Air your dirty laundry in public

rogerki

The impact depends partly on whether you have a vented or condensing tumble dryer. The vented ones do as their name suggests and vent warm damp air outside = total loss of all energy used by the dryer. A condensing tumble dryer separates the water from the air thereby allowing the warm air to be blown into the house = energy recovery. Obviously this is only a benefit if the house is a bit colder that you want, but the scenario I use is: Leave heating off when I goto work - house gets quite cold; get home take washing from machine put into tumble dryer - all heat is now used to help warm house up. A further gain can be made by then ironing the previous batch keeping you warm and contributing about as much as a 1-bar electic fire to heating the house. Meanwhile if you are cooking something at the sametime... By the end of an hour the house is as warm as if you set the heating to come on 1-2 hours before you arrived home.
Water from the dryer reservoir is added to the powder draw of the washing machine as it is filling up, giving it the benefit of some soft water (as I live in a hard water area).
This is not much good on a warm day, but then you could open the windows and dry inside anyway. An additional side point: Drying washing on the radiators still needs energy so you either have a cooler house or run the heating for longer.

gromituk

Very good points!

kondormid

Heating your house with slightly damp slightly warm air should make alarm bells ring (condensing dryers DO still throw some moisture out) Use online weather charts, they will tell you what the nice days are going to be in the next week. Time your washing to the dates the sun will be out and there is no need at all for a tumble dryer.

Though to be honest, I havent even got a washing machine, I do it all by hand, and I ride a bicycle or catch the bus. Got those neat energy saving bulbs everywhere too, hey I never realised I was green before now. I am almost a member of the party the way im going, truth is, I just do it because an 8 mile cycle ride (its one hours gentle pedle no sweating) is the cheapest way from A-B, saves me a fortune on the Gym, a tumble dryer is just a waste of money twice, and a washing machine is nice but not needed for every single wash! just how dirty are you folks that a quick hand wash doesnt get most of your stuff clean? I bet I could clean 75% of what most folks just throw in a washing machine in a sink with some "Ariel Hand Washing Liquid" in about 20% of the time that the machine does it.

The stuff that needs that extra bit of work, sure put it in a washing machine. I use the laundrette though

But can we do a special on saving money by using a cycle during September? The Sustrans Charities NCN (National Cycle Network) is celebrating its 10,000 miles of cycle network, 1/3 of which is off road! Not bad for 10 years work eh?

rogerki

Not sure about what design of machine you are referring to here as on the designs I have looked at the cooling air for the condenser is never in contact with the damp air. Air is sucked in at the back, passes through an air-cooled condenser tower (think car radiator) and out the front. Anyway in principle I agree with you that we wash dry too much etc. Main factor for me is freeing up the time to do something else or work.

Wearing things a few times without washing them is a good idea (assuming they are not dirty or smelly) Clothes will last a bit longer.

Interesting point - when the soap powder manufacturers tell you how much powder to use, how do they know how dirty your clothes are? Assuming that you have just worn something and it is not visually dirty, it should not need much detergent to clean it. Try putting half the recommended amount in the washer and see if clothes come out clean.

kondormid wrote:

Heating your house with slightly damp slightly warm air should make alarm bells ring (condensing dryers DO still throw some moisture out) Use online weather charts, they will tell you what the nice days are going to be in the next week. Time your washing to the dates the sun will be out and there is no need at all for a tumble dryer.

Though to be honest, I havent even got a washing machine, I do it all by hand, and I ride a bicycle or catch the bus. Got those neat energy saving bulbs everywhere too, hey I never realised I was green before now. I am almost a member of the party the way im going, truth is, I just do it because an 8 mile cycle ride (its one hours gentle pedle no sweating) is the cheapest way from A-B, saves me a fortune on the Gym, a tumble dryer is just a waste of money twice, and a washing machine is nice but not needed for every single wash! just how dirty are you folks that a quick hand wash doesnt get most of your stuff clean? I bet I could clean 75% of what most folks just throw in a washing machine in a sink with some "Ariel Hand Washing Liquid" in about 20% of the time that the machine does it.

The stuff that needs that extra bit of work, sure put it in a washing machine. I use the laundrette though

But can we do a special on saving money by using a cycle during September? The Sustrans Charities NCN (National Cycle Network) is celebrating its 10,000 miles of cycle network, 1/3 of which is off road! Not bad for 10 years work eh?

gromituk

I think the behaviour of condenser driers is not because the cooling air is not in contact with the damp air, but that the previously-damp air is eventually expelled into the room. The condenser, even if it manages to cool the damp air to the same temperature as the cooling air, will only be able to remove the water that the air cannot hold at that temperature - so it could come out with 100% relative humidity at room temperature. This will add water to the air in the room, although I don't agree that that is always a bad thing, as implied earlier - air in heated houses can sometimes be far too dry.

rogerki

You are right - the air entering the condenser will reach close to 100% humidity at say 50C, but then as the name suggests, some condensation will form on the walls of the condenser as the air is cooled. This runs down into a collection point and is pumped away (down the drain or into a tank). The cooler air is heated reducing its humidty and this warm slightly less humid air is recirculated back into the damp washing, where it picks up more water. This closed cycle is repeated without any of this air ever leaving the machine (until you open the door). This type of vapour-phase cycle (similar to how air-conditioners work) works because warm air has a higher capacity to hold water, and cooling it lowers the capacity, so the water has to precipitate out.

The problem of damp houses has exactly the same cause. You cook in a warm kitchen. Warm air absorbs water vapour from boiled veg, etc. Warm air meets cooler wall or window, condenses, heck you've got damp. Answer open window or fit extractor fan.

You can buy extractor fans with heat exchangers in that recover the heat from the exhausted air - and the heat exchanger is the same type of device as... the condenser in the tumble-drier.

You would think with all of this energy saving technology around that we would be able to save loads of energy. The answer is we can, but manufacturers and government will not encourage their use. Look at all the news time given to water shortages and compulsary metering, and no air time to how rainwater and grey water can be used by houses instead of drinking water. This is the very rain water that is causing flooding in the very same areas - complete madness!

BTW I wonder how many people who's rainwater is drained into soakaways in their garden (if you live on a sandy soil) claim the rebate on their sewerage bill for removal of rainwater?

Tapeman

rogerki wrote:

BTW I wonder how many people who's rainwater is drained into soakaways in their garden (if you live on a sandy soil) claim the rebate on their sewerage bill for removal of rainwater?

Very good point - anyone with surface water running into soakaways or just their gardens etc can claim a rebate back from their local water authority. About £25 a year for us.

Also, next time you have to buy a new washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer etc., look for those with timers on to take advantage of cheaper electric rates if you can. (Just be advised though, buying a seperate timer to use on these applicances (i.e. that plugs into the socket & the applicance into that), check what capacity it can handle, as you don't want to risk a fire.)

nearlyrich

We have a gas powered tumble drier, it is more efficient and cheaper to run than an electric one..must confess to using it all year round. I try to get all the washing done on Saturday and I like to have it all put away by the end of the weekend. Some stuff takes longer to hang out than it does to dry in the TD and time is something I don't have an excess of. Plus my children now park where the whirly used to go!

gromituk

rogerki wrote:

The cooler air is heated reducing its humidty and this warm slightly less humid air is recirculated back into the damp washing, where it picks up more water. This closed cycle is repeated without any of this air ever leaving the machine (until you open the door).

Ah - not having one of these beasties, I didn't realise that the air was recirculated: I thought it was just cooled to room temperature (-ish) and expelled. Indeed very little water will be released into the room.

gromituk

Tapeman wrote:

Very good point - anyone with surface water running into soakaways or just their gardens etc can claim a rebate back from their local water authority. About £25 a year for us.

I steal next door's rainwater for my pond too - can I get two rebates? :cool:

Actually, I thought about trying to claim the rebate but, although I probably stop more than one house's water going down the drain, I can't get all my own guttering to drain the right way, so I don't suppose that would compute with the water people.