Central Heating or Tumble dryer

ScottishMum

Hi there

Just wondering which is the cheapest to use.

Now that the summer has gone (did it ever arrive??!!) and I cannot get my washing hung out to dry, is it cheaper having it on clothes horses at the radiators or is the tumble dryer my better and cheaper option???

There is only my DD and I in the house so not loads of washing each week, but I also dont want a huge bill come next spring/summer.

Thanks
MB

torbrex

As long as they are spun well and not dripping all over the place, why bother even with the radiators, I dont.
I do about 4/5 loads a week and invariably the weather is such that I will hang most of it on my 2 airers and I find that it is dry within 48 hours with no heating on.

A.Jones

We use an airer / clothes horse in a room with the window open. No heating to waste, no condensation. They can also be carried outside if it is dry.

Pincher

http://www.johnlewis.com/231043602/Product.aspx

4.1kWh per cycle. Assume 12p per kWh, that's 50p per wash.

Let's say you need it 26 weeks a year.
One wash per week is £13 a year
Two washes = £26
Three washes = £39

So is it worth thinking about?


If you do go for a tumble dryer, vented with sensor dry is the most efficient.


http://www.pulleymaid.com/classic_clothes_airer.htm

Hang it near a radiator, and it's out of the way when you are not using it.

I tie the rope with two hoops for the wall hook: one hoop for the up position, one for down. It saves having to wind and unwind the rope every time.

Personally, I think there is a market for an out door airing tree with a see through umbrella on top.

energysavingexp

what i do is put them in the wash room on a line and close all the doors and turn on the dehumidifier this dries them quickly and its cheep also stops the damp problems

daveyjp

We use a tumble dryer all year round. It's a stand alone dryer and takes 2-3 loads of washing. No more than an hour to dry a full load to "cupboard dry". Heat isn't on all this time. Once the clothes are almost dry is does a cool cycle to reduce creasing.

It was on twice this weekend - once for clothes and once for bedding, so hardly a bank breaker.

HalloweenJack

our tumble dryer is an ancient `white knight` one , uses 1kw or so on low heat and 1.7 ish on high heat (according to the monitor)