Drying laundry during the cold, wet months can be a nightmare. Leaving clothes to dry naturally on the dryer to air out can take forever – I live in a basement apartment and there are times when clothes have been hanging for a week or more and still feel damp to the touch, at which point they also start to smell musty.
There is also a concern that adding all this extra moisture to the air at a time of year when windows cannot be opened regularly will make your home damp or worsen an existing damp problem. I don't have room for a dryer, but if I do have one, I'll have to worry about energy costs.
Although the details may vary, the overall findings are quite compelling. Let's take a closer look at the test and results…
Test
The test used 13 adult-size T-shirts, representing an average wash load, and a calibrated thermo-hygrometer to measure temperature and humidity at the beginning and end of each test. Each batch of T-shirts went through the same wash and spin cycle using Samsung washing machine.
The following situations were tested:
- Natural drying, without additional equipment.
- A second natural drying test to demonstrate the effect of repeated successive loads.
- Drying using an energy efficient 20 liter compressor dryer.
- Dry using the same dehumidifier plus a floor fan.
Testers hung each load in the same utility room, at the same height and the same distance from each other. For the latest tests, Meaco used an Arete One 20L dehumidifier and a Sefte Pedestal fan. The fan was positioned 30 cm from the blower and set to vibrate at approximately three-quarters of the power.
Results
Meaco found that a fan plus dehumidifier setup reduced drying time from 20+ hours (natural drying) to just two. It's also less than half the operating time of the dehumidifier alone.
Now these numbers will vary depending on the situation. I use a dehumidifier to dry clothes and it takes longer than the 4 hours 45 minutes Meaco quotes here – I'm guessing the relative humidity levels in my apartment are much higher to begin with than Meaco's test space. But it's still a pretty compelling statistic.
|
Method: |
Natural drying 1 |
Natural drying 2 |
Dryer only |
Dehumidifier + fan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Start-up temperature: |
20С/68Ф |
20С/68Ф |
22C/71.6F |
21C/69.8F |
|
Relative humidity at startup: |
55% |
69% |
55% |
53% |
|
Drying time: |
20 hours |
28 hours |
4 hours 45 minutes |
2 hours |
|
End temperature: |
19C/66.2F |
18C/64.4F |
23C/73.4F |
21C/69.8F |
|
Relative humidity at the end: |
66% |
77% |
50% |
56% |
|
Estimated cost: |
– |
– |
28r |
14 rub. |
Running costs will also vary depending on what kind of fan and dehumidifier you use – Meaco, naturally, uses its own energy-efficient appliances and claims that the cost of running a fan is about the same as a light bulb.
Meaco explains that by using both devices together, you reduce the operating time of both. So installing a fan plus dehumidifier cost 14p and using a separate dehumidifier cost 28p (due to longer running time).
Meaco estimates the average drying cost using a tumble dryer to be £1.21 per load and extrapolates that you could save over £370 a year by switching to this dryer. You can get a very good dehumidifier for much less.
How does this work?
When wet clothes are surrounded by still air, they retain moisture. Installing a fan inside imitates the work of the wind outside: it pushes moisture from the fabric into the air, speeding up drying. Setting it to vibrate ensures an even flow of air throughout your clothing. The dehumidifier then removes moisture from the air so humidity doesn't build up (you can get an idea of what effect additional humidity can have by looking at the extended drying time in the second natural drying test).
