Tumble drying is simply machine drying rather than line drying or laying flat to dry. This method is called “Tumble Dry” because clothes tumble in the dryer drum where airflow, along with heat, dries clothes quickly. But not all fabrics are made to be tumble dried—always check the care tag first.
Unlike air drying, where clothes dry through natural airflow, tumble drying uses heat and movement to reduce dry time and leave fabrics soft and wrinkle-free.
Tumble dry is when you put your laundry items into the dryer instead of air-drying them. Every setting you choose when using your dryer is considered a tumble dry setting. Pretty simple, right?
Tumble dry refers to machine-drying, rather than letting your clothes air-dry. You can tumble dry laundry with low, medium, high, or no heat depending on the type of fabric. Washing and drying your clothes according to their care instructions is essential to avoid shrinkage, damage, and color bleeding.
Air dry is for the same thing but with no heat. Some things like pillow stuffing or comforters can be damaged by heat, but you still want them to have air blowing around and dry them faster.
You can still dry your wet laundry without a tumble drier, though it may be more time consuming. To dry your clothes without a conventional dryer, you can use an extra spin cycle in your washer to wring out excess water, then hang your laundry on a clothing line or drying rack to air dry.
The square with a circle inside is the general symbol for tumble drying. If you see it on a laundry label, your item can be tumble-dried, and it's safe to put it in the dryer. If a laundry item should not be tumble-dried, you will see the same square with a circle, but it will be crossed out.
If your laundry care label has instructions that read “tumble dry high,” you can dry using the high heat setting or the Heavy Duty/Sanitize cycle to dry your garments. Depending on the model, these cycles can reach temperatures up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit to dry items that may take longer to dry.
A dryer Delicate cycle is typically a tumble dry cycle that uses low heat. Low heat helps protect heat-sensitive fabrics from fraying, fading, shrinking, stretching and warping. Depending on the make and model of your dryer, the cycle may be labeled Delicate, Gentle or Tumble Dry Low.
Read the Tags
"First, check the tags. Anything that says 'line dry' or 'lay flat to dry' can't tolerate the heat or the tumbling action of the dryer—or both," she says.
Unlike heat-intensive drying cycles, the Air Fluff Cycle involves a no-heat, tumble-drying setting. It's a gentle, cool-air alternative designed to revive and refresh clothes without subjecting them to high temperatures.
Choosing the right drying cycle
Modern tumble dryers offer various cycles to suit different fabric types and drying needs. The cotton cycle uses high heat and is perfect for towels, bedding, and sturdy cotton items. For polyester and mixed fabrics, use the synthetics cycle, which operates at medium heat.
Air drying is only to reduce the moisture content of laundry . Unlike heater dryers, they cannot completely dry your clothes . However, by letting the wind evaporate the water contained in the clothes, you can reduce the time it takes to dry the laundry compared to when you spin the clothes and dry them immediately.
Air-drying can extend the life of your towels, so this is our preferred option. To finish, give your towels a good shake to help fluff up the fibres and make sure they are completely dry before putting them away.
Overdrying and exposing your clothes to long cycles of high heat can damage the fabric and cause clothes to shrink. Instead, opt for tumble or air dry settings in shorter intervals in order to preserve your clothing.
The square with a circle inside is the general symbol for tumble drying. If you see it on a laundry label, your item can be tumble-dried, and it's safe to put it in the dryer.
With all our washer dryers you can use the dryer function only. The options are: Cottons dry and Synthetic dry. Always refer to your manual for guidance, if you cannot find yours do not worry, you can download a copy by clicking here.
A spin dryer is a compact and energy-efficient appliance that uses centrifugal force to extract water from your clothes. This device can have your laundry nearly dry in just five minutes, drastically reducing the drying time compared to a tumble dryer. But while spin dryers are efficient, they have some limitations.
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. A square with three vertical lines inside indicates to drip dry, usually by hanging a dripping wet garment on a line.
If it's raining outside or you don't have enough space at home to dry a full load, the tumble dryer will take care of the problem. The appliance is very versatile and almost all fabrics and clothing materials can go in, however before drying delicate items, we recommend reading the care labels on your clothes.
The low heat setting can be used after washing a down comforter or to tumble dry a duvet (but do check the tags on the items to make sure this doesn't conflict with the manufacturers' recommendations). Low is around 120 to 122°F (49 to 50ºC) on Samsung tumble dryers, as an example.