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While it is environmentally preferable to line dry your washing, in some circumstances, such as wet weather or an urgent need for an item, a clothes dryer can be a valuable asset for your laundry.
DRYER CAPACITY
In choosing your clothes dryer you should consider what sort of capacity you may need. It is far better and more efficient to have the right capacity drier than to try to cram more into a smaller unit. Do you generally have a lot of items that you would wish to dry in the unit? Or just a few items? Generally, a family with 2 or 3 kids would probably need a 5-7kg model.
DRYING CYCLES
What kind of drying cycles does the unit have? Most have at least a hot and a warm, while some have a greater variety. Some more upmarket models also have features such as a detector that can stop the dryer once the clothes are dry, rather than just by a timer. It can also be useful to have a cold cycle, as this can be used to help remove lint from an item without adding heat.
DRYING LOCATION
Do you want a dryer that will mount on top of your frontloader washing machine? Is this possible with the unit you have, or would you be better to buy a matching washer dryer combo? Or perhaps a wall mount dryer would suit you better?
Make sure you check if your walls are strong enough to support a heavy vibrating unit. Also remember not to mount too high, or you will find it more of an effort to load and unload, as well as to empty the lint filter.
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It is preferable to have the dryer properly vented so that the hot moist air is taken out of the house. Some units have a piped exhaust, some don't. If you are intending to vent it, then this will need to be taken into consideration when deciding where to mount your unit. If the unit is not vented, make sure you always operate it with the laundry window open.
There are basically 3 types of clothes dryers:
- The most common type is the plug in electrical tumble dryer. This is the cheapest to purchase and there are a great number and variety of brands and models available. Unfortunately, these are also the most expensive to run and least energy efficient type of dryer.
- The electric heat pump drier is an excellent option if you can afford a bit more, as they are the most expensive type. They make up for this long term however, as they are the cheapest to run and the most energy efficient.
- The gas dryer is also more efficient and cheaper to operate than the standard electrical type, but of course needs access to your mains gas supply, which makes it more limited in location and can add extra expense if you need to get your gas piped into your laundry.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Ideally, both for your own savings and the environment, you should take the energy efficiency rating of the model into consideration when choosing. Even if you need to pay a bit more for it initially, a clothes dryer with a high energy efficiency star rating will save you money in the long term.
Remember, even more energy efficient clothes dryers are heavy on energy usage and on a warm windy day clothes may dry just as quickly on the clothes line. Also some clothes can be shrunk or damaged in a drier, so make sure you pay attention to the care label, and don't risk drying anything you are uncertain of in the dryer.
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