The tumble- or air-dry settings are your best bet for all clothes to make it through the dryer unchanged.
Say goodbye to shrinking clothes
Heat pump tumble dryers significantly reduce the risk of this happening.
On the other hand, condenser dryers are more likely to shrink or wear out your clothes due to their higher drying temperatures. Heat pump dryers are much better at preserving your clothes, since they avoid putting your laundry in close contact with high temperatures.
- Use a low heat or delicate setting. High heat can cause shrinkage, especially for cotton and other natural fibers. - Choose the delicate or gentle cycle if your dryer has this option. This cycle uses lower temperatures and is more gentle on fabrics. - Avoid over-drying.
Due to the high drying temperature of a condenser dryer, you have a greater chance of your laundry shrinking or wearing. Unlike a heat pump dryer, which works with a heat pump and a coolant, a condenser dryer uses a heat element to dry laundry.
As a general rule, higher temperatures are best used for heavy items, like towels, jeans and jackets. Low to medium heat settings are ideal for sheets, blouses and undergarments, while no-heat settings are designed for heat-sensitive fabrics or garments containing rubber or plastic.
As their drying air temperature is considerably lower than conventional dryers, heat pumps are less abrasive on your garments. They feature multiple sensors to detect moisture, so your clothes are dried more consistently and treated with better care. This saves you from replacing them due to wear & tear or shrinkage.
A conventional condenser dryer uses a heating element to warm the drum and dry the clothing. Drying at a lower temperature, and therefore using less energy, a heat pump tumble dryer takes slightly longer to dry the clothing but at a lower cost. This also means the drying cycle is kinder on your clothes.
The last significant benefit of ventless dryers is their gentleness on clothes. Unlike vented dryers that use high heat to quickly evaporate moisture, ventless dryers operate at lower temperatures, reducing the risk of fabric damage, shrinking, or wear and tear.
In general, most synthetic and plant-based materials will resist shrinkage, while natural ones from animals will not. In short, fabrics that will not shrink include: Cotton: This natural plant fiber includes denim as well as everyday clothing.
Hang them out to dry – for minimal risk of shrinking, you should air dry your cotton fabrics. If you can machine dry them, use a low-to-moderate heat. Banish the wrinkles – one issue with cotton is that it can crease and wrinkle easily. If you choose to iron it, you should iron it while the fabric is somewhat damp.
Air-vented dryers draw air from the room in which they are installed, heat it and lead it through the humid clothing in the drum to evaporate the moisture. The humid air is then expelled to the external environment. Air-vented dryers thus require an exhaust to the outside, making them less practical.
For best results in your laundry, use the cold water setting on your washing machine. An ideal temperature would be 30ºC, which makes it not too hot when put in the dryer. In addition, make sure to dry your clothes on the lowest heat setting, as heat is the leading cause of clothes shrinking in the washer and dryer.
The main benefit of a condenser dryer is that it can be installed anywhere and doesn't need to be located next to a door or window, so if you are looking for convenience perhaps this is the one for you. The downside is that you will have to regularly empty the reservoir of extracted water.
Energy use
We've previously found condenser dryers to not be very energy efficient. Along with older vented varieties, they use around three times more energy to dry a load than their heat pump counterparts. This means vented and condenser dryers cost more to run in the long term than a heat pump.
If a fast drying speed is the key factor for you, a vented model might be your preference. If space, budget and lifestyle allow, however, and you're happy with the slightly longer drying times that come with reduced energy usage and running costs, a heat pump clothes dryer is probably the best choice.
Avoiding heavy duty cycles, fast spins and high-heat drying can also prevent shrinkage. Use delicate cycles instead, and place delicate clothes in a mesh laundry bag for added protection. When drying, consider a low-heat or air dry setting. When in doubt, always follow the instructions on your garment's care tag.
AbsoluteCare® has tailored programming to control precisely the movement and temperature of the drying drum, assuring no shrinkage of the fabric.
We recommend emptying every time you use it. Do heat pump dryers take longer to dry? Yes they do but they will save you money as they use much less energy than condenser dryers.
To avoid shrinkage on more delicate items (like your favorite vintage tee), set the dryer to the low heat dryer setting or low tumble dryer setting, which is the best delicates dryer setting. Normal cycle: This cycle uses high temperature and high tumble.
Delicate or Gentle
On the other hand, delicate settings use the lowest amount of heat and tumbling action, explains Pozniak. This cycle is best for fragile fabrics or laundry pieces that may start to melt, fray, stretch, or fade in high-heat conditions.
For even more savings, consider ENERGY STAR certified heat pump dryers - they use almost 30% less energy than a conventional clothes dryers. Consumers with high clothes dryer usage and high electricity rates have the potential for large energy and cost savings.