Blog: Are Dehumidifiers Good For Drying Clothes?

Energy costs are soaring higher and higher each month, and this issue will only be exasperated in the coming winter months. Whilst a tumble dryer is a fast and effective method to dry your clothes, it isn't the most efficient and will definitely cost you some money. So what other options do you have?

Can you dry clothes using a dehumidifier?

The short answer is yes, you can. Dehumidifiers for drying applications can be a great choice, simply place your wet clothes in a room with a dehumidifier and allow it to do its work. This will of course take longer than a traditional tumble dryer but it will be much more energy efficient and will reduce your running costs drastically.

The way dehumidifiers dry your clothes is fairly simple, if you understand how dehumidifiers work. Essentially, the dehumidifier draws in humid air and runs this past its refrigerated coil which causes the moisture from the air to condense onto the coil and the heat energy from the air is stored for later use in the refrigerant. The cool air from the dehumidifier then blows over its condenser coils and is vented back out as dry heat.

This type of dehumidifier is called a compressor dehumidifier and you can read more about them in our blog "What is the Difference Between Compressor & Desiccant Dehumidifiers?"

5 Benefits of using a dehumidifier dryer

Reduced lifetime cost

According to Ideal Home, an example 9kg vented tumble dryer uses 5.34 kWh for a full load cycle and approx 636 kWh over a year (if you use your dryer around two times a week). This means that this vented tumble dryer costs £2.78 per cycle and £330 per year on average.

A dehumidifier running 24/7 will only cost you £1 a day in comparison, according to Meaco, and a dehumidifier only drys clothes as a secondary task. It has many more benefits that will help you save more money!

Easier to heat your home

This is a multipronged benefit of dehumidifiers. According to Dantherm Group, it is not uncommon for a dehumidifier to convert every unit of energy consumed into 2.5 times the amount of usable heat. This will not only help with drying as the heat can be diverted to other areas of your home, reducing your overall heating costs.

As well as this, dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air, creating a dryer environment to try to heat. This will remove the chill factor from your house, meaning it will require less energy to heat an area and allow you to feel warm at a lower temperature.

Condensation protection

Damp and mould can have devastating effects on your home and health. This problem is only made worse when drying your clothes using a tumble dryer or a radiator in the hotter months.

When radiators heat up to dry your clothes, the moisture will become steam and if it is not ventilated will condense onto the walls of your home, causing damage to paint and wallpaper. In bad cases, this can cause damage to your wooden supports in the walls too!

As dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air, this problem doesn't arise when using one to dry your clothes.

Less damaging to clothes

As dehumidifiers forgo the mechanical process and high temperatures employed by tumble dryers, they avoid shrinking and adding extra stress to the fabric of the clothing.

This method of drying is therefore much kinder on your clothes.

Environmentally friendly

By employing a more energy-efficient way of heating your home and drying your clothes, you are being more green and helping to aid the battle against climate change!

Choosing your dehumidifier

There are a number of things you need to consider when buying a dehumidifier, such as mounting options, power etc. We allow you to filter your options by things such as "Max Litres per day", "Max Humidity" and "Max Operating Temperature", as well as how the moisture is extracted. This gives you the best selection of dehumidifiers for your needs, some dehumidifiers come with pre-chosen settings for drying clothes, so keep an eye out for these whilst you shop.