Many a homeowner has had sleepless nights (well, a few late
night worries, anyway) about buying their first tumble dryer.
It doesn’t take long to get sick of your home being filled
with the smell of damp laundry through the winter months as everything takes an
age to dry. That, or you’re spending a fortune cranking up the heating to dry
it.
A tumble dryer would be the obvious solution. But there’s a
problem - where do you put it? All that moisture that tumble dryers remove from
wet laundry has to go somewhere, the most common solution being a long vent
that carries steam from the appliance outside. And therein lies the issue - for
that to work, you have to be able to position the dryer next to an external
wall. Otherwise you just end up with your house filling with steam.
Depending on the layout of your kitchen or utility room,
getting a tumble dryer within striking distance of a suitable wall or window
could prove anything from highly inconvenient to all but impossible.
Not all tumble dryers, however, rely on a vent to get rid of
the moisture they generate from drying. There is an alternative which might
suit you if you are facing that dilemma over where to put the thing - a
condenser tumble dryer.
Clever convenience
If you haven’t heard of a condenser tumble dryer, you
wouldn’t be alone - they are not as common as the conventional vented types. So
what do they do that’s different?
Condenser tumble dryers have a clever trick up their sleeve
which means they don’t need an external vent. When the drum heats up and the
moisture in wet laundry turns to steam, a condenser tumble dryer will channel
it all to a separate area where it is cooled and turned back into water again,
collecting in what is called the reservoir.
This is great news if you would love a tumble dryer but are
having issues with where you could locate the vent. Condenser tumble dryers
tend to be a little more expensive than vented types, but the convenience of
being able to place it wherever you like is more than enough to convince many
people to pay a little extra.
One thing that does have to be considered with condenser
dryers, however, is what happens to the water that is collected. Some models,
which are that bit more expensive again, include a pump connected to an
outhouse that will automatically remove the water to your drainage system, as
happens with your washing machine. But this in many ways counters the
convenience of being able to place the appliance where you want it, as it then
has to be within reach of the piping under your sink.
The other, more common option, is to simply empty the
reservoir by hand whenever it is full. Just make sure you keep on top of it -
otherwise you might end up with some mopping up to do!
Whichever type of tumble dryer you opt for, protect your
investment with our outstanding value appliance cover. Get a free instant quote
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*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.