How do I choose a tumble dryer?

January 22, 2012 3:01 PM

[UK filter] Tumble dryer purchasing advice sought!

We're looking to buy our first stand-alone tumble dryer. Our research indicates it should probably be a condenser dryer as we live in a rented house and a vented dryer is not terribly feasible. We have 150 pounds in John Lewis vouchers so our preference would be to buy from there if possible. Beyond that we are totally ignorant!

I had a look on this thread which is very useful but US-centric. Can anyone elaborate on the most important qualities in a dryer? For example, would spending 100 pounds more on a B-level energy efficiency dryer versus a C-rated dryer be worth it? Are condenser dryers more vulnerable to problems than vented dryers? Any other tips would be appreciated!

posted by wigsnatcher to home & garden (8 answers total)

Tumble dryers are very simple machines and will likely last a long time if you get a decent brand. Your washing machine will break down long before your dryer will. I'd spend that extra £100 on a reputable brand name so you know it's well built.

I've had both condenser and vented dryers. For the vented one, I had to put its hose out the window, which was very annoying in winter. So if you have a vented dryer, make sure it has a place to vent to.

If you have a condenser dryer, the big thing is to remember to empty the condenser-- otherwise it can get moldy. If it stays clean, you can use the water in your iron, since it is distilled. And in both cases, clean out the lint filter regularly.

Happy drying!
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:55 PM on January 22, 2012

Do not buy the Indesit condensing washer/dryer - it smells of hot plastic, as do your clothes, and it's a bad washer to boot, and small. I can't vouch for their standalone dryer, but the bad one did come from John Lewis.
posted by cromagnon at 4:04 PM on January 22, 2012

(Forgot to note: my washer and dryer are Bosch and came from John Lewis. It's been a good few years with no problems.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:30 PM on January 22, 2012

I can't help you much, since I am not from the UK, but we have at lest the energy ratings in common.
I do not know anybody with a vented dryer. It's condensers all the way for my circle. My mother as a Miele Condenser thats running for 15-20 years already. I myself have have a B rated AEG-Electrolux, with which I am quite happy with and that wasn't that expensive. (It's very quiet,too and got a good rating in my version of cnsumer reports.)
I would buy a dryer that has the same load capacity as your washing machine, because it's plain convenient.

There are basically two types of condensers on the market. The standard ones with B and C energy efficiency and the newer and more expenseve condensers with a heat pump inside that get A and better energy efficiency. But the latter are still very expensive.

I would go with a B, because I am thinking of the environment a little bit and maybe it's naive but I think that the extra money is not all for the energy efficiency but also gets you better quality. I don't think that the C-class models are surplus old premium dryers or come from production lines that are already paid for. I think they are made from the cheapest possible parts .
But think about your washing machine, too. Has it an A efficency spin cylce? Then it might be easier to get away with a C efficency dryer. And you can still air dry some stuff so that you do not need the dryer every time.
Personally I wouldn't buy the ver cheapest, because you are likely to operate that dryer a couple of years.

I have no experience with Jon Lewis (nor do I know them) but the Jon Lewis labeled dryers on their web site look suspicously like the AEG-Electrolux ones (as do the Zanussi. Ahh Zanussi was bought by AEG which was the bought by Elektrolux. Thank's wikipedia). So I would even go with the store brand. A classic condenser is such a standard product that you can hardly go wrong.
This ZDC67560 seems to be a brother of my EDC67550, just to give you a pointer.
posted by mmkhd at 4:39 PM on January 22, 2012

Last time I looked at this, JL was selling an A-rated condensor tumble dryer which was basically a rebranded Miele.

Yup, they still are: 2 of them in fact.

Not cheap to buy, but much cheaper to run & I doubt electricity is going to get any cheaper over the next decade.
posted by pharm at 6:28 AM on January 23, 2012

I'd never make a purchase like this without checking recent Which? reports. Totally unbiased, and always authoritative. You can sign up for a trial membership for £1, and if you cancel it before the end of the trial period and it won't cost you anything more.
posted by genesta at 9:41 AM on January 23, 2012

pharm, are you really sure that those JL dryers are really rebranded Miele? They look exactly like the Zanussi (=AEG Elektrolux) ones. I don't think JL would get Miele dryers and then buy Elektrolux front panels. And Elektorlux is so big that I do not think that they don't produce the front panels themselves......
In addition the placement of the knobs is quite different between Miele and JL. Most rebranded devices avoid the additional expense for reconfiguring knobs and switches since it would make the rebranded model more expensive than the original. I mean they don't even use a different plastic moulding for the look of the machine and I think a new plastic mould would be less expensive than a whole assembly line for control elements.
At least that would be my guess.... but you are in the UK and I am not, so maybe I'm totally wrong about this.
posted by mmkhd at 4:29 PM on January 23, 2012

Maybe it was AEG mmkhd. It was a while ago that I was looking, so a brainfart is quite possible!

At the time, the machine in question was the only A-rated condenser dryer out there that I could find & JL were selling an own brand version that was obviously the same machine IIRC.
posted by pharm at 3:47 AM on January 24, 2012