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Is It Dry Yet?

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Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#21

Post by blowski »

smilingsun wrote: post #12

The cool thing about water is that evaporates all by itself. For free even. No electricity is required. So an alternative to making the tumble dryer "smarter" can be to simply not use it for most of the time, thereby cutting the loss caused by "dumb" dryers. The engineering part that's missing is related to re-introducing and improving the many awesome laundry line systems that used to be available.

Many British houses are already damp and small, and heating them to dry clothes doesn’t save energy. Putting clothes outside when it’s -2 degrees or raining consistently also doesn’t help.

I think I’ve seen the kinds of indoor drying lines you are perhaps referring to, but I don’t know how compatible they are with Northern Europe.

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#22

Post by xandrius »

smilingsun wrote: post #12

The cool thing about water is that evaporates all by itself. For free even. No electricity is required. So an alternative to making the tumble dryer "smarter" can be to simply not use it for most of the time, thereby cutting the loss caused by "dumb" dryers. The engineering part that's missing is related to re-introducing and improving the many awesome laundry line systems that used to be available.

Really depends on a million factors.

Where I grew up if you left the clothes out (but covered with inclement weather), depending on season, they would either dry perfectly or get a funky (awful) smell to them. I wish we had a drier back then, it would have made my teenage years less embarrassing.

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#25

Post by nan60 »

apercu wrote: post #7

My experience with "smart" driers is maybe less positive than others. Seems they typically only have one sensor in a rotating drum, if they "read" a t-shirt they will stop because it's "dry". But your jeans and your towel are not. Or, the sensors become intermittent, so you stop using the "smart" features.

Mine does exactly this and it frustrates my family and I to no end. More often than not clothes are not dry and I’ll just end up putting them through a speed dry cycle because that one doesn’t turn off automatically (which completely defeats the purpose as I’m running through more cycles than needed)

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#26

Post by sroussey »

dartos wrote: post #14
smegger001 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hanging clothes on a clothes line to dry only works you dont live somewhere with frequent rain

Or very high ambient humidity (which I guess causes frequent rain)

I’ve been places where cotton never dries and becomes a fertile ground for all sorts of things.

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#28

Post by sroussey »

IncreasePosts wrote: post #9
apercu wrote: post #7

My experience with "smart" driers is maybe less positive than others. Seems they typically only have one sensor in a rotating drum, if they "read" a t-shirt they will stop because it's "dry". But your jeans and your towel are not. Or, the sensors become intermittent, so you stop using the "smart" features.

I would naively assume the sensor would be a hygrometer measuring the humidity of the outgoing air. What kind of dryer do you have?

Mine has no outgoing air…

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#29

Post by pstrateman »

mhink wrote: post #10
apercu wrote: post #7

My experience with "smart" driers is maybe less positive than others. Seems they typically only have one sensor in a rotating drum, if they "read" a t-shirt they will stop because it's "dry". But your jeans and your towel are not. Or, the sensors become intermittent, so you stop using the "smart" features.

For what it's worth, my understanding is that it's generally not recommended to wash/dry different kinds of fabric together.

Yes before drying my clothes I'm sure to blend them to a consistent mush.

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#30

Post by culebron21 »

Mechanical kitchen timer will suffice. You usually know the duration of most used programs. Doesn't need a hundred taps in the phone to get it working. Mental effort to set the timer is lower than with phone timer. You dial it and carry in a pocket. Zero distraction when you set it up or get notified -- you won't sink into the timer scrolling for half an hour. And in the end you'll get the notification.
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