How long is too long to dry in a domestic dryer

adam-aussie-vac · 2025-12-06T17:10:30-0600

Hey guys, I have a question for you. How long is too long for running a clothes dryer?

Considering I’m giving my vintage Westinghouse dryer a marathon, as it’s been drying the same down pillows for around six hours over the past 24 hours, not continuously, but it takes quite a lot of heat to dry the insides of those pillows,
And technically, I’ve been trying to dry them for the past 10 hours as I did give them around two hours in my Simpson dryer, but I feel like it doesn’t get hot enough, and I’ve tried using my mum’s sensor dryer but that only dried the outside of it and it thought the pillows were dry when they were still moist internally open (when these pillows are moist, they absolutely smell horrible)
I’m almost considering giving my poor Westinghouse dryer a break and heading down to a laundromat and use some of their really hot dryers that absolutely BROIL with a dryer inlet temperature of about 100°C

DADoES · 2025-12-06T18:43:15-0600

Moderate temperature and longer time seems more appropriate to coax out the internal moisture than incinerating them.

maytag85 · 2025-12-06T19:07:16-0600

What’s the wattage on your Westinghouse dryer?

wayupnorth · 2025-12-06T19:37:12-0600

We had an ancient Bendix gas dryer that Broiled the clothes when I was a kid. My mother wanted the timer set for 1 hour and clothes came out way too hot. My Maytag set at Less Dry will usually dry a load fully in 30-45 minutes and the clothes are cooled down.

launderess · 2025-12-06T19:38:28-0600

adam-aussie-vac said:
Hey guys, I have a question for you. How long is too long for running a clothes dryer?

Considering I’m giving my vintage Westinghouse dryer a marathon, as it’s been drying the same down pillows for around six hours over the past 24 hours, not continuously, but it takes quite a lot of heat to dry the insides of those pillows,
And technically, I’ve been trying to dry them for the past 10 hours as I did give them around two hours in my Simpson dryer, but I feel like it doesn’t get hot enough, and I’ve tried using my mum’s sensor dryer but that only dried the outside of it and it thought the pillows were dry when they were still moist internally open (when these pillows are moist, they absolutely smell horrible)
I’m almost considering giving my poor Westinghouse dryer a break and heading down to a laundromat and use some of their really hot dryers that absolutely BROIL with a dryer inlet temperature of about 100°C

Actually down filled items should be dried low (heat) and long periods. Doing so on high heat will incinerate down at outer part of item while those deeper inside will remain moist.

Proper way to dry eiderdown is also to put a few tennis or other dryer balls in with item. Also every so often items are taken out of dryer, fluffed, shaken, clumps broken up, then returned to dryer. This goes on for several hours til things are totally dry.

adam-aussie-vac · 2025-12-06T22:03:52-0600

maytag85 said:
What’s the wattage on your Westinghouse dryer?

2.4 kW, that’s including the heater and the motor

adam-aussie-vac · 2025-12-06T22:05:08-0600

DADoES said:
Moderate temperature and longer time seems more appropriate to coax out the internal moisture than incinerating them.

Oh okay, as my Westinghouse dryer only has a single temperature setting, and it reaches around 70 or 80°C, as it’s not controlled via the timer or any sort of temperature selector

adam-aussie-vac · 2025-12-06T22:08:34-0600

launderess said:
Actually down filled items should be dried low (heat) and long periods. Doing so on high heat will incinerate down at outer part of item while those deeper inside will remain moist.

Proper way to dry eiderdown is also to put a few tennis or other dryer balls in with item. Also every so often items are taken out of dryer, fluffed, shaken, clumps broken up, then returned to dryer. This goes on for several hours til things are totally dry.

My dryer only has warm and hot for my large Simpson dryer, and only one temperature for my Westinghouse dryer , my mum‘s Fisher and Paykel dryer does have a low setting and a one hour setting, but I don’t think that would be long enough to gently bring the moisture out, I have roughly every 15 or 30 minutes taken it out of the dryer, shook it around even though it was probably barely hot enough to touch to try and break out the clumps, it would be nice if there was a way to take the stuffing out and put it into like one of them mesh bags so the stuffing could dry faster

DADoES · 2025-12-06T22:29:03-0600

I run pillows on the 80-min timed cycle (maximum choice on the AeroSmart/SmartLoad) a minimum of 3 times, at low temp. Spin is at 1,010 RPM in the AquaSmart.

adam-aussie-vac · 2025-12-06T22:40:10-0600

Yeah, cause my pillows were so dirty I actually spent the entire day getting them washed in three different automatic washing machines with the use of the extractor between each one of them until the water was clear, and I might see if I can try and do that but they do seem pretty much dry and I’m reasonably happy with them at the moment, and myextractor did spin at about 1400 RPM

launderess · 2025-12-06T22:53:50-0600

adam-aussie-vac said:
My dryer only has warm and hot for my large Simpson dryer, and only one temperature for my Westinghouse dryer , my mum‘s Fisher and Paykel dryer does have a low setting and a one hour setting, but I don’t think that would be long enough to gently bring the moisture out, I have roughly every 15 or 30 minutes taken it out of the dryer, shook it around even though it was probably barely hot enough to touch to try and break out the clumps, it would be nice if there was a way to take the stuffing out and put it into like one of them mesh bags so the stuffing could dry faster

There are ways for taking down or feathers out of ticking to launder separately, then either placing back in same or new ticking. It is what housewives, laundresses and laundries did for ages. Sears catalog and other sources sold pillow ticking/cases ready made for this purpose. That or one simply purchased ticking fabric (sold by yard or piece) and ran the things up oneself using sewing machine.

One did so once and shan't bother again, used directions from one of our vintage laundry manuals.

Best to just send the things out for rejuvenation.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPqrHBiAHRY&themeRefresh=1&theme=dark

Where there is a will there is a way:

maytag85 · 2025-12-07T00:00:09-0600

My Maytag HOH will dry large items like pillows and comforters in an hour, may be just ever so slightly damp but much dry for the most part.

jrap330 · 2025-12-07T11:19:31-0600

adam-aussie-vac said:
Hey guys, I have a question for you. How long is too long for running a clothes dryer?

Considering I’m giving my vintage Westinghouse dryer a marathon, as it’s been drying the same down pillows for around six hours over the past 24 hours, not continuously, but it takes quite a lot of heat to dry the insides of those pillows,
And technically, I’ve been trying to dry them for the past 10 hours as I did give them around two hours in my Simpson dryer, but I feel like it doesn’t get hot enough, and I’ve tried using my mum’s sensor dryer but that only dried the outside of it and it thought the pillows were dry when they were still moist internally open (when these pillows are moist, they absolutely smell horrible)
I’m almost considering giving my poor Westinghouse dryer a break and heading down to a laundromat and use some of their really hot dryers that absolutely BROIL with a dryer inlet temperature of about 100°C

I am under the assumption you can not wash down pillows and the fact they are still wet, damp, is the proof. But I could be wrong.

How long is too long to dry in a domestic dryer

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