Hi all, I'm looking into getting a heat pump dryer and am wondering if it's realistic for this to replace the majority of my 'air drying'?
Ideally, I'd like to just dry most of my clothes (except for the ones that can't go in the dryer e.g wool) on a weekly basis using the dryer as opposed to having to go outside and hanging them.
Is this realistic? Thanks!
You can do anything you want
Will your clothes like the dryer and will they last as long? No.
Will your electricity bill increase? Yes.
Great summary. A dryer is much easier than hanging clothes (and it means you can more easily do the laundry when it's raining) but it is harsher on your clothes and it does cost a bit of money each load.
Also depends on how often the dryer is used and how big the loads are as well. I use a lg combo washer / dryer and is enough for a family of 4 and occasional guests. We mostly air dry on hot days and use dryer during the winter months. It has a condenser dryer which does not require venting which is a plus. I find the low temp drying mode fits for almost all the fabrics. Only downside is given it's a combo unit, you won't be able to run simultaneous loads and the low temp drying cycle takes about 2-3 hours.
It's nice to go outside occasionally, even to hang clothes up.
have 2 dogs so definitely spend enough time out there.For me it's more about time optimisation. Washing is almost a daily activity so it'd be a lot less cumbersome if i could just go straight from one machine to another… but yeah i agree time outdoors is important
Dogs follow scents. Cheers
Washer dryers generally are not heat pump and have terrible dryer performance.
@Typical16-bitEnjoyer: Yep, that's the trade off for laziness.
They also have lower load weights for drying than washing. Who weighs their loads?!
@Typical16-bitEnjoyer: on that note are there any washer/dryer combos that use a heat pump?
my google yielded no results
What are you washing that often?
Is this realistic? Most high-rise apartment dwellers have no other option.
I put everything in the dryer. I use only the "low heat" mode in case I forget to use it one day for any delicate synthetics. I tried hanging out clothes but it gives me a rash, I think the neighbour is growing something weird in his garden.
The are a lot of possible pollen allergies, we really have the most hostile plant and insect life over here.
It will dry them but you don't get the sunshine that helps "clean" the fabric
The heat definitely helps clean the fabric, and so does the lint remover
Depends on your climate but air drying takes days where I live this time of year. But, yeah, I usually airdry unless I need it quickly ie uniforms etc..
i air dry inside the house, with a pair of vornados blowing on it
Yes, we use one exclusively.
Never bothered putting in a clothesline. No regrets.
the UV exposure of line drying outdoors in direct sunlight denatures potential pathogens that MAY survive the washing / drying cycle, especially during the warm cycle as it does not get to the high temperature as the hot cycle does. also the clothes feel nicer when dried on the line vs the dryer. Also drying in the dryer means you need to clear the filter and heat exchanger frequently to enable optimum performance
That’s in theory however melbourne weather is trash atm and is either raining, cloudy or sunny for a short period of time. Wanna move to qld
In Qld we try to hang clothes in the shade. Colours don't last long in the Qld sun. An air pump dryer sounds much better.
Something something grass greener
Yes we air dry for those reasons outside as much as possible. But still use a dryer a bit.
And SEQ warmer climate is all good for it.
Yeah totally can. Heat pump dryers are more gentle than traditional vented dryers so will be less of an issue for most fabrics.
Yep very realistic, I use a heat pump dryer exclusively for all clothes. I've had vented and condensation dryers in the past and they do damage and shrink your clothes over time but the heat pump ones run on lower heat and are much more delicate on your clothes. Been using them for years and never had any issues.
Oh and for the wool items, you can get heat pump dryers which are Woolmark certified and safe to use to dry wool clothing using the appropriate cycle setting of the machine.
Probably, just got Haier 7kg $661good guys commercial. It’s great
Just buy more clothes and a few clothes racks..
When we renovated our laundry bought a heat pump dryer after always having a vented type.
We have always, and continue to only ever use a dryer when needing clothes quickly. We usually air dry either outside or in winter on a couple of clothes horses on the patio or inside.
Anyway, the heat pump dryer is much kinder on your clothes than the vented one, but is more work to learn how to use it, and takes a lot longer. And often when using a dryer we want clothes dried quickly, often end up using the warm timed setting, which kinda defeats the purpose a tad.
So for our particular use case, I would probably go a vented dryer if had my druthers. Also a third the price. But if I was only using a dryer, probably the heat pump.
We used to line dry everything then we got a heat pump drier and we already had solar now we use it to dry everything (except wool and bulky doona covers). Not only is it more convenient the clothes feel much better (less crispy) and saves so much time. Heat pump driers are much more gentle on your clothes than a regular drier. Go for it!
I haven’t line dried for 3 maybe 4 years, since I got my hp. It even does woolens without any damage.
Is it "air" (as in a balcony) or is it "sun-lighted air" as in the open air?
We have a F&P heat pump dryer and do work very well.
However, sunlight and air (with the good old rotary Hills) wins without any doubt.
It naturally deodorizes your washing. Unbeatable.
More work but worth it.
got to swing around that Hills Hoist like children
yes realistic. i don't hang anything at all, don't even have a line to hang things on
I have a heat pump dryer and they are quite gentle on your clothes so I haven't had any problems with clothes not lasting long or shrinking. I can even do wool with mine (Electrolux)
Everything comes out soft (i find line drying makes them crunchy) and mostly wrinkle free so I also don't have to iron!
It's cheap enough to buy and will save you when you need to dry something indoors. Depends where you live. You could hang clothes while already running heating in your house or hang outside if the weather permits which is the alternative. More for convenience I guess. I bought an Aldi one 5 years ago. Had to line up 30 minutes early and it was gone in 60 seconds (literally)
I use our heat pump dryer almost 95% of the time. This includes wool, cashmere and silk where I dry it but still slightly damp and then let it lie flat on a towel to finish drying. The other 5% is for items too big or troublesome like sheets which tends to end up in a ball.
Yes.
Cheap as well. Our dryer costs less than a dollar to run one cycle