Cloth Nappy Tree Forum

My Mum has one and she says it's great. No steam, just the draw that needs emptying.

This is her second one and I think the first one lasted for over 10 years. Her new one is a Siemens and I can't remember what her old one was, sorry.

We're buying a house which comes with a Smeg washer/condenser dryer - never actually had a dryer before and a bit wary, anyone else had one?

Welcome to CNT @Ruth1971!

Just wanted to let you know some of the posts you are commenting on are a few years old so you probably won't get responses from the original posters. Do join in chat though! Do you have babies in cloth?

Hi @Ruth1971 and welcome

The most efficient dryers use heat pump technology similar to an air conditioner or dehumidifier so check for that. These will have much less of an impact on the environment and your pocket. They are more expensive to buy unfortunately but the Smeg you mention is probably on the expensive side and might be one of these, if it's reasonably recent.

Conventional condenser dryers are pretty much similar to vented types in terms of energy consumption. Check out the energy rating, the difference in consumption can be quite staggering.

From experience I'd search out reviews relating to the specific model of washer/dryer combo that you are being offered because the drying functionality of some of them makes things quite difficult in a larger family using cloth nappies. Some models can only dry half the weight that you washed and do so more slowly than a stand alone dryer.

We use the washing line as much as possible. I think our clothes feel much nicer when dried that way. The sun also has some great benefits when drying nappies (have read of some of the many topics about it on here). Even so there are times when it's too cold/damp, we use a separate dryer during those times.

Thanks for replies! My littlies are out of nappies now but go through clothes like anything... Have never had a dryer so line dried or indoors on radiators, which isn't great for condensation - didn't want the energy use of a dryer, and I expect we'll only use it when too wet/cold. Don't know the model yet

We used to have one ( well several actually as we had never lived anywhere with plumbing for the other sort until now)

When it died we replaced it with a vented model.
I have found the vented one to be cheaper to run and less problematic as idiot men folk can't break it by not emptying the water, however the condensers worked fine for us for years