Drying without heat?

[vintagekitchen]

I use a Daewoo twin tub washer for all my laundry, and since it gets the clothes so dry in the spin cycle, I'm wondering whether I actually need to use a heated setting in the dryer, or if I can just dry everything using the Air-Fluff no heat setting on my 80's Kenmore dryer.. I normally hang clothes to dry, in order to save money on electricity, but due to all the rain lately, I have been using drying racks indoors. Since as I understand the main energy use of an electric dryer is to generate the heat, I'm thinking of using the no heat option for bigger items like loads of sheets, or towels, which take up so much room on racks. Anyone tried this? Does it work, and does it save anything energy wise?

 

[launderess]

No, It Won't Really Work

Did a load of micro fiber dust cloths in the Hoover TT last weekend. Even with the excellent extraction of the spin tub one cycle of "air fluff" in my Whirlpool dryer left them slightly damp. Mind you the dryer is only a compact 1300watt model, but since wasn't using heat it shouldn't have mattered.

Long story short ended up bunging the lot back into the dry and setting it to the final few heated minutes of the PP cycle. That short blast of heat followed by the long cool down (air only)did the trick.

Mind you probably could have reset the dryer to another air fluff cycle and may have gotten the same results, but didn't have that kind of time.

When using "Air Fluff" cycles you pretty much are relying upon the ambient temperature of room air around the dryer.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Thanks for the advice laundress, I was hoping you would see my post, lol.. I am depending on ambient air anyway hanging inside. I wounder if it would at least get sheets just dry enough for a quick run through the mangle iron? I always iron them anyway, they just aren't the same without it. By the way, I love your Profile Pic. Hyacinth Bucket, err, Bouquet.. lol She is one of my all time favorites. ^__^

 

[launderess]

Very Little Evaporation of Water

Takes place during "Air Fluff" dryer cycles. The thing is mainly designed for fluffing items previously laundered and now have storage wrinkles. It is also good for fluffing sweaters and other woolens/wool items.

If it is leaving your ironing damp dry enough for running through the mangle, try the PP cycle or just several minutes of heated drying on normal before the cool down kicks in.

Most vintage dryer owner's manuals have something to say about what cycles to use for laundry that will be ironed.

Yes, have to love Hyacinth! You see one understands what the dear lady goes through. It isn't so much that we are superior as they are inferior. *LOL*

 

[vintagekitchen]

Lmao, of course, the perfect explanation, especially comparing our laundry and cleaning methods to most people nowadays.. Though personally I've always preferred Mrs. Slocum, from Are You Being Served. Gotta love anyone that age whose hair changes color so often, and such bright colors too, lol. Not to mention her boozing, hehe.. Unfortunately I've never laid hands on a vintage dryer manual yet. I wish someone would post one. sigh...

 

[arbilab]

Are we the only two here, Launderess, with compact dryers?

In Hawaii, I could take a shirt from the TT and wear it. Or use towels. Can't fold/store damp stuff, even slightly, they will mildew.

I'd think your mangle would finish off sheets from a TT spinner, but you'd have to be the judge of that. You mangle sheets? Not since grandma have I seen anyone do that.

Check your dewpoint. If it's under 50, ambient heat will dry clothes with just circulation/tumbling. Much above that, it's going to take a while. Wish I had my 1800RPM TT back.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Lol, I iron almost everything. But especialy my sheets. Unlike my gramma though, I DO NOT iron the underwear and towels, lmao... You should look into getting a Daewoo Twin Tub. I got mine on amazon, and love it. Its bigger than the old ones, more of a full size than a portable. I just looked, and they are only $199.00 with free shipping, only 2 left available. The do have a european plug, but are set up for either 110 or 220, so its an easy matter of just using a replacement plug from the hardware store.

http://www.amazon.com/Daewoo-Washing-Machine-Dw-900c-european/dp/B004EFHT9M

 

[arbilab]

77# and no casters? No hoses? No US plug or adapter? They could have tried harder. Thanks, I'd love to have a TT, but with space and resources at a premium and a perfectly-working FL, can't justify it.

 

[vintagekitchen]

As I said, its not really a portable. its bigger than the older hoover and maytag twin tubs. I have mine in a permanent spot. And mine came with the drain hose, but not the fill hose. I can live with that though. I figured all in all, its great for the price. Just wish it had a pump instead of a gravity drain.

 

[combo52]

AIR DRYING CLOTHING

Clothing will dry just fine @ ambient air temperatures in a standard vented dryer. The main problem is that the air-tumble cycles are not long enough to do this on the vast majority of dryers ever built. But if you modify the machine by say disconnecting the timer, maybe the heat source and then plug the dryer into a separate appliance timer and let it run for 2-6 hours you will save considerable amount of electricity and the clothes will dry.

 

But Launderess is correct in that you can not just throw a load of damp clothing in most dryers on air-tumble and expect much actual drying to occur. And no matter how  fast you spin a load of towels it still takes a good deal of time and energy to dry them.

 

[bajaespuma]

...and then there's Vera Donovan.

Since I purchased a machine with high-speed extraction I line dry a lot more stuff than I used to. I took a page from my grandparents' and installed a couple of lines in my basement for foul weather drying as well. Basically, anything I want fluffy like socks and towels and/or anything I want lint removed from like t-shirts and underpants get baked in the dryer. Pants, shirts, sheets,

washcloths (which are terry but I want them stiff as boards and scratchy) get thrown on the lines, indoors or out and dry in no time.

 

Still waiting for one of our in-house geniuses to come up with  revolutionary new dryers that will make them millionaires and revolutionize our lives. Tap, tap, tap.

[this post was last edited: 9/13/2011-13:30]

 

[thomasortega]

It's up to the weather...

Were I live is hot, windy and dry. I use a clothes horse and t-shirts, sheets and other light items dry so fast that sometimes i finish hanging the last item and can start folding the first item.
I can easily dry those items in the cold air cycle (I usually set to 30 minutes)

But as it takes longer, i prefer to dry everything at "normal", using maximum temperature and the moisture sensor. The longest load runs for between 7~10 minutes before the cool down, considering a full load of jeans.
It dries so fast that sometimes the moisture sensor can be a little confused, but I love this "dumbness" because the load is only a little bit damp, great for ironing.

If I want baked jeans i have to use the "Heavy" cycle, and i can get roasted towels using the "towels" cycle.

My dryer is an Electrolux Ecoturbo (AKA Frigidaire affinity) electric dryer (it belongs to the modern forum).

All above is considering the summer. During the winter everything changes, the dryer takes much longer to dry.

 

[macboy91si]

ARBILAB

"Are we the only two here, Launderess, with compact dryers? "

LOL

No, you're not. I have now about 5 different makes of 120v portable dryers from 1970 through 2005. Maytag, Hoover, Hitachi, Haier, and Whirlpool and some variants. I also now have about 11 twin-tubs made by Hoover, Maytag, Easy, SQ/Servis, Danby and Hitachi. Yes I do love me some compact laundry.

-Tim

 

[arbilab]

Tim, if I came to visit, could you get all your neighbors to contribute their laundry? I could spend 12 hours a day in your collection. Nothing is as fascinating as twintubs, where you actually DO laundry.

My compact dryer is Lady Kenmore from 1984.

No pump? Alas, dealbuster. Apartments don't have floor drains.

 

[macboy91si]

Collection

My "Dining Room" is my twin-tub room, I will tak e a pic of the collection I have at the house and send it to you. I too enjoy the actual "doing" of the laundry. I just hope I'm never faced with a "if I could only choose one" scenario.

-Tim

 

[arbilab]

Love to see it. For space and resources I had to 'choose one', Frigiwhite frontloader with clockwork timer. 13yo with no problems. Grew up with FLs so it's fairly satisfying, I still watch it some, but it's not "fun" like a TT.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Compact dryer

Lol, see arbilab, you aren't alone. And although my dryer is not a compact or portable, (full size Kenmore) it is a 110. Due to the old wiring in the house, I felt it was easier to change the dryer config than to change the wiring. And it can dry a load of towels out of my twin-tub in about 40-45 minutes too, even on 110. ^__^

 

[launderess]

"let it run for 2-6 hours"

Am here to tell you most anything after being spun in the Miele or Hoover will be dry by simply line drying within six hours! *LOL* For added good measure could bung the load into the extractor (Spin-X) for several minutes to further shorten drying times.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Extractor

Do they really get out that much water after the super high spin speeds in a twin tub?

 

[launderess]

After the Hoover, no.

But the Whirlpool portable and even our Miele (if the 900 rpm final spin is chosen) will give more water and residue. Not so much the latter as the former.