Kitchen Appliances / Tumble Dryers

When it comes to drying clothes, the most cost-efficient, environmentally friendly way is undoubtedly to hang them outside on the line. However, this is obviously “weather-permitting” and, according to Met Eireann, Ireland has on average between 150 and 225 wet days a year, depending on the part of the country you’re in. This leaves a lot of days when hanging out the washing is not feasible and so a good tumble dryer can come in handy. In our independent tests, we look at the effectiveness, energy efficiency and ease of use of the latest tumble-dryer models to help you choose from the wide range of appliances available.

Tumble dryer types

When shopping for a tumble dryer, the first thing to decide is whether you are looking for a condenser or vented model. A vented dryer blows the damp air from the laundry outside through a hose that will need to be hung out a window or attached to a vent – so this limits where the dryer can be positioned in your home. In contrast, condenser dryers can be placed anywhere as they collect the water in a removable container inside the machine. Condenser dryers are generally more expensive than vented models and the water container will need to be emptied after virtually every cycle. Some condenser models come with a hose that can be used to run waste water into a drain, saving you the job of emptying the water container. There are a small number of gas-powered vented tumble dryers on the market, which tend to cost less to run than electric models and deliver good drying performance. Gas-powered models will need to be installed by a registered gas fitter and, like all vented dryers, the damp air is expelled through a hose, which will need to be connected to a wall or a window vent.

Heat pump technology

Tumble dryers tend to be heavy on energy use but heat pump technology is becoming more common on condenser dryers and delivers greatly increased energy efficiency without extending the drying time. Heat pump tumble dryers use a closed loop system that reuses the hot air in the drum to dry laundry instead of letting the heat escape. A small heat pump is used to heat the air that dries the laundry inside the machine and the warm, damp air is then cooled to remove the water, which is collected in a container. The cooled air is then reheated and recycled within the dryer. Our test results demonstrate the impressive energy-use scores of the condenser dryers that feature heat pumps compared with dryers that lack this technology. Naturally, the substantially reduced energy consumption translates into far lower running costs, a major consideration when purchasing a power-hungry appliance like a tumble dryer. However, heat pump dryers tend to be very expensive to buy compared to other dryers and may only be worth the expense for heavy users – for example, those who put on a full load several times a week – who will be able to really reap the benefits of the reduced energy bills.

Size matters

When you are choosing a tumble dryer, it is worth taking time to think about the size of drum that will suit your household’s needs. If you buy a machine with a capacity that is too large, you may find it difficult to fill and so hard to use efficiently – though, of course, when the capacity is on the small side, larger families may need to run it more often in order to have a sufficient supply of dry clothes, pushing up running costs. The dryers in our latest batch had a maximum capacity of between a compact 3kg and a very generous 9kg. Naturally, larger capacity means a physically bigger dryer, so the amount of space you have available in your kitchen or laundry area may well determine the capacity of the machine you buy. It is useful if you can buy a dryer that is large enough to take a full load from your washing machine, so you don’t have to split your laundry to dry it in two batches. The rated maximum capacity of a tumble dryer refers to a cottons load and programmes for drying synthetic fabrics generally recommend you dry only half that amount – so, for example, a 7-kg capacity machine will allow you to dry 3-3.5kg of synthetic fabrics in one go.

Features to look for

Tumble dryers today offer a number of features that you may find useful or appealing. Look out for features that increase efficiency and convenience or that improve performance and avoid pricey extras, such as a huge range of programmes that you will never use.
Sensor drying: A sensor detects when the laundry in the drum is dry and automatically turns off the dryer. This is aimed at preventing overdrying of clothes and reducing energy wastage.
Time remaining display: It is useful if you can see how long you have left to wait for your dry clothes and many models with sensor drying will estimate the length of time the cycle will take.
Reverse tumbling:Many tumble dryers reverse the direction of their drum at regular intervals, which minimises tangling and allows the clothes to dry more evenly.
Delay start: This feature lets you set your dryer to turn on at a later time in the day.
Warning lights:These let you know if it is time to empty the water container on condenser dryers or if the lint filter needs cleaning to improve efficiency and prevent any potential fire risk.
Stackability:If space is in short supply in your home, some tumble dryers are designed so that they can be stacked on top of a washing machine of the same brand.
Reversible door: On some tumble dryers, you can choose the direction in which the door opens, giving you more options when it comes to positioning the appliance in your home.

Money saving tips

Even if your tumble dryer’s energy consumption rate is less than impressive, there are a number of easy ways to minimise your drying costs.

1. Make sure that when your clothes are still in the washing machine that you use a high-spin cycle to get as much moisture out as possible before popping them into the tumble dryer. Spinning the water out of your clothes uses less electricity than drying them out.
2. Try to avoid running your dryer with a half load – if you can, wait until you have a full load of clothes to dry. Drying one full load uses less energy than running two smaller loads.
3. • Sort out loads into heavy and lightweight fabrics, as lighter materials will take less time to dry and having fabrics of similar weights in the load will improve evenness of drying and help automatic sensors to work better.
4. When loading the dryer, take time to untangle your laundry – as clothes that are scrunched up into tight balls will take longer to dry – and place each item into the dryer separately. This allows warm air to circulate better throughout the clothes and again increases the evenness of drying.
5. When drying duvet covers, it is a good idea to close the fastenings to prevent smaller items of clothing getting trapped inside and taking longer to dry.
6. Choosing the iron-dry programme will leave your clothes slightly damp and so easier to iron – and it also means they will spend less time in the dryer, therefore using less electricity.
7. Remember to clean the lint filter after each use, which will maintain airflow and helps the dryer to work as efficiently as possible – as well as being an important safety measure as it reduces the risk of fire.

Testing change

All the products we report on are assessed by expert, independent laboratories and our test programmes evolve to take account of new developments in any given product area. We are always trying to improve our tests in order to offer the best possible advice to consumers.
To this end, we have introduced some changes to the way we test tumble dryers. We have placed an increased emphasis on the exactness of programmes, which used to form part of our overall drying tests. These tests assess how accurate the drying programmes are in terms of the results achieved. We are also putting greater importance on energy consumption given that running costs are a key factor in owning a tumble dryer and the likelihood that manufacturers will prioritise energy efficiency in the future. The ease-of-use weighting has also been slightly increased to reflect the importance of these appliances being user-friendly. These adjustments have led to small changes in the scores of tumble dryers we had tested previously.