The tricky bit comes when choosing the right one for your home: there are many different brands, price points and features to consider. You could spend ages comparing the machines just from one manufacturer alone. If you're not sure which features to look out for, then read on and our buying guide will explain everything you need to know about finding the right tumble dryer for you.
With a condenser dryer , the hot moisture vapour within the unit condenses into droplets of water, which are ported to a removable collection tank that needs to be emptied by hand, usually after every drying cycle. Condenser dryers are more expensive than vented machines but much easier to install — all you need is a nearby power outlet. Aside from regular emptying, the only other drawback is that some moisture inevitably escapes the machine, causing a slightly humid atmosphere in the room.
The walls may show signs of condensation, but nothing more than you would expect from having had a hot shower or bath. Vented dryers are cheaper and more practical in the long run as all of that hot, moist air is ported outside through a 4in hole in the wall. The only major drawback is that you'll need to have the machine placed against an outside wall with an AC power outlet nearby and you will almost certainly need to employ the services of an expert with a wall-penetrating 12in drill.
If energy efficiency is your primary concern, consider a heat-pump dryer. Heat pump dryers pass the moist air collected during the drying cycle through an evaporator, which removes the moisture before reusing the same hot air for the rest of the drying process.
They still port condensed moist air to a collection tank that will require emptying from time to time. However, you'll need to weigh up the extra cost of the machine against the electricity savings made. Excludes eBay and commercial orders. The maximum number of products that can be compared is 4. Please refine your selection. Your session is about to timeout due to inactivity. Click OK to extend your time for an additional 30 minutes.
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TYPE 2. SPEED 5. Heat pump dryer vs condenser vs sensor vs vented. Heat Pump Dryer The most energy efficient type of dryer and no venting is needed. Condenser Dryers No outside venting is needed for a condenser dryer, so they're more expensive than vented dryers and great for rental homes.
Sensor Dryers Smart sensors save energy by detecting when clothes are dry then switching off, which also prevents over-drying damage to clothes. Vented Dryers With the lowest prices they are the most affordable to buy but they generate a lot of warm, moist air so need a ducting vent installed to pump the hot air outside the house, or need to be in a well-ventilated room to prevent mould forming on walls and ceilings.
Size and capacity. Physical Size The second thing you need to consider is what size dryer will actually fit in your laundry. Drying Capacity You also need to consider size from a clothing capacity perspective — how much you want to fit in each load will determine how many kilos your dryer needs to be size-wise.
Energy Efficiency. How long does it take to dry? Other Features to consider. Knobs or a digital display. But to make sure you're extra safe, follow these few steps that most dryers will detail in their manuals:.
Your clothes dryer is a pretty hardy appliance. But if you don't look after it, you could increase your risk of fire, as well as machine failure. Dryer reliability: In our lab tests we can tell which dryer performs best on the day. But every year we survey our members to see how well their brand has performed over the years.
Find out the most reliable dryer brands in our reliability survey. We also publish these scores in our clothes dryer review. Yes, clothes shrink, and it's no stretch of the imagination ha to think that it's your dryer doing it.
Specifically, the combination of heat and tumbling on wet fabrics. The easiest way to avoid shrinkage is to line dry — good for the environment and it's free. But we get that's not always possible. Known suspects such as woollen jumpers shouldn't go anywhere near your dryer — air dry instead, laid flat so they'll retain their shape. For everything else, read and follow the care instructions on the label.
It's pretty simple — if the label says do not tumble dry then don't tumble dry it. Likewise with anything that says cold wash only. For a simple vented dryer you should use the warm setting, not hot, and don't over-dry your clothes. For more complex dryers with several program options, choose the appropriate program for the fabric you're drying.
You should also separate clothing into types and dry like with like — lighter T-shirts dry faster than heavier towels, so you risk over-drying them. If you're a repeat offender, consider shrink-proof clothing — garments which have been 'pre-shrunk' during production so tension in the fibres has already been released. Let's look at how your clothes are made.
The fabric in your clothes is made up of lots of individual fibres, and in their raw state these fibres are relatively short. In the process of being made into thread, then knitted into a rather fetching autumn turtleneck or woven, dyed and sewn into a garish Hawaiian shirt, they're stretched out. When you apply heat and tumbling action in a hot dryer, those fibres want to return to their original, pre-stretched state, leaving your formerly loose shirts and shorts tightly fitted.
Another thing you've probably noticed is that not all materials react the same way — natural fibres like cotton and wool are, at a molecular level, hydrophilic. That means they LOVE water and absorb a lot of it if you've ever been caught in the rain in a cotton T-shirt you'll know what that means , which makes them more susceptible to shrinkage than synthetics because the water lubricates the fibres, allowing them to contract and move more easily.
Synthetics like polyester and nylon are less susceptible to dryer-related shrinkage, and tightly woven fabrics like denim will also fare better than loose knits. Sadly, that means your garish rayon Hawaiian shirt is virtually indestructible. Skip to content Skip to footer navigation. Top of the content. How to buy the best clothes dryer Are you a budding dryer buyer? We use cookies to allow us and selected partners to improve your experience and our advertising. By continuing to browse you consent to our use of cookies.
You can understand more and change your cookies preferences here. The best tumble dryers are cheap to run and quick to dry. Scroll down to discover the top tumble dryers we recommend. Our Test Labs compare features and prices on a range of products. Try Which? You'll instantly be able to compare our test scores, so you can make sure you don't get stuck with a Don't Buy.
Don't get lumbered with a tumble dryer that's slow to dry, leaves clothes still wet or over-dries them, and that costs you a bomb to run.
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