How To Use and Maintain Your Tumble Dryer

Tumble dryers might be cropping up in more and more households these days but they are still not an appliance you’ll see in everyone’s home. They are very useful appliances but not really essential ones like a cooker or washing machine.

So, many people who buy a tumble dryer today will likely never have used one before or only have had very limited experience with them. But don’t worry because we can help but before we look at how you use and maintain your tumble dryer let’s look at why you might need to buy one.

Why You Should Buy A Tumble Dryer

Tumble dryers are one of the only ways to dry your clothes quickly! Yes, if it’s a hot day your clothes can dry quickly outside while hanging on a line but we only get so many hot days a year don’t we? And depending on where you live you might not get any hot days at all, tumble dryers offer speed and convenience that can’t be beat.

So, if you want to dry your clothes quickly then a tumble dryer is exactly what you need but using one isn’t always as simple as putting wet clothes inside and then pushing the power button. There’s a bit more to it than that so let’s take a more in-depth look at how you use a tumble dryer.

How To Safely Use A Tumble Dryer

The vast majority of clothes can be safely dried in a tumble dryer, however, you might need to adapt your dryers settings first. So, before you put anything in a tumble dryer make sure you check the label for the tumble dryer symbol.

If a garment is safe to put inside the tumble dryer it will have a symbol that looks like a square with a circle in the middle. The symbol to show clothes are not safe to put in a tumble dryer looks the same except the circle will have a cross through the middle.

If the garment doesn’t show any symbol or is missing a label then don’t panic because we can still help. Thicker materials and items like wool jumpers and towels won’t be able to be safely tumble dried without risking damage to the machine.

While softer more fragile materials like silk shouldn’t be tumble dried because they can become weakened and break apart. Other important things to know in order to use your tumble dryer safely involve ensuring it is filled properly. Tumble dryers come in various sizes but it’s important that you make sure the drum is balanced.

Overfilling and underfilling your tumble dryer is a very real risk, overfilling can cause it to damage clothes and take a very long time to dry them. Underfilling is not overly harmful but it’s not very energy efficient, so we’d strongly advise not doing it.

You should also be careful when drying large garments like sheets or duvet covers especially if they are drying with other clothes because things can get tangled very easily. Finally, let’s talk about ventilation because when it comes to using a tumble dryer this is of the utmost importance.

Any room with a working tumble dryer should be well ventilated, so make sure the windows are open and the ventilation pipe is free of obstructions. We also recommend checking on your tumble dryer every so often and not leaving it on if you’re not at home even on a short cycle.

Using A Tumble Dryer – Your Step By Step Guide!

So, now you know all about how to use a tumble dryer safely let’s look at a step by step process to using it, shall we? It’s simple in most cases but by following our advice you’ll be able to ensure you never make any mistakes.

Step 1: The first step is easy just get the clothes out of the washing machine and take them to the dryer. If the clothes are dripping wet and very heavy put them back in the washing machine for another spin cycle first.

Step 2: Load the clothes and then input your tumble dryer setting, some models of dryer will only have the one setting while others will have multiple options.

Step 3: Set your drying time and then let the dryer complete it’s cycle, be sure to check every so often to make sure the dryer is working properly and receiving adequate ventilation. If clothes are still wet after a cycle finishes make sure they are not getting tangled up and that your temperature setting is high enough.

Step 4: Once the clothes are dry make sure you clean the lint filter, accessing it should be relatively simple just check your tumble dryers manual for in-depth instructions.