I tried a bargain dehumidifier from B&M to dry clothes – I’ll never use the tumble dryer again
I CAUTIOUSLY feel my trousers and I'm gobsmacked - they're ready to wear after just a few hours of drying, thanks to my dehumidifier.
I'm testing to see whether you can save money by using a cheap dehumidifier to dry your clothes.
The gadgets are usually a cheaper alternative to sticking on the heating or using the tumble dryer.
Plus, they're compact and easy to store.
Households have been swapping to dehumidifiers in a bid to save cash on their energy bills.
Billpayers can save a whopping £74 on average by ditching their tumble dryer, and using a dehumidifier.
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I've been trying to avoid using my tumble dryer, which costs 83p per cycle, or around £1.72 a week.
But will swapping to a dehumidifier save me any money? I put it to the test.
Choosing my dehumidifier
As I live in an old Victorian building, I've been worried about leaving my clothes to dry on an airer without any assistance.
Occasionally, I will pop my clothes to dry on my £12 airer from Amazon, but they can take up to two days to dry this way.
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I bought a dehumidifier for £30 from B&M to combat the issue and hopefully tempt me away from using my tumble dryer.
Some dehumidifiers can cost between £150 and £200, so I wanted to check if B&M's bargain gadget would be as efficient, or if I'd have to fork out for a better model.
It extracts up to 300ml of excess moisture from a room per day, equivalent to a bottle of water.
I wanted one with a low wattage, as the higher the wattage, the more energy it takes to run.
My dehumidifier has a wattage of 22.5W - in comparison, tumble dryers have a wattage ranging from between 1,800W to 5,000W.
The test
I hung my clothes on my airer on Tuesday at around 3pm, and placed my dehumidifier underneath.
I turned my clothes every hour or so as I know this can also help to speed the drying process along.
The dehumidifier was filling up with water, and by around 6pm, my clothes were starting to feel just slightly damp to the touch.
Checking my laundry just before I went to bed at around 10pm, I was shocked that it was completely dry and I was able to put it away.
I emptied the water tank and there was a fair amount of water stored in there by the end.
I ran my dehumidifier for around seven hours and I was amazed that my clothes were dry in that time.
Among my laundry were items of sportswear like a football top and running leggings, plus some cargo trousers and a few T-shirts.
If there had been a few more heavy items little knitted jumpers and jeans, the process may have taken a little longer, but I was still pretty impressed.
I wasn't expecting the test to be as successful as it was, and I will definitely be trying this method again.
The cost
I knew my dehumidifier would be pretty cheap to run, and I was right.
It was running for seven hours, which cost me just 70p - 13p cheaper than a spin in the tumble dryer.
If I was to do this twice a week, it would cost me £1.40 and £72.80 for a whole year.
This is compared to the cost of using a tumble dryer twice a week, which costs roughly £1.72 and £89.44 a year.
Over the course of a year, this is a saving of £16.64.
The amount that you can save will vary depending on the dehumidifier and tumble dryer you have, as well as how much you use them.
According to USwitch, the average households spends £15.03 running their dehumidifier for six hours a week.
This is compared to a tumble dryer, which costs a whopping £89.44 a year for two and a half hours of use a week.
This means that you could save up to £74.41 annually by making the switch.
The verdict
When it comes to drying my clothes, I found my dehumidifier to be a real winner.
It was much cheaper than my tumble dryer and was really effective.
I also felt reassured knowing that the dehumidifier would help to prevent my laundry from causing damp and mould in my home.
Overall, I was impressed and will be retiring my tumble dryer for the foreseeable future.
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Meanwhile, we tested £1 mini dehumidifiers and the winner will help prevent mould for months.
Plus, a popular trick to get rid of condensation and mould left us surprised - but it will save you cash.
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