What is the best tumble dryer?  This is a question that we are often asked by both rental and retail customers. However, it is an impossible question to answer as no two customers use tumble dryers in exactly the same way and what may be the best tumble dryer for me, might not be for you.  So instead we should be asking, what is the best tumble dryer for you?   

Asking the Right Questions 

One of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a tumble dryer is that they focus on price, capacity, the type of dryer – is it vented or condenser and dry time.  However, our experience has shown that this will only lead to disappointment. 

Before making a recommendation we look a variety of things, such as: How many people are you washing for?  What types of clothing do you generally want to dry? How often do you dry? Where is the dryer doing to be located?  The list of questions goes on and on. 

You Get What You Pay For 

With appliances, it’s true, you get what you pay for.  The lowest grade of dryers are typically expected to last around 600 hours of use, whilst the highest grade could many thousands of hours.  This doesn’t mean that a low grade dryer isn’t the most suitable for you.  It depends on how often you use it.  It could be perfect if you only dry once a week, but could be a disaster of you were to dry your washing three times a day. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers publish the expected life of their appliances and so we have to rely on past experience.   

Which type of tumble dryer 

Tumble dryers are very popular in the U.K. This is likely because of our unpredictable weather and often below average temperatures meaning it is incredibly difficult to dry materials effectively and quickly without the use of tumble dryer technology.  

Tumble dryers typically are in one of three types.   

Vented Tumble Dryers are ideal if your dryer is being located near to an external vent or perhaps in an outbuilding or garage.  Vented dryers have a flexible pipe that should be vented outside so that the warm moist air from the dryer can escape.  If the dryer wasn’t vented outside you could have a unnecessary build up of moisture in your home which could lead to all kinds of problems. 

Condenser Tumble Dryers do exactly what they say.  They condense the warm air produced by the dryer back into water and store it in a water container to be emptied later.  Condenser dryers are now probably the most popular type of tumble dryer that we know offer as they offer more flexibility as to where they can be located.  They are also much more efficient than the traditional vented dryer making them cheaper to run.  You do need to remember to regularly clean the condenser unit to keep them working efficiently. 

Heat Pump Dryers are incredibly efficient and in fact don’t their own generate heat!  To dry your clothes, they use the warm air from their surrounding environment to absorb the moisture from your clothes.  This warm air is then condensed to remove the moisture.  This method of drying takes at least twice as long as a conventional condenser dryer but only a fraction of the running costs. 

We can take the headache out of choosing the right appliance for you.  If you would like us to advise on a suitable tumble dryer for you, call in and see us and we would be delighted to suggest makes and models to suit your needs and budget. 

Butlers offer rental to customers in Flintshire, Chester, Wirral, Denbighshire, Wrexham and North East Wales.  We also have for customers who would prefer to own their appliances our retail website www.butlersdirect.co.uk can help