Are tumble driers worth it?

[RedStripeIassie]

I'm renting a new place soon with a space and a hole going outside to fit a tumble drier. Is it worth getting one? Are they expensive to run and do they do a decent job?

I've only got one child so it's not loads of washing and I've got a garden.

TIA

I'd love to have a dryer. I live west coast of Scotland where it's bloody lashing most of the time. I line dry, have a pulley and the spare room has two driers in it. I keep fantasising about getting rid of DHs guitars so I can put one in the upstairs cupboard. I'm lusting after a Bosch condenser.

I don't like them as find clothes shrink in them. The only things I'd dry in one would be bedding and towels

It's essential for us. I have friends who are a bit judgey about the environmental impact of them, and I know they guzzle energy, but I can't stand washing hanging all over the house, nor clothes smelling slightly musty which I find they do if not line or tumble dried.

We only use it in the winter, and line dry when the weather allows.

I never even considered one until second child arrived 3 weeks ago. For years I've just hung washing in the spare room. On a whim I thought maybe life would be easier with a drier having a newborn and toddler and oh yes it is!! Not sure I'd bother with one if it wasn't for the kids but it's great for the constant changes of clothes, muslins, etc. I spent £370 on an Indesit heat technology one that doesn't need venting, just need to empty water and lint tray after each dry.

Just got one. Estimated running costs for the year are £30. To the judgy child who said 'That's really bad for the environment, Mum,' I have just suggested they go and find something else to turn off to compensate, like the TV, computer screen and hairdryer.

Miaow, I've been thinking of a washer dryer once our washing machine packs in. Would you mind saying which one you have? They get such a bad reputation I'm on the hunt for recommendations!

We dry outside in the summer, and tumble dry in the winter.

In the winter here washing just freezes outside. First time I tried I snapped the corners off all my sheets where the pegs were!

We have a electric one but I have heard that the gas ones are very cheap to run

We have no space for a tumble drier. I would love to have one. As it is in winter I cart bags of wet washing round the corner to dry them at the launderette.

we've always had tumble dryers growing up and now living alone i have a condenser dryer.

Mines been out of action for about 3 weeks (dont indesit or any under that brand their customer service is horrendous) and i have been lost without it.

To me clothes smell and feel much better having been tumble dried. It also saves me ironing which is a godsend.

I do at least one load a day and our bills are average.

I wouldn't be without mine. We have space for tumble drier or dishwasher, so I have a tumble drier! Hate doing laundry when we stay at MIL's as she doesn't have one.

I had one for several years never really loved it. It died and I replaced it with a heated surer which I love. No smell of damp washing.

pleased to hear you have a hole in the wall for the vent hose. Vented driers are cheaper to buy and more reliable as they are so simple. You still have the option to buy a condenser if you feel like it. You can get an anti-draught vent for the hole.

If you have a washing line, you can save some electricity by putting things out for a while then finishing off in the drier, especially thick things like towels.

Use the low heat setting for things liable to shrink.

I am very much opposed to draping wet washing round the home, as it causes damp, condensation and mould, and leaves your clothes smelling musty (you may not notice it yourself)

I have a washer and dryer combined and it's great. We don't use it for every load and generally DP doesn't like to dry his t shirts in it but it certainly saves time and space (we have a 1 bed London flat so v small!). Also if you have issues with moisture/mould this may help as it certainly did with us.

I don't have one - but only two adults here and work from home, so can do washing according to the weather. Sunny drying space outside. Love the smell of line dried washing.

In the interests of balance, I've never wanted one, as I always felt they were not very environmentally friendly. I'm amazed so many people swear by them. I hadn't realised they were so necessary, and may have to reevaluate.

I'm also amazed by how much washing people do. We do three loads a week - with two teenagers, a dog and an allotment. (I guess we keep sets of gardening clothes that are permanently muddy.)

3 months ago I would have said nah, I can cope fine without one.

And then I got one.

I'm not exaggerating here when I say my life has changed. I LITERALLY HAVE A BETTER LIFE. I was living in a cloud of denial that I was okay without one.

I have one and rarely use it. We have two kids in a two bedroom flat with no outside space too! I probably just like making things difficult for myself.

I wouldn't have been without one when I had 3 sporty boys at home. Given a choice of giving up a dishwasher or tumble dryer I would have held on to the tumble dryer.
Now it is just the 2 of us I line dry if fine or in the tiny spare room if wet. The only thing I miss it for is fluffy towels, they just are not the same without a bit of tumbling.
Go for it.

Ps maybe I wouldn't have given up the dishwasher- my life changed overnight when I first had one.
This is reminding me of a washer/dryer I once had. Aristotle, whose advert went "Aristotle goes on and on" . Well, we used to call it the Friday afternoon machine. It jumped around the kitchen, often spouted foam from every orifice and usually made a hole in at least one item each load, made weird noises and often locked itself with wet clothes inside. It made me cry on so many occasions I gave up with it and sent it to the tip.

I've got a hotpoint condenser one and it is utterly shite. It's now holed up in a cupboard and I need to get round to throwing it out. I bought a dry soon from Lakeland with the cover and have been using that instead.

I've got a good one but really only use it for bedding and towels.

I've just done a load of washing and hung it up in the laundry room with the dehumidifier on despite having one. How do you all manage to tumble dry items that say "don't tumble dry" etc.

How do people only do 3 loads of washing a week for a family if three????

There are 4 of us. That's three sets of bedding each week alone. Then there's towels, so that's another couple of loads. Then there are clothes. I do at least two loads of my clothes a week, sometimes three. Same for everyone else. I really can't see how it could be less unless you've got some uge industrial size machine.

We do hang stuff out on an airer in thd spare roon if it can't be line dried of tumble dried. But everything else goes in the tumble dryer.

I got one in the depths of last winter and had previously taken stuff to the laundrette (can't stand washing hanging around) but now the weather's better I'm being a bit more judicious.

Here are my thoughts:

Spin out as much water as possible beforehand (cheaper than cooking it out with heat).
Fold sheets etc into four and flatten before tumbling, otherwise they get twisted into ropes.
Put a small dry towel in with the load, to reduce drying time.
Air dry jeans before finishing them off in the tumbler. They take longer/more power than everything else.

The amount of lint I pick out of the filter tells me my clothes are getting successively more threadbare, which I DON'T like but with kids I know their clothes aren't going to be worn more than a couple of years anyway. Important stuff gets better treatment.

Things are softer without needing liquid or those dryer balls. I miss "crunchy" towels actually.

Faster turnaround means we don't need so many changes of clothes. For example DD only has 1 set of judo kit now, not 2.

Stuff that doesn't go in the dryer: good shirts, bras, stuff with "plastic" letters which peel off, thin polyester sports shirts.

I bought a condenser dryer (at a good price) because they let off less condensation into the room. It also has a moisture sensor and stops at my preferred level of dryness.
I should make my money back compared to the laundrette in about 5 years but It's much more convenient to have my own.

I have had a tumble dryer since Oct and would not give it up ever ever now. It really makes dealing with laundry easier.