line drying?! are you crazy?

whats the deal with dryers over there? it baffles me how so many people line dry their clothes! im way too lazy for that. do the dryers just suck or something? what about the combination washer/dryers they have?  my husband and i want to definitely buy a dryer for our new house cause we cant be bothered line drying but we dont know what to get.  and i thought i had read on here long ago about how combinations suck at drying? im not sure.

Karen FYI. There are some threads about line drying and washer/dryer combos under Grievances and under Electronics, if you're interested.

Um, no, it's not 'crazy'.  In fact, most places in the world don't have dryers.  I've lived in several countries and North America is the only place where I saw separate dryers routinely.  They use up a LOT of energy, and energy is not cheap here.  Many places also don't have space for a separate dryer.  You may purchase a combo washing machine/dryer.  A lot of folks use them w/good results.  line drying is better for the environment and for your clothes.  Additionally the sun is a natural disinfectant.  

We just bought a vented tumble dryer, it is excellent!

right. yeah, lets not get offended by my subject please. i really didnt mean it like that i swear! it was a light hearted 'are you crazy?' haha. ignore me, im just a really LAZY american. oops now people might get offended by that huh?

We just bought a vented tumble dryer, it is excellent!

ooo! but what if we dont have a vent? will it still work?

ooo! but what if we dont have a vent? will it still work?

Sure, but it'll catch your house on fire.  If you have no vent you stick the hose out a window. 

ooo! but what if we dont have a vent? will it still work?

It is very easy to use, we just place vent out the window when in use.  I love my new dryer, almost like the one I have in America.

We have a condenser dryer and separate washer. This means that there is an encased hard plastic collection tray under the dryer where one pulls out and empties the water out. This mainly happens when we have a lot of towels in the dryer. It works really well. Our dryer beeps when it the water tray is full and a light comes on to show that it needs to be emptied. It is nothing like what I had in the States but then what is? Though I live in Sweden, they have the same types of dryers in the UK. They work wonderfully for us two. I can't complain. 

Many of the combination washer/dryers are the condensing type too.     Cold water is run through a finned element over which the hot air from the dryer exhausts.  The water vapor condensed on the element is then pumped out along with the cooling water via the normal washer drain hose.   The arrangement works, but of course the dryer uses huge amounts of water in the process.   If you're on a metered supply, that could become significant.

Some separate dryers are intended to just vent into room in which they're located, but these can result in a big vapor/condensation problem in the room. 

The typical U.S. dryer runs on a 240V 30A hookup, which allows high-power heating elements -- up to 7kW -- to be used.   The majority of British dryers are designed to run on a normal 13A plug, limiting the elements to about 3kW maximum.   Larger versions are available, but will need to be wired on a dedicated circuit which is not provided in most homes, so you'll need to allow extra for its installation.

          

~Liza

line drying is better for the environment and for your clothes.  Additionally the sun is a natural disinfectant. 

One of my favorite childhood memories is helping my mother take clothes from the line and bringing them in to fold. NOTHING smells as wonderful as line dried clothes! Mmmmmm!

I had a choice due to space of a clothes dryer or a dishwasher. It was no competition for me---I can't live without my clothes dryer. I HATE doing laundry-- and can't imagine having to line dry.

We just gave our dryer away last week - hadn't used it in 5 years but once (literally, one time). It was taking up too much space and acting as a magnet for every wayward newspaper, letter, reciept and other clutter you could think of. My husband has his system down for line drying, still not sure how he manages on wet days but regardless he soldiers on. The hot press and drying rack are rarely empty, however!

We don't have a clothes dryer (yet) but I would like to have one.  That doesn't mean we'll always use it, but it would be nicer sometimes in the interest of saving time -- we don't have all THAT many clothes & sometimes (what with work schedules, etc) it's a bit inconvenient waiting for clothes to dry if there's something you need to wear sooner, takes more planning, etc.  Also, I think clothes dried in the drier (and removed promptly) don't always seem to need as much IRONING.   Plus when the weather isn't dry (which is frequently over here) -- it seems to take FOREVER for clothes to dry on the little rack we have for inside the house.

However, whereas I thought I wouldn't like hanging my clothes out to dry at all -- our clothesline is right over the bit of our garden where we have both mint & lavender growing right now, so it makes everything smell really nice.