Need a tumble drier - what features are useful?

[TracyK]

Am giving in - need a tumble drier for the winter - but a condenser one as going in the garage with no windows.

What are useful features to have - or are they all much of a muchness?

Ours continues to turn the laundry at set iintervals after the cycle has finished to reduce the creasing.

Also it is a sensor model not a timer so clothes are the dryness you want for easy ironing or putting straight away.

ooh - was just about to start this very thread (after reading the eco-thread about dryers costing about 40p an hour to use).

We won't be switching the heating on for ages and will use our fire a lot so September-October and March, april, May are difficult drying months.

This summer has been pretty grim too!

Any other tips? What kind of capacity is good?

Is electronic better or more likely to go wrong?

matnanplus - sounds like mine, a condenser - with no need for pipe out of the wall/window/door. ours is an indesit one.

have to say though, our fluff collector is broken so we can't use it at the mo, and glad too with the price of electric right now! we're making do with intermittent dry days and an airer!

We have a Meile RH81

Tho we tend to air overnight and then finish in TD so about 2--30 minutes and 10 or so is cool down, have watched the electric and not a hungry beast at all, a regular from the wash wetload is pretty similar to a full on roast dinner in usage.

I'd say the key features are two temp settings at minimum - a low heat as well as a full heat and the anti-crease function so it keeps turning it at the end of the drying timeis a nice bonus as it means you don't have to remove and fold washing as soon as its finished, as per MatNanPlus' post.

Am also ready to contemplate the tumble dryer purchase and what brands are good and which bad? Memories of cheap crap which breaks down versus your Mieles at £600!!!!

Is it false ecomony to dry for longer at lower temp or quicker at high? or is it that it may damage some clothes at the hotter setting?

TracyK, its about not damaging the clothes - if you have towels with cotton stitched banding for example, the cotton shrinks and your towels will never be square again!!!

Pushchair - I bought a 'white knight' tumble dryer second hand for £50 about three years ago, its been going steadily ever since , I don't think they're ever so expensive brand new but I'd say for the cost, its probably worth trying a second hand one?

Ours has an eco setting, so it detects when dry rather than me having to work out how long to set it for (can do that as well if i want to though) It is also a condensor,(Creda) and I've had it for 10 years