is vented / condensor the operating temperature is the same... the only difference is how you deal with the vapour ! I think it is fab having it plumbed in to the washing machine drain and not having to faff around with a fat snake or funny shaped water collection thingy needing emptying at inconvenient times.

HTH.

Message withdrawn

Oh, md I'm enthusiastic about everything tonight, not least my "herb saver" - delivered from Lakeland this morning!

I hate my condesor dryer. It takes about an hour to dry my clothes (my old normal one used to take about 20 minutes) and you have to empty out the water tray. And it still leaves a bit of steam in the room, although the whole condensor thing means it shouldn't do. But mine is an extremely cheap and nasty Creda one (three years old) - steer clear.

mamadada: The steam from your clothes can be dealt with in two ways: out the big fat pipe to outside, or the steam can be collected.

Collected steam condenses to water and can be pumped to any household drain (ie. any sink / dish washer / washing machine drain can be tapped.) or else it can be collected in a big bucket (about 2 foot long, 6 inches wide, 3 inches high on our one) built into the machine.

If you pump to drain, you'll never need to empty the collection thingy.

We have an Indesit. Love it

I find it just as effective as a conventional tumble dryer. The water collects in a tank which you empty after every couple of loads.

We've had it for almost 2 years with no problems at all. Oh no, did I say that out loud? Will be cursed by the domestic appliance devil now!!!

Oh that's why we love you Puff! (Note to self:check out herb saver.)

Moondog, this time I didn't stop myself from making the order, I threw caution to the wind and paid the money . I'mn happy with everything except lots of free plastic bags for which I have yet to find a purpose...........

Mine's a Hotpoint Aquarius and I don't think it is efficient at the vented ones (takes longer to dry) but the clothes are softer.

Grrrr,you tiger you!!!
I'm sure that you could rustle up something madly retro like vol au vents or profiteroles to freeze?

Caligula, have you cleaned the big condenser unit thingie, my Zanussi had stopped drying properly and I couldn't find the instruction book as I remembered reading about doing it but had never done it. I phoned John Lewis and they talked me through it, you have to release a special panel button, at the bottom of the machine and remove a filter about 2ft long by 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep, made of metal and then rinse this huge thing under the tap.

I am ashamed to say it was jammed choccblock with dust and fluff, unlike the simple fluff filter which I do every time. Now the damn thing dries too dry and too quickly so ~~I have had to rinse the bedlinen and shirts on a conditioner rinse and redry them!!

I LOVE MY BOSCH it is the bee knees

Mine is a siemens, made by bosch, but comes with a 5 year manuf. warranty - its very powerful and easy to operate, easy to get at the condensor. Has an annoying pollen filter in addition to the door and underneath filters, which needs changing every 3 months or so, and stops the machine working when it needs changing. I can't for the life of me work out how pollen is involved in drying clothes, and all the helpdesk would say was "it makes the air coming into your machine pure" WTF? would buy Bosch or siemens again, but a less "intelligent" machine.

oops, mine is a Bosch, not a Zanussi! My washing machine is a Siemens and it is brilliant

I have to say, my drier is on everyday at least 2 hours, I never ever hang washing out as I don't have a washing line, never have and never will. DH hares seeing washing on the line!

We have a Bosch which was great but you needed to empty the drawer at least once per cycle but you can plumb it into a direct outlet to avoid it. Also take the clothes out when it has finished or the condensation resettles as it cools and makes the clothes damp.

I empty my boch every two to three washes, but it is in my downstairs loo so there is a sink right next to it, not too hard. Plumbing in was just a pain.

crunchie - there are some handy u-traps for sinks with special side inlet pieces for easy connection ITH (plumbers merchants).

Hmm, its all sounding too complicated now. Maybe i will just buy a traditional tumble dryer and put the vent out the window. Does anyone do this? Is it a problem?