Use a dehumidifier or heater to dry clothes?

wittynamegoeshere

Alnat1 said:

70sbudgie said:

Do modern dryers specify if they are heat pump and is that technology available with washer dryers?

Yes and yes.

Our old (condenser) washer-dryer was definitely much less efficient than a separate condenser dryer even at that time, it basically cooked clothes dry.  Plus it was very unreliable.  I took it apart to fix it a couple of times and it was absolutely crammed with components and didn't have a very big drum - as lots of the space was filled with all the washing and drying workings.  It didn't have a fluff filter and got stuffed solid with fluff that I had to manually remove a couple of times.

If you have the space and budget then separates are much better, have higher load capacity and I'd assume are more efficient.  We have matching separate Beko washer and dryer.  They both look almost identical from the outside, but the drums are utterly different - presumably each is designed for the job it needs to do, plus the dryer has a huge fluff filter at the bottom of the door opening that definitely couldn't be there if water was swishing around in it.  If you try to combine two different machines into one then inveitably it's going to be less capable of doing one, the other or both of its tasks, plus it's probably more likely to go wrong.

A separate dryer's drum is amazingly huge when you first see one, it must almost touch the edges of the inside of the case.  But it needs to be, as a full load transferred from the washer needs more space to dry than it did to wash, so it has space to get some air and puff up.

By the looks of the prices, it may even be more expensive for a combined one than separate units.

Don't forget that a separate dryer doesn't need a water supply or vent, which may make finding a location easier.  Even the waste pipe is optional - ours can be plumbed in (it is), but it has a built-in waste water tank that looks like the soap drawer on the washer, this is actually huge as it reaches right to the back of the machine.  With no plumbing at all, you can use this and tip it down the sink between loads.  We did use it like this for a time, it's bearable but having the waste plumbed in is obviously better...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pJegdRb1ts

getmore4less

Condenser dryers use similar energy to vented they have a big heater doing the job.

The heat pump condensers are the efficient ones.

There are now hybrid that also have an added heater to speed up the cycles.

Tumble dryers energy use is measured on the full cycle, the time it takes is not relevant to the calculation just total energy used.

That's what's in the specifications when comparing machines.

Most people will use less as their washer should be leaving clothing dryer than that used for the standard.

Ours has been fine in an unheated attached garage for 7 winters.


When looking for a new HP dryer check the condensing efficiency (the actual % not the A-G rating)

littleteapot

I used to have an old traditional condensor-dryer but it was getting rusty around the base so I decided to replace it but when I was getting off-peak electricity for 8p/kWh I couldn't justify the cost of a brand new heat-pump dryer. However after some time looking on ebay I got a lightly-used Bosch heat-pump dryer for £170. Had to drive about 60 miles to collect it but was well worth the effort. According to my plug-in energy monitor, it used about 40% the energy that old dryer did per cycle.

For about 8 months of the year we hang clothes outside to dry, But Nov-Feb we find it hopeless to dry outside except on the rare days that are both sunny and windy. Having had two babies since that purchase I'm very glad I 'invested' in this dryer!

The other benefit is that it doesn't cook the clothes like the old dryer, and I don't get paranoid about fluff collecting on the heating element and catching fire, for which I used to take the back off the old dryer and clean anually.

I was expecting the condensor of this dryer to get blocked at some point but it hasn't yet. When it does it will be interesting as there isn't a removable cover for easy cleaning.

In terms of cycle time, it lives in a very cold conservatory where the temperature can sometimes get as low as 5c but has never failed to dry a full load in under 2 hours.

RobM99

Does a dehumidifier collect the water in a tank - if so, it's pure distilled water at a guess...

QrizB

RobM99 said:

Does a dehumidifier collect the water in a tank - if so, it's pure distilled water at a guess...

Yes, although some can be plumbed to a hose if you want to run them unattended for an extended time.

Farfetch1

said:

Alnat1 said:

70sbudgie said:

Do modern dryers specify if they are heat pump and is that technology available with washer dryers?

Yes and yes.

Our old (condenser) washer-dryer was definitely much less efficient than a separate condenser dryer even at that time, it basically cooked clothes dry.  Plus it was very unreliable.  I took it apart to fix it a couple of times and it was absolutely crammed with components and didn't have a very big drum - as lots of the space was filled with all the washing and drying workings.  It didn't have a fluff filter and got stuffed solid with fluff that I had to manually remove a couple of times.

If you have the space and budget then separates are much better, have higher load capacity and I'd assume are more efficient.  We have matching separate Beko washer and dryer.  They both look almost identical from the outside, but the drums are utterly different - presumably each is designed for the job it needs to do, plus the dryer has a huge fluff filter at the bottom of the door opening that definitely couldn't be there if water was swishing around in it.  If you try to combine two different machines into one then inveitably it's going to be less capable of doing one, the other or both of its tasks, plus it's probably more likely to go wrong.

A separate dryer's drum is amazingly huge when you first see one, it must almost touch the edges of the inside of the case.  But it needs to be, as a full load transferred from the washer needs more space to dry than it did to wash, so it has space to get some air and puff up.

By the looks of the prices, it may even be more expensive for a combined one than separate units.

Don't forget that a separate dryer doesn't need a water supply or vent, which may make finding a location easier.  Even the waste pipe is optional - ours can be plumbed in (it is), but it has a built-in waste water tank that looks like the soap drawer on the washer, this is actually huge as it reaches right to the back of the machine.  With no plumbing at all, you can use this and tip it down the sink between loads.  We did use it like this for a time, it's bearable but having the waste plumbed in is obviously better...

Yep, combi condenser washer dryers are a load of crap. As you say,m they just boil the clothes and have no mechanism for blowing air through that is vital to actually drying the clothes.

I suspect a dedicated condenser dryer would have this feature but I opted for a rather expensive Miele heat pump dryer just last week and I'm in love with it.  It really doesn't use much electricity to dry clothes at all and as air drying outside at this time of year is essentially pointless for me, it means less use of the dehumidifier which is horrendously expensive to run (although still a requirement some of the time due to living in an older property.)

I can't comment on which brand is best, although I did have to cancel an order for a Bosch one as I learned it had no mechanism for reversing the spin, which is pretty useful to avoid large items getting wound up into balls and not drying out. You'd think a £700 machine would have that feature but I guess not. Something to watch out for.

wittynamegoeshere

Farfetch1 said:

I can't comment on which brand is best, although I did have to cancel an order for a Bosch one as I learned it had no mechanism for reversing the spin, which is pretty useful to avoid large items getting wound up into balls and not drying out. You'd think a £700 machine would have that feature but I guess not. Something to watch out for.

I'm pretty sure our Beko one doesn't reverse, it always seems to go the same way.  But the only issues have been aprons with long strings that ended up tied around everything and the quilt cover, which always goes in on its own as everything else ends up inside it if not.  But I'm sure these would be issues with any dryer, so I don't think reversing is actually necessary.  Other than these exceptions, everything else comes out separated, fluffy and uncreased.

Perhaps the starting and stopping action is enough to prevent clumping, or it's the paddle things in the drum.  I don't know, but I definitely wouldn't pay lots extra for the reverse gear.