tumble dryer whats best?

chardonnay_2 · 4 January 2007 at 11:47PM

hi mil gave us money to get a new tumble dryer for our xmas. we have heard that reverse tumble ones are the best. we had considered getting a condenser dryer but my mil's friend says her washing comes out smelling damp. is this normal or is it just their tumble dryer.

what would you reccommend vented or condenser?

cheers

chriswuk_2 · 5 January 2007 at 12:44PM

Washer dryer or just the dryer ?

becky004 · 5 January 2007 at 2:38PM

chardonnay wrote:

hi mil gave us money to get a new tumble dryer for our xmas. we have heard that reverse tumble ones are the best. we had considered getting a condenser dryer but my mil's friend says her washing comes out smelling damp. is this normal or is it just their tumble dryer.

what would you reccommend vented or condenser?

cheers

I have had 2 vented and now have a condenser, personally I would never go back to the vented. I love the condenser and my washing has never smelt damp!

tawnyowls · 5 January 2007 at 2:43PM

My experience has been just the opposite - I've found the condenser dryers take longer (backed up by recent Which? report), and emptying the water container is a pain. However, my last two houses have had somewhere to vent the TD through the wall, which is far more convenient. Re your friend - has she checked that nothing's blocking the back and it's at a sufficient distance from the wall? My MIL had the same problem, and it turned out to be a bit of newspaper that had fallen down the back.

If it's a vented one, there's very little to go wrong, so the cheaper makes, like Candy, are likely to be absolutely fine. With a condenser, I'd say it's like a WM - best to go for a decent make, such as Bosch. Reverse tumble I would say is essential, and won't add much to the cost

Avoriaz · 5 January 2007 at 5:09PM

Reverse dryers are definitely far better than one way dryers and don’t cost significantly more.

Personally I prefer a vented dryer but a good condensing dryer should work perfectly well and not leave clothes smelling of damp.

tigertiger_3 · 5 January 2007 at 5:15PM

I agree with tawnyowls, I've had 2 condenser dryers and much prefer the vented one I have now, drying is faster and clothes come out soft without products like bounce etc. I never had the clothes smelling of damp with the condenser but the vented they do smell better.hth

ozskin · 6 January 2007 at 11:24PM

only go for condense if you cant vent. most a reverse but if you want a bargain there is a white knight is the same as the bosch, just a diff badge, would never recommend bosch now

a&akay · 7 January 2007 at 12:29PM

If you want the bees knees and have gas close by, go for a White Knight gas reverse action. I installed mine 5 years ago and my wife uses it about 3 hours every day! The motor capacitor went at Xmas so I dug out the old electric reverse action White Night from the garage. Essentially the same machine but took 4 times as long to dry an equivalent load and therefore roughly 10 times the cost. The back vent comes out at just above floor level so I drilled a hole through the skirting and wall and put in a proper tumble dryer flap valve in the outside wall. The rules say you must use a Corgi installer but the pipework is simple.

nearlyrich · 7 January 2007 at 12:33PM

We have the white knight reverse gas TD too ours is about 13 years old and is still the best TD I have ever had. It dries everything quickly including jeans and towels, gets the creases out so no ironing required if you get the clothes out as it finishes.

If you have gas I would recommend looking at this option, slightly more expensive to buy but much cheaper to run.

Gingham_Ribbon · 7 January 2007 at 5:41PM

I've been looking into this today. We need to put it in the cellar as there is no room anywhere else. There are gas pipes in the cellar and a hole in the wall where the coal shute used to be.

What kind of pipework is involved in using a vented one? Is the gas white knight one vented?

We will need it soon. Our baby is likely to arrive in about 4 weeks and we have a load of nappies to freshen up. I don't want a newborn in hard straight from the radiator nappies if I can help it!

Oh and if it is lots cheaper to use a condenser one, I've heard that you can buy a vented machine and use an adaptor for about £15. Is that the case?

Thanks.

a&akay · 7 January 2007 at 6:22PM

Gingham. Best wishes for the baby. We've had 4 but the terry nappies were dispensed with after the second was born (a year in between) as the washing machine (WM) couldn't cope! If your OH is handy then the very best is to raise the WM about a foot off the floor but if not you'll have to stoop. They are heavy and a need a strong foundation beause of the vibration. You can then throw the nappies straight out of the nappy bucket in one fell swoop (can be a bit messy at first but your accuracy will improve). If the tumble drier (TD) can be set up at the right of it then you could reverse the door opening on the White Knight (you can with mine) and pull the washing straight out of the WM and throw it straight into the TD. If you don't have the water supply or drain in the cellar for the WM then for the TD you will need the relevant accessories. Block up the coal opening with a bit of ply and insert the vent which comes out of the bottom of the machine through a suitably sized hole. Note the bit about the long vent hose. I would strongly advise gas. The Corgi engineer will advise on ventilation when he installs the TD and could be a vent in the ply. The water vapour plume from the TD will get thrown quite a way out so there shouldn't be much short circuiting if any back through any vent.

tumble dryer whats best?

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