Clothes Dryer

[craftbeerlover]

Does anybody have a clothes dryer, and if so how much does it increase  your electricity bill?  

[hk blues]

We have a washer/dryer combo but as far as I'm aware my wife tends to let the clothes dry naturally - we have an upstairs covered terrace so we can put the clothes up there and let them dry. Sure, due to humidity it can take longer at times.

As a rough guide, I believe a dryer uses 10x as much electricity as a washing machine.  

[BrettGC]

We don't and don't want one.  Handy for sheets and larger stuff suited for them but other than that they greatly reduce the life of your clothes. 

[OnMyWay]

57 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

Does anybody have a clothes dryer, and if so how much does it increase  your electricity bill?  

We normally only use ours in the rainy season like now.  I never noticed our electricity bill go up, but we use less Aircon during rainy season, so maybe there is an offset.  We have a very old Whirlpool, big 12 kg American style tumble dryer.  Small ones don't tumble well, clump everything up, and take forever to dry.  We had a small brand new 7 kg Electrolux and it was terrible.  I would advise getting a big dryer.  Higher initial cost but much more effecient.

[OnMyWay]

12 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

We don't and don't want one.  Handy for sheets and larger stuff suited for them but other than that they greatly reduce the life of your clothes. 

Here in Subic during monsoon season, with a family of 5, a dryer is a must.

I can see how someone would think a dryer would reduce the life of clothes, but the quality of fabric and quality of the dryer also factor in.  I'm wearing clothes that are 15-25 years old (last 10 years in a box) and they are in good shape.  Exclusively dried in a dryer before I moved to PH.

[Lee]

Quote

Washers and dryers are power hungry appliances. Despite this, few people are aware of just how much they cost. With energy prices rising across the country, it’s worth answering the question: how much electricity does a washer and dryer use?

https://www.agwayenergy.com/blog/how-much-electricity-does-a-washer-and-dryer-use/

[MotorSarge]

Once we make that move, we will definitely buy a dryer.

I can line dry a pair of thick jeans here in the SW desert in about 20 minutes, most shirts in 15.

In the PI I remember 12 to 24hrs plus and that is with a fan blowing also..

[Gator]

18 hours ago, craftbeerlover said:

Does anybody have a clothes dryer, and if so how much does it increase  your electricity bill?  

Earlier this year I bought a 7.5kg Samsung (model WA75H4200SW/TC). Not very big, but it suites my needs. It has a “Turbo Air” button with 3 settings - off, 15 minutes and 30 minutes. Basically after the last spin cycle it keeps spinning while drawing in air. With the exception of heavy items, like blue jeans, the clothes come out almost completely dry; even if it’s during the more humid days.  I don’t think it uses much more electricity than a regular wash cycle, but it does save a significant amount drying time, especially for heavier items of clothing. 

17 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I can see how someone would think a dryer would reduce the life of clothes, but the quality of fabric and quality of the dryer also factor in.

I can’t find it now, but a few weeks ago I read an article that said what really damages clothes is fabric softener and using too much detergent, which most ppl do. Fabric softener basically acts like sandpaper. As for detergent, unless your clothes are heavily soiled, you don’t need to use a lot. You really only need to use about 1/4 to 1/3 of what the package or bottle of detergent recommends. I’ve tried it and I don’t notice any difference. My clothes come out just as clean. And as a benefit I’m saving money. If I have a stain on an article of clothing I’ll pretreat it and let it soak. I’ll also occasionally add about a cup of vinegar to help deodorize clothes if I’ve sweated a lot. Baking soda and borax also works well for that too and as a detergent booster. 

Edited October 3, 2023 by Gator
Typo

[intrepid]

We had a large tumble dryer and only use the dry feature on rare days when our daughters school uniform was needed during rainy season.  Otherwise, my wife used it more often after hang drying to remove lint on many of the cloths.

[Hestecrefter]

My wife hand washes clothes and uses an inexpensive machine (inexpensive both in purchase price and electricity consumption) that simply spins at high speed and drives moisture out by centrifugal force.  It gets most of the water out and reduces time needed to air dry after that by a fair margin.