Tumble dryers get a bit of a bad wrap when it comes to energy efficiency. If you’re in the market for a new dryer,  consider one which uses heat pump technology, as these appliances tend to have higher energy efficiency ratings than condenser or vented models. But if you’re just wondering what you can do to make your dryer as energy-efficient as possible, then take a look at these tips to start saving energy from your next load!

01.

Use your washing machine’s spin cycle to remove excess water

Putting sopping wet items in your tumble dryer will extend drying time, increase energy consumption and put unnecessary strain on the appliance. Use the spin cycle on your washing machine to remove as much excess water as possible before moving your garments into the dryer.

02.

Keep the lint and evaporator filters clean

Keeping the lint and evaporator filters clean is essential both for drying performance and general care of your tumble dryer. Blocked filters make the motor work harder and increases energy consumption.

If you’re not sure how to clean your tumble dryer’s filters, check out our tumble dryer cleaning guide . We’re firm believers in cleaning the filters after a load, so get into this habit to keep your tumble dryer running as efficiently as possible.

03.

Keep your dryer in a well-ventilated room

While you might be constrained by the design of your home as to where you put your tumble dryer, try to keep that room as well ventilated as possible, especially if you have a vented dryer. While we’re on the topic of vented dryers, regularly check the vent hose for lint build-up too, as this can reduce efficiency.

04.

Dry similar fabrics together

Similar fabrics will take roughly the same amount of time to dry, which means all your garments will be dry at the same time. If you mix various fabrics, you could be running the machine simply to get one or two garments as dry as the rest and reducing the energy efficiency of that load. 

05.

Don’t overload or underload the drum

Putting the right amount of laundry in your tumble dryer is key to getting the best performance out of the appliance. Overload it, and you hinder drying performance and can even cause damage to the machine; underload it, and you’ll be using a full programme’s worth of energy just to dry a few items.

This guide  explains how much laundry you should put in your tumble dryer, and this article  goes through the best way to load your tumble dryer. If you’re looking for a quick rule of thumb, filling the drum just over halfway is about right.

06.

Use sensor drying programmes rather than timed programmes

If your tumble dryer has a feature like Beko’s Sensor Drying, use this instead of timed programmes. Timed programmes will continue to run, even if the laundry in the drum is dry, and that’s clearly a waste of energy. Sensor drying will stop the drying cycle when the garments have reached the dryness level of the selected programme.

If you want to know more about Beko’s tumble dryer programmes and features, take a look at this guide.

07.

Don’t add wet clothes mid-cycle

It might be tempting to throw in a few wet garments half way through a drying cycle, but that’s not good news in terms of efficiency. The water in the wet clothes will be sucked up again by the dry clothes, which means the whole load will take longer to dry and will use more energy. You’re best off saving those wet garments for the next load.

08.

Dry multiple loads one after another

If you’ve got a lot of laundry to dry, try to dry loads right after one another. This way, each new load benefits from the heat already in the drum. While it might only shave off a few minutes in drying time, every little bit helps when you’re striving to be eco-friendly.

09.

Don’t leave laundry in the dryer

Functions like Beko’s Anti-Crease feature periodically rotate the drum after a programme has finished to help prevent your laundry from creasing. This is great if you can’t take your laundry out of your tumble dryer immediately, but it obviously uses energy. If possible, remove your laundry from your tumble dryer as soon as it’s dry and switch the appliance off.

While there’s nothing as eco- and wallet-friendly as air drying your laundry, we know that’s just not always possible. But follow the tips above, and you’ll reduce the amount of energy your dryer uses and the amount is costs to run.