to buy, or not to buy, that is the question

[meriad]

a tumble drier that is

Every year, this time of year, I have the same dilemma - should I invest in a tumble drier? I had one quite a few years back but gave it away because I wasn't using it much; and it was a daft one that did a thing called sensor dry, ie still every so slightly damp for anything that needed ironing to be ironed easily. Nice if you iron, but I don't so all that happened is that I'd end up with clothing that still needed to be aired or try go onto a 2nd drying cycle.

But the weather patterns seem to have changed loads and the winters are now more wet and damp vs crisp and cold and sunny. My house is a sun trap and on a sunny day clothing on the clothes horse could easily dry in a day, but now it seems to be taking at least 2 if not more. And I'm tired of my flat looking like a Chinese laundry every weekend which is when I do my washing.

So for those who have a drier - if it broke, would you replace it right away or could you live without it?

[Osc]

I mostly use ours to finish off the towels, and other things that are not completely dry,but would not be without one, and yes, I would replace it. We are lucky that in this house, our utility room is great for drying the washing - in our old house we always had stuff on the rads which I hated. Dryers are not very expensive to buy although quite expensive to run.

[Workingman]

When my washer/drier went kaput I replaced it with a washer only - wish now that I hadn't. Unfortunately I do not have room for another free-standing appliance, so things go on two folding clothes horses in the spare room with the heating on. Big items, like bedding, go over the radiators, something I hate to do, but needs must.

I understand that modern condenser driers without all the ducting do not cost that much to run and are a lot more efficient than those free-standing heated rail things, which are worse than useless IMHO.

[cruiser2]

We have a separate drier. It Is a White Knight. Bought it on line and it was delivered.
Any large items, like towels are left overnight on an airer as the kitchen is always warm.
This means it doesn't take long to get them dry.
Mrs.e will not hang clothes outside. She has had experience of birds leaving their mark on them.
Have had our dryer for several years without any problems.

[meriad]

Thanks all - the more I'm thinking about it, the more I think I'm going to bite the bullet and buy one.

When my washer/drier went kaput I replaced it with a washer only - wish now that I hadn't. Unfortunately I do not have room for another free-standing appliance, so things go on two folding clothes horses in the spare room with the heating on. Big items, like bedding, go over the radiators, something I hate to do, but needs must.

My larger items get hung over the doors which isn't really ideal either, esp now that I've actually removed one of the doors to make the flat more 'open'. I don't have a spare room so my clothes horses are usually one in the dining room and one in the lounge which is an absolute pain the you know what to always have to walk around

I understand that modern condenser driers without all the ducting do not cost that much to run and are a lot more efficient than those free-standing heated rail things, which are worse than useless IMHO.

Most of them seem to be "B" energy rating which isn't too bad I don't 'think

[Workingman]

Most of them seem to be "B" energy rating which isn't too bad I don't 'think

I think that is probably right, Ria, so about 40p for a drying cycle.

All my next-to-skin clothes are cotton and with a 1200 spin speed on the washer they come out fairly dry, but a quick tumble dry would have them out of he way in no time. I do miss that.

There are quite a few of the condenser types for the £200 mark, which is not that bad.

[Kaz]

Ria I will immediately replace ours when it wears out, during the Winter I would be lost without it! Mine is a condensor one, as when I bought it 12 years ago we lived in a house where the utility didn't have an outside wall for the hose outlet

[jenniren]

I'd be lost without mine too, if it conked out I'd replace it immediately. Like Kaz's ours is a condenser.