We’ve got a john lewis branded heat pump one. Very good with a big capacity. Not slow either. But it is very sensitive to fluff build-up and there are 3 filters to clean after each use.

As above, pre-kids we barely used a tumble drier. Now with kids it’s on everyday outside of the summer months. I reckon kids produce c.4x the amount of washing that adults do. So on that basis, a drier with the lowest operating costs seemed sensible. We don’t have mains gas, so that leaves only heat-pumps as the lowest power use options.

ALL tumble driers are fire risks!

So is holding a naked flame.

They become a fire risk because people don’t keep the things clean ie remove fluff etc from filters.

We have a Beko condensing. I wouldn’t get condensing again as we already a flu plumbed in to the outside. Condensing do increase humidity there is now way round it.

If I had the cash I would get a heat pump one.

We have 2 young kids too but haven’t found it to be a problem

2 additional points here
– I’m not judging, I’m geuninely interested. Horses for courses I guess, and I suppose not having a stand alone dryer means we wouldn’t get the real benefit anyway
– ‘we’ really means ‘my wife’!

We’ve got the MASSIVE Samsung DV431 AEP. Brilliant bit of kit.

You have to wire it directly to the mains and use metal venting. It’s rated to do 10kg so swallows any load.

Dries stuff incredibly quickly and crease free.

They’re £1300 or so but bought an ex demo off eBay for £499. Well worth it.

Kids stuff, towels and bedding goes in ours, other stuff on outside line in summer, on inside line in utility with dehumidifier in winter.

Was all up for getting a Bosch heat pump dryer (just always bought Bosch) after reading this thread but user reviews on sellers websites are disappointing…experience seems to be that clothes are still damp at end of drying cycle & it takes a much longer time to dry clothes fully than other dryer types. Is this just a Bosch issue or is this heat pump dryers in general?

Mine did this until I realised there were 3 filters that needed cleaning per wash, not just the obvious one.

Obviously I hadn’t read the manual…. 🙂

Sorry to drag this up from the dim and distant past, but my MIL is offering to buy us a tumble dryer to celebrate the arrival of our daughter. Looking at a heat pump condenser unit, £350 – 400, probably a Beko 7341 somethingorother….
BUT… reading that the heat pump models don’t like low ambient temperatures, ie they don’t work well in an out building.
Does anyone have any experience there? We’re not going to be putting in out in the rain, but average temp of the shed is prob ~12 or so.
Thanks!

but why do folks use a dryer rather than just a normal airer?

We use one because we have a young family – if we naturally aired everything there wouldn’t be a spare space in the house and it would be continually damp.
was waiting and expecting this query, altho i thought it would be accompanied by a ‘drier vs dehumidifier’ question.

we have a drier but prefer to use our (decent quality) dehumidifier and an airer in the utility room. dont know whether thats justified or not.
anyone know whether theres much difference in cost between a drier on for a couple of hours, vs dehumidifier on for 8-10hrs say?

Look at the power consumption of dehumidifier (or better still stick it on one of those power meter plugs and see what it actually uses as it might not run at a constant power drain) and compare to the dryers. The power consumption of heat pump condenser dryers is impressively low =

I’m using our Heat Pump Dryer at the moment as it’s pissing with rain…

Very low power consumption, just blips at 300-400W is every few seconds to keep the temp up in the drum.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/216fHkW]Heat Pump Dryer[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

Graph from Neurio smart meter.

We’re about to buy a bosch heat pump dryer.

Due to good feedback from the inlaws.

https://www.johnlewis.com/bosch-wtw87560gb-heat-pump-condenser-tumble-dryer-9kg-load-a-energy-rating-white/p1775540

Miele condenser here. Plumbed in. Room gets warm but not moist. Ours must be about 10 years old and aside from having worn sensor brushes and drive belt replaced a few years back it has been great. Works brilliantly, as long as I remember to clean the condenser every now and again. If it failed beyond repair I’d buy another immediately.

Miele vented here. After owning various makes that gave up the ghost prematurely we decided to invest in a Miele. It was the lowest priced one John Lewis had, about £600 iirc. Seemed an awful lot of money at the time but it’s worked flawlessly for the 5 years we’ve had it.

We use a Lakeland heated clothes airer.

Highly recommended and dries multiple loads of laundry overnight. Wouldn’t go back to a tumble drier.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/around-the-home/household-electricals/electric-dryers-and-airers/

Stirling, surely that pumps loads of moisture into your house?

Only slightly related but….
Our dehumidifier broke so we bought a new one. Wow what a dfference.
We put our washing in the spare bedroom.The new machine worked so well that we could even put towels in the drawer after bring on overnight.. The old machine would have left them a bit damp.
It’s an eco air. Very impressed.

I’d love a new tumble dryer, but you try getting a condenser one built in (integrated). No chance.

I’d love a new tumble dryer, but you try getting a condenser one built in (integrated). No chance.

Ours lives in the workshop, no room in the kitchen for it.

Stirling, surely that pumps loads of moisture into your house?

Yep, that will just evaporate the water into the house…

Stirling, surely that pumps loads of moisture into your house?

Suprisingly not. If we do get a build up of moisture or condensation I turn on an extractor fan for a short period.

Had a Beko condenser here for a number of years, prior to that had vented.

Vented appear to be less efficient rating wise but I wouldn’t get condenser again as definitely bents to the room