Air dry is not the same as tumble dry. Some tumble dry settings use heat ranging from low to high temperatures, while air drying is a method that uses no heat. However, some dryers offer a No Heat tumble dry setting that can be used for heat-sensitive materials.
If you see a solid circle in the tumble dry symbol, it means to use no heat in your dryer. You will tumble dry items using the air temperature instead of heat. The items will spin around still, allowing them to dry faster then on a line but slower than with heat.
Air Dry or Air Fluff
This setting may appear under the name “air dry” or “air fluff” on your dryer's setting list. The main thing to remember with this setting is that it uses no heat. The dryer will draw room temperature air from the surrounding area as the drum tosses your clothes.
If you don't tumble dry you clothes, you will line dry the clothes. If the washing instructions on a garment reads tumble dry low heat, do just that. Put them in the dryer and set it to low heat. If the washing instructions reads “tumble dry”, that means use your dryer on any heat setting.
A tag that says "No Tumble Dry" means don't use a dryer but instead follow other directions, such as hanging the item to dry. There is also a big difference between wash and spin cycle settings and which temperature to use for specific clothing items.
Drying Symbols
A square with a large, empty circle inside indicates tumble dry normal. A square with a large circle inside that is crossed out means do not tumble dry. A square with circle inside symbol and a single dot indicates normal machine drying on a low setting.
Both settings serve a similar purpose. They are essentially the same as both of them use a lower heat setting to ensure that clothes do not get damaged.
There are three main types of tumble dryers: condenser tumble dryers, heat pump tumble dryers and vented tumble dryers. The main differences between these appliances centre on the way each model extracts hot air.
tumble drier
noun. a machine that dries wet laundry by rotating it in warmed air inside a metal drum: Also called: tumbler dryer, tumbler.
Unlike other dryer cycles, which produce warm air around the drum to remove moisture and dry the clothes fast, the air fluff cycle does not require heat. The cycle automatically turns off the heating element or and uses room temperature air to gently dry the clothes.
Dryer Settings
The two settings that eliminate shrinkage are delicate and air fluff. The delicate setting uses a very small amount of warm air to help dry your clothing, and air fluff spins clothes without any use of heat.
Drying your clothing on a tumble dry or air dry setting can help keep clothes from shrinking by minimizing wear to the fabric fibers. Your clothing's care tag will provide the optimal temperature and dryer settings to help avoid shrinkage.
Common reasons for an electric or gas dryer not heating are a tripped circuit breaker, clogged vent, and no gas flow. Other potential reasons include a faulty thermal fuse and broken heating element.
“Tumble dry” indicates that the item of clothing can be dried using a dryer rather than hanging it up or laying flat to dry. Garments with laundry labels that show it's safe to tumble dry can be thrown in the dryer using the recommended heat setting.
Tumble dryers generally have a larger drum capacity than washer dryers. Tumble dryers can have capacities of up to 10 kg, while washer dryer combos can only handle around 5 or 6 kg. So, if you're planning on drying a lot of laundry, this is certainly worth considering.
Air dry is not the same as tumble dry. Some tumble dry settings use heat ranging from low to high temperatures, while air drying is a method that uses no heat. However, some dryers offer a No Heat tumble dry setting that can be used for heat-sensitive materials.
Don't over-dry your clothes in the tumble dryer
To help prevent your clothes from shrinking in the tumble dryer, make sure that you don't over-dry them. Even once the dryer has stopped, damage can still be done. The longer your clothes are left in the heat, the higher chance they have of shrinking.
Spin drying is usually part of a bigger laundry cycle – A spin dry usually happens at the end of the washing cycle in the washing machine, so it's part of a larger washing process. In contrast, a tumble-drying session is an entire session by itself, it isn't part of a larger cycle that is being carried out.
Typically, modern tumble dryers have a high heat around 150ºF (66ºC), but the actual temperature will depend on the model. Be aware that a higher temperature than this does not mean quicker and better results. Too hot a temperature can cause damage to fabrics.
The number of dots inside the tumble dry symbol indicate what temperature setting to use: One dot stands for low heat, two for medium, and three for high heat setting. No dot means that you can tumble dry your clothes on any heat setting. You shouldn't use heat or hot air when you see a black circle.
Cotton is a natural, breathable fibre and so can shrink when it is heated as the tension that is applied to the fabric during construction is released by heat from the washing machine, tumble dryer and even sunlight (yep!)
The Air Only cycle or Air/Fluff Only does not add heat to the dryer at any time during the cycle. Expect loads dried with the Air Only cycle or Air/Fluff Only temperature to take longer to dry. So, yes. That setting can be used in lieu of line drying.