Tumble Dryers.....Thoughts please?
Discussion
Morning all.
A bit left field I know, but, I've managed to get to 46 years old without a tumble dryer in my life. I know it's wrong, but in the winter months, our family washing goes on radiators. After a spate of recent decorating, I'm trying to get away from this. Stuck in my head are the "tumble dryers shrink your clothes" stories.
How do you use yours, and any do's and don'ts??
Thanks.
A bit left field I know, but, I've managed to get to 46 years old without a tumble dryer in my life. I know it's wrong, but in the winter months, our family washing goes on radiators. After a spate of recent decorating, I'm trying to get away from this. Stuck in my head are the "tumble dryers shrink your clothes" stories.
How do you use yours, and any do's and don'ts??
Thanks.
How about a dehumidifier? We just got one ostensibly to avoid damp but put in front of a load of clothes on laundry mode and it dries them in 3 or 4 hours. Amazing. Plus has the added advantage of dehumidifying your home and being portable..
Doesn't give you the warm/soft feeling of tumble dried clothes but also doesn't shrink or damage your clothes and I think is more energy efficient...
Doesn't give you the warm/soft feeling of tumble dried clothes but also doesn't shrink or damage your clothes and I think is more energy efficient...
We have had one for the last 5 years, a condenser dryer so it doesn't have the huge hose coming out you have to do something with, it collects all the water in a tank which has to be emptied every couple of washes.
Anyway to answer your question I do believe unfortunately they do shrink clothes, not massively but I do notice a difference particularly in the shirts I wear for work which are decent quality M&S luxury range shirts, I notice the sleeves slowly getting shorter over time, as I said it's not drastic and usually by the time it has happened to any extent the shirt is worn out anyway and due for replacement.
I try to run it on a colder heat to avoid shrinkage but the wife will always stick it on high heat because its quicker.
Anyway to answer your question I do believe unfortunately they do shrink clothes, not massively but I do notice a difference particularly in the shirts I wear for work which are decent quality M&S luxury range shirts, I notice the sleeves slowly getting shorter over time, as I said it's not drastic and usually by the time it has happened to any extent the shirt is worn out anyway and due for replacement.
I try to run it on a colder heat to avoid shrinkage but the wife will always stick it on high heat because its quicker.
I'm another recent convert to a heat pump tumble dryer ...because of kitchen layout it had to be integrated and so reduced choice of models. Our first choice was a Hoover which lasted 10 mins before it stopped working .Their "customer service helpline " was useless and in the end we demanded the retailer sort out the problem.
Ended up with a Montpelier which so far is working perfectly .
Regards
Ended up with a Montpelier which so far is working perfectly .
Regards
Over the past 30 odd years we have had a number of different dryers.
We have just retired our 10 year Beko condenser and replaced it with a Beko Heat Pump
The new one dries quicker and cooler and uses less electricity, about 30% less. I checked it with a TP energy plug.
The Beko was running far too hot and we daren’t leave it unattended. I thought about trying to fix the problem....new sensor?....but at 10 years old I suspected the onset of Triggers broom.
We have just retired our 10 year Beko condenser and replaced it with a Beko Heat Pump
The new one dries quicker and cooler and uses less electricity, about 30% less. I checked it with a TP energy plug.
The Beko was running far too hot and we daren’t leave it unattended. I thought about trying to fix the problem....new sensor?....but at 10 years old I suspected the onset of Triggers broom.
We’ve always had tumble driers. We bought the current one, a heat pump condenser, four years ago. It sits in the garage and is only turned on when the sun is out to make use of free solar energy.
No condensation in the garage at all, doesn’t even warm it up.
Only towels, underwear etc go in it. I’d only risk a shirt if I was in a hurry and could take the time to learn which selection I’d need to set the controller to!
No condensation in the garage at all, doesn’t even warm it up.
Only towels, underwear etc go in it. I’d only risk a shirt if I was in a hurry and could take the time to learn which selection I’d need to set the controller to!
We chuck everything in the tumble dryer unless it says not to on the labels on the clothes. It doesn’t shrink stuff because it has a gentle dry setting that doesn’t get too hot. It’s a condenser type and it’s brilliant. I don’t think you can go wrong with a Bosch. As for costs to run - it’s worth it to avoid filling the atmosphere with damp air...
Edit: Drying clothes on radiators costs money too. You’re slowing the process of heating up your rooms.
Edit: Drying clothes on radiators costs money too. You’re slowing the process of heating up your rooms.
Edited by mstrbkr on Sunday 25th October 10:27
mstrbkr said:
We chuck everything in the tumble dryer unless it says not to on the labels on the clothes. It doesn’t shrink stuff because it has a gentle dry setting that doesn’t get too hot. It’s a condenser type and it’s brilliant. I don’t think you can go wrong with a Bosch. As for costs to run - it’s worth it to avoid filling the atmosphere with damp air...
Exactly what I was just thinking. I can't imagine going back to drying stuff without one. I'd recommend one with plenty of settings options. You won't use them all but you've a better chance of finding the right one or two which suit your needs. Take stuff out straight away and you won't need to iron t shirts or bed linen, and shirts are easier.
To that point of leaving things in too long. The Bosch I have has an automatic setting that senses the moisture level of the fabrics and adjusts the time and temp accordingly. When it’s finished it, also turns the drum over a few times every 15 mins or so, for an additional hour. There’s some very, very clever machines these days.
mstrbkr said:
To that point of leaving things in too long. The Bosch I have has an automatic setting that senses the moisture level of the fabrics and adjusts the time and temp accordingly. When it’s finished it, also turns the drum over a few times every 15 mins or so, for an additional hour. There’s some very, very clever machines these days.
Absolutely but you need to look for that feature because it’s not generic 
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff