Washer dryer question

gadget88

I heard they can take 6 hours to dry clothes. Can you not do a one hour wash turn off and then tumble dryer a load for say 2 hours? 

elsien

The tumble dryer capacity is less than that of the washing machine to work effectively,  so what tends to happen is you wash a full load then you have to take half out and dry it in two lots. 

You could always start to dry outside and then finish off the tumble dryer if necessary? 

DullGreyGuy

gadget88 said:

I heard they can take 6 hours to dry clothes. Can you not do a one hour wash turn off and then tumble dryer a load for say 2 hours? 

It depends... our washer drier could do 8kg wash and 5kg dry so either you had to do a half load and then straight through drying or had to split the load in two. It was also only a 1,200 spin speed so the clothes were fairly wet when the drier started. With our old machine 6 hours would probably be about right for 8kg of washing assuming you wanted them almost dry, if you were going to iron them straight away you may get away with 2hrs of drying. 

We replaced it with separate machines which are both have a 10kg capacity and the washer has a 1,600 spin so clothes come out much drier to start with and 1 wash load = 1 dry load. Gone from 8kg in 6 hours to 10kg in 2.25 hours and as its a heat pump it uses less electricity to the condenser drier. 

How big are your loads? There are washer driers that can do 6kg of drying, similarly some have a higher spin speed so start from a drier position. For us it's been a game changer but if you produce less washing (after considering separation) then the max load of the drier may be less of an issue. 

tacpot12

elsien said:

The tumble dryer capacity is less than that of the washing machine to work effectively,  so what tends to happen is you wash a full load then you have to take half out and dry it in two lots. 

You could always start to dry outside and then finish off the tumble dryer if necessary? 

When I was single, I used to put smaller loads on (so less than a full load) and then they would dry fine. 

Albermarle

tacpot12 said:

elsien said:

The tumble dryer capacity is less than that of the washing machine to work effectively,  so what tends to happen is you wash a full load then you have to take half out and dry it in two lots. 

You could always start to dry outside and then finish off the tumble dryer if necessary? 

When I was single, I used to put smaller loads on (so less than a full load) and then they would dry fine. 

For many of the wash programmes, you are not supposed to fill the machine to capacity anyway.
I have an 8KG max washing machine, but for many of the programmes it is recommended to only add around 5Kg. Especially the quicker programmes and wool wash.

grumpy_codger

gadget88 said:

I heard they can take 6 hours to dry clothes. 

This depends on the load and on what sort of washing you dry.

Can you not do a one hour wash turn off and then tumble dryer a load for say 2 hours? 

Why not if the load is small and you can either program 2-hour drying or stop it manually? Or if it stops automatically when the content is dry enough (I think at least some modern machines can do this, but not sure).

ic

My LG washer dryer has a one hour wash and dry cycle - though its only good for very small loads.  However, a larger load washed and dried may approach say four hours (that's a proper 1.5 hour wash, followed by 2.5 hour dry).  I can however override the sensor and set it to dry for a set time if I want to. 

Note many quick washes tend to be quick by either not getting up to full spin speed, or by spinning for a shorter period - resulting in damper clothes for the drying cycle.  Do a longer spin, its cheaper than a longer dry cycle.

I actually don't use the dryer side of it anymore however, as I moved and now have the space for a heat pump dryer.  The dryer is much faster, the washer dryer was 9kg wash, 6kg dry, where as the dryer is 9kg so there is a lot more room for the clothes to properly tumble around.  It also uses something like a quarter of the electric to dry a load and the machine doesn't get scary hot in the process.

thegreenone

I put a full load in my W/D on a 59 min super speed wash.  Remove anything that can't be/don't want tumble dried and put those on a drying rack at this time of the year or outside in warmer weather.  The rest, mostly underwear/towels/bedding I put on a 2 hr 30 min dry.  I sometimes do an extra spin beforehand.

I always sort the washing before tumbling.  I do not have space for separate machines.

gadget88

Got another question 

So with my tumble dryer I always unplug it. With a washer dryer it likely has a plug underneath like my existing washing machine. Is that how it’s meant of be?  There’s no power on and off button so does that mean it’s always in? My second option is on the counter but I worry about the heat going near the boiler? 

gadget88

Seen this? Would this work to put a tumble dryer on wheels and store it on a WC toilet and wheel it into kitchen for using? 

comeandgo

Buy a condensing tumble dryer and you can use it where it’s sat.