Opinion
Europeans tend not to have clothes dryers, which, for us North Americans travelling for a few weeks from relative to relative makes for a frustrating wash day. We get our stuff washed, but then it can take a couple of days for the now-clean clothes to dry, depending on the location of the clothes line, often in a damp basement room -- or a hotel room.
TIP: To have clothes dry more quickly, buy quick-drying shirts and pants, which are not that easy to find. Try sports clothing stores.
So we were pretty excited when one of the relatives announced that they now had a clothes dryer. Hooray! Well, as can be expected in these times of energy efficiency, it was, um, underwhelming.
The dryer uses a heat pump to withdraw moisture from clothes, instead of adding heat to drive out the moisture. The moisture is collected into a condensation container (upper left in the photograph), from which you empty the water from time to time.
Pros:
- Energy efficient
- No need to drill a large hole in the wall for the hot, moist air to escape
Cons:
- Takes 3.5 hours to dry a load of clothes, instead of the usual 40 minutes we are used to
- Cannot use the dryer as a quick way to unwrinkle clothes, as it has no heat
The 3.5-hour duration is doubled to 7 hours, as European tend to have small washers and dryers, meaning it takes twice as many loads to finish drying a laundry job.
TIP: To get wrinkles out of clothes, put them in a North American-style dryer for five minutes, and then remove them immediately while still warm. The heat takes out the wrinkles. No need to iron them.
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