The ideal dryer
WE live in the tropics, so unless it is pouring with monsoon rain, it’s fairly easy to dry clothes within a day by hanging them outside.
However, with air-drying, there are two things that can happen.
First, the sun is very harsh so if you’re not careful, direct light can fade the colour of your fabrics.
Second, thick materials like towels can dry leaving the material feeling pretty hard. You can solve that with softeners.
A dryer has several advantages over air-drying. First, it’s fast. You can dry a full load within an hour, even thick towels. Second, tumbling means everything comes out soft so you cut down on ironing. Third, you can dry your clothes at night and when it’s raining.
If you’re interested in buying a tumble dryer, here are some things to consider.
> Look for a moisture sensor – machines tend to have timer cycles where you guesstimate how long a load will take. However, it means you risk over- and under-drying. A moisture sensor means you can choose “iron dry”, which means enough moisture for easy power ironing, to “super dry” where you fold and put it away.
> Get the right size – bigger is not always better because of the moisture sensor. If you put in a few items only, the clothes won’t touch the sensor enough and the machine will shut off before it should. Also, bigger means it takes up more space in your home.
> Go for the quiet types – it’s lovely to push your clothes into the machine at night and go to bed, so make sure you can switch off all the warning bells and whistles.
Also, make sure you hear the machine run in the shop. If it makes a noise and you live in a small flat or house, that noise might really annoy you, especially when you are watching TV or sleeping.