Tumble dryers - three different types

The next stage once your laundry has been washed is to dry it. There are many choices when drying clothes. Family’s individuals and businesses would all benefit from owning a dryer. They are convenient when your children need school uniform washed and dried and work clothing cleaned too. Laundry washing is mainly done on a weekend and having a tumble dryer is a blessing for some people. Especially when it's raining.

There are four possible options to choose from when drying laundry they are listed below, some not so good as others. • Hanging it outside, ideal if you have a garden and the sun is out with a warm breeze. • Hanging it out indoors, not so ideal due to the damp it causes that could affect your health and in winter would create condensation on your windows. • Making a trip to a launderette, handy if you want to dry a lot at once and you have one close by. Can be expensive but a large load can be dried at once. • Or buying your own tumble dryer, so long as you have the space to put it! I have created a guide on tumble dryers and outlined the advantages and disadvantages of owning them and our service we provide with repairs. This should help when choosing a type of dryer if you are thinking of buying one for the first time or replacing an old Broken one. Three different types we are dealing with on this article are

Vented
condensing
heat pump

Vented These are the simplest and cheapest to run. They have a drum that rotates while air is drawn into the dryer and passes over a heater to create hot/warm air that then gets distributed into the drum to dry your clothes. The air then leaves the dryer through a vent in the door and out through a vent hose. To use one of these types of dryer you should have it near a wall with a hole in to expel the moist air outside. Generally they last many years so long as they are used properly. The airflow needs to be clear and the lint filter cleaned regularly to maintain the air flow.

condensing tumble dryer air flow diagram

Condenser Condenser dryers are a little more complicated and generally more expensive than the vented dryers. With these dryers they can be positioned anywhere and don’t rely vent hoses. The moisture from the clothes gets collected in a drawer either at the top of the appliance or right at the bottom. Makes of dryers that collect water from a drawer at the top need a pump to push the water up into the drawer. Condensers need a lot more maintenance to keep them running efficiently. When the hot air enters the drum the moist air passes through the door filter and then through the condensing unit. That is where the water from your laundry gets condensed and collected for you to empty when full. Although it may be more convenient to own a condensing dryer without a vent hose to worry about they are generally more expensive to run. They are not as efficient at drying clothes.

Heat pump dryers If you use a dryer a lot and want to save electricity then this would be the choice for you. But before you decide to buy one I should make you aware of the draw backs of owning one. They heat the air using a compressor, essentially the same that you would find in a fridge or a freezer. I personally would not own one in a domestic environment; they are best used in a commercial setting. The drawback of owning one domestically far outweighs the energy efficiency that manufacturers would use to sell them.• They take a lot longer to get your clothes dry, when time is of the essence you could be waiting a whole hour more for the same load to dry compared with a vented.• Given the lower levels of heat used and the electronics and sensors they cannot be used in outbuildings or conservatories. They will mostly have an operating temperature of 10 deg. Environments that are too warm could affect them too as they need cool but not too cold air to condense.• Service costs are higher due to the complicated parts used to build them. A snapped belt for example would take a lot longer to replace due to the amount of parts that need to be removed.• Maintenance is important to ensure the dryer’s performance is not reduced. Filters and condensing unit should be cleaned thoroughly. This is good practice for any dryer but even more important for heat pump dryers.

That’s the dryers covered. I hope the information comes in handy for you when choosing a type to buy. They can come with large drum sizes these days and even the vented ones with smaller 5kg drums can be small enough in size for households with a casual amount of washing ideal for single person or couple. And now for the servicing side of dryers.

Lint can build up inside dryers and regular maintenance is needed to keep your dryer running efficiently and to reduce the risk of fire. Condensing and heat pump dryers also need the condensing units cleared as well, this can be done by removing it and using a hose from the garden or shower head spray water through the vents until it’s clear. Air vents on the outside of dryers should not be blocked; doing so would prevent the dryer from working properly and could cause it to overheat inside. Never overload the dryer's drum with laundry. By doing so it would prevent the important hot air flow to be restricted. The holes at the rear of the drum are where the hot air enters and covering them up by loading it fully causes overheating. Check the door filter, make sure its clear of lint and check for holes in it. If it’s in poor condition it would need to be replaced. Lint can pass through any small holes made and build up inside the dryer.

Ideally only use your dryer when you are indoors. Avoid going out and leaving it on.

The more common calls home appliance receives in the event of dryers not working • Drum not turning • Dryer not heating • No power to dryer • Dryer making a noise All of the above are easily repaired by us and we have the knowledge to carry out all of those repairs plus many more not so common faults. So when your dryer fails to work, before you go looking for a replacement contact us and you could save a lot of money by having a repair. Many parts on a dryer take a lot of wear and tear and would need replacing over time. That would be the case for all appliances. And we are agents of an appliance stockist and have a large range of new appliances including tumble dryers available for purchase if you want to buy one for the first time or are looking to replace yours if it's looking a bit tired.