Tumble drier vs heated airer

madlyn

walkers60, do you have an issue with condensation in the room you use it in?
Still thinking about getting a heated airer just concerned about condensation and to be honest it would only be used 2 maybe 3 times a week in the colder months.

Snowbird

I think the advantage with a tumble dryer is that some things need no ironing after you tumble dry.
I bought an energy efficient one a few months ago and I hate it.
It only heats up if the ambient temperature is above a certain level and it takes ages to get thing dry. No wonder it hardly uses any energy. It doesn't work!

walkers60

Hello Madlyn,

No I haven't had condensation problems but mine is up on the landing so not in an enclosed room and also the sheets I use don't enclose it totally so there is always a gap from the bottom shelf downwards. I'm not sure if that helps prevent condensation.

Incidentally, I don't iron many clothes at all. They don't crease especially if they are hung on hangers to dry.

walkers60

It gets hot quite quickly and I leave it as long as needed - a morning for instance but sometimes things can air very quickly - as an earlier poster said - fleeces and other light items dry quickly.

I don't put wet clothes on dryer. I usually put them on a 'clothes horse' downstairs first then transfer onto dryer when just damp.

DWhite

I bought my house in December last year. It’s tiny, practically a 2 up 2 down with some extra! No space for a tumble drier. I have a washing line and I invested in a lakeland heated airer and I’m really glad I did. I spent time umming and ahhing but decided I needed one. It does dry clothes a lot faster than a non electric one, it folds flat for storage and you can also use it without electric. I’ve done this in summer when my washing line was full but I had more to dry.
I find if I have sheets or towels to dry I put them over the top and it acts as a cover.

KxMx

Neither.

We have a spare room where we dry laundry on standard airer racks.

With regular ventilation and damp traps we've not any problems.

Of course it takes 2-3 days drying time this time of year, but that is normal to us, and so long as we are organised it doesn't cause any issues.

LittleAnn

Air dry. Look at a bit of patio if it's dry your clothes will dry. Look at weather forecast you can dry over night. In winter it takes a little longer. Air off in warm room overnight? Ironing is easy. And some clothes can be put away as have no creases.
Been doing this for 30 years, with kids and working full time.
I am sad that flats do not have adequate outdoor drying area's
UV kills bugs and disinfects.
Lower Electricity bills.
Less fire risks

YORKSHIRELASS

It helps to work out the costs too. Most tumble driers are 2500 to 3000 watts, my electric is 15p per kwh so my 2500kw drier being on for an hour costs me about 38p.

The heated airer and dehumidifier are both about 300 watts so only 5p per hour BUT need to be on for much longer. Eight hours using the heated airer costs the same as an hour in the drier.

Since I bought a dehumidifier I am reluctant to use the heated airer because of the amount of water that the dehumidifier collects and which is otherwise going into the air in the house, unless you have windows open. I now use a standard airer and dehumidifier, and will make use of the heat from the log burner on a night once we go to bed.

Other things to think about are whether you can reduce the amount of washing that you have generally, I am now converted to washing clothes that only need washing. Difficult with small children though.

I know my sister believes that tumble drying your clothes means they dont last as long. And of course getting your washing outside for a bit when you can makes a massive difference too.

Mr_Singleton

Scrimps wrote: »

You wouldn't get the shrinking risk with the airer. I've shrunk most of my husband's t-shirts.

I strongly suspect that this has more to do with poor quality t-shirts than anything to do with washing & drying.

I acquired 2 Primark white t shirts for £3.50ish each and within 2 washes they looked like cheap dish cloths. My standard white t-shirts cost around £50 (have had them so long can’t remember exactly what I paid) and still look great. Mine always go in the tumble drier and again have never had an issue then again I don’t have a cheapo £100 one.

Mr_Singleton

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

It helps to work out the costs too. Most tumble driers are 2500 to 3000 watts, my electric is 15p per kwh so my 2500kw drier being on for an hour costs me about 38p.

The heated airer and dehumidifier are both about 300 watts so only 5p per hour BUT need to be on for much longer. Eight hours using the heated airer costs the same as an hour in the drier.

Since I bought a dehumidifier I am reluctant to use the heated airer because of the amount of water that the dehumidifier collects and which is otherwise going into the air in the house, unless you have windows open.

I’ve got a Miele heat-pump drier and although the initial outlay is quite high you make it back in electricity running costs. I think I’d be correct in saying that I’d be paying around 1/3rd based on your figures. John Lewis had electricity usage figure of £20/year for 150 loads of drying.

A heat pump dryer is a mini-dehumidifier but instead of doing the whole flipping room it just does the clothes in the dryer ie much ore efficient!

BTW most people need to dry clothes in the winter which mean so leaving the windows open is kinda silly really!