Serious Q - do you use your dishwasher?

[Captante]

Yup, but on the other hand low energy and low water consumption, is also worth something...

With a washer yes to some degree .... with a dryer however the laws of physics dictate savings limitations. (drying wet clothes requires a certain amount of heat)

 

[IronWing]

With a washer yes to some degree .... with a dryer however the laws of physics dictate savings limitations. (drying wet clothes requires a certain amount of heat)

Oh, hey, look! It's Free Dryer Day again today.

Today
Sunny and hot, with a high near 109. West northwest wind 6 to 15 mph.
Current humidity = 8%

 

[Jgtdragon]

Nope, never use it.

 

[Captante]

Oh, hey, look! It's Free Dryer Day again today.

Today
Sunny and hot, with a high near 109. West northwest wind 6 to 15 mph.
Current humidity = 8%

I hand-wash some of my clothes regularly and I do have a clothes-line fyi.

Not sure how that affects the efficiency or reliability of electric clothes dryers in any way though! (or the planned obsolescence included with most of them!)

 

[IronWing]

I hand-wash some of my clothes regularly and I do have a clothes-line fyi.

Not sure how that affects the efficiency or reliability of electric clothes dryers in any way though! (or the planned obsolescence included with most of them!)

I have no idea; I've never owned a clothes dryer. Seems like an unnecessary luxury (that's redundant!).

 

[Captante]

I have no idea; I've never owned a clothes dryer. Seems like an unnecessary luxury (that's redundant!).

Never had kids (obviously) or you would be singing a VERY different tune! (same with dishwashers!)

To be fair living alone I rarely need one myself!

 

[IronWing]

Never had kids (obviously) or you would be singing a VERY different tune! (same with dishwashers!)

To be fair living alone I rarely need one myself!

Kids are also an unnecessary luxury (if masochism is your thing).

 

[Captante]

Kids are also an unnecessary luxury

Now I KNOW you never had kids!

 

[WilliamM2]

The "best" (read: longest lasting and most fixable) appliances have as FEW circuit-boards of any kind as possible.

For example if you stumble upon an "old school" Maytag belt-drive clothes dryer for sale JUMP on it ... it might just last the rest of your life with a little TLC and a new belt every few years. (direct-drive = mostly unfixable)

And they still make them:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/maytag-7-0-cu-ft-electric-dryer-with-wrinkle-prevent-white/6511466.p?skuId=6511466&ref=212&loc=1

Looks almost identical to the one I bought in 2002.
But it's not good enough for most people now. What good is a dryer that's not wi-fi enabled and connected to the internet!

 

[WilliamM2]

I have no idea; I've never owned a clothes dryer. Seems like an unnecessary luxury (that's redundant!).

I consider it a must have appliance. For one thing it eliminates ironing. It also eliminates bugs, pollen, dirt, etc., from getting on the clean clothes I just washed. Then there's the problem of hanging wet clothes out to dry when it's 10f outside, or raining.
Although today it's 86f with about 90% humidity, don't think that would work well either.

 

[Captante]

And they still make them:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/maytag-7-0-cu-ft-electric-dryer-with-wrinkle-prevent-white/6511466.p?skuId=6511466&ref=212&loc=1

Looks almost identical to the one I bought in 2002.
But it's not good enough for most people now. What good is a dryer that's not wi-fi enabled and connected to the internet!

Sadly Maytag ain't what it used to be in terms of "tank-like" build quality. (still a far better choice than a "fancy" direct drive computerized model!)

Look for an old/used (heavy!) one and replace all the "guts" if required. (it's easy... even the motor!)

 

[Muse]

I have no idea; I've never owned a clothes dryer. Seems like an unnecessary luxury (that's redundant!).

Before I obtained a clothes dryer, I dried on a line outside (still do 90+% of the time), but when the weather didn't permit that I hung them up in a utility room. This ultimately led to that room's walls' outer layers deteriorating, they could not take the additional humidity.
- - - -
"I don't understand people who say they need more "Me Time." What other time is there? Do these people spend part of their day in someone else's body?" — Jarod Kintz, This Book is Not for Sale

 

[zinfamous]

Oh, hey, look! It's Free Dryer Day again today.

Today
Sunny and hot, with a high near 109. West northwest wind 6 to 15 mph.
Current humidity = 8%

I agree but I also don't like birds shitting on my clothes....thus need to clean again and waste more water. I also never really liked the feel of sun-dried clothes. And I don't like the weather determining when I can clean my clothes. Hanging up inside just leads to moldy clothes.

 

[Captante]

Also if you have any nice stuff it might get stolen.

 

[zinfamous]

Also if you have any nice stuff it might get stolen.

yeah right. my clothes are old enough to run for congress.

 

[Captante]

yeah right. my clothes are old enough to run for congress.

I said "if" !!

 

[manly]

That sucks. There are really no unbiased reliable reviews for appliances then. I hate the idiot masses' user reviews. Zeze Zelensky zinberly zinny zin zin zinfamous.

By definition, it's hard. To be unbiased, you should acquire the appliance without any assistance from the manufacturer. Not even CR has pockets this deep, so they only review a small number of large appliance models. A lot of times their top picks are a few years old and you can't even buy that exact model new.

I like The Wirecutter for reviews, but they admitted they don't have a ton of hands-on with refrigerators, for example. Some of their writers have evaluated some models personally; and in consulting with some knowledgeable dealers, they do have some recommendations. But it's not like any organization can go out and buy a dozen large appliances and run them through a battery of tests. For dishwashers and fridges, I still think it's worthwhile to read what CR and Wirecutter have to say. At least they can steer you away from bad options.

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah, getting reliable information on what to avoid is generally the most important bit.

 

[Captante]

Believe it or not even old/beat up jeans (mens or womens) are a hot commodity ... also anything even loosely related to womens "undergarments" lol.

 

[Muse]

I agree but I also don't like birds shitting on my clothes....thus need to clean again and waste more water. I also never really liked the feel of sun-dried clothes. And I don't like the weather determining when I can clean my clothes. Hanging up inside just leads to moldy clothes.

I try to not dry my clothes under trees. Actually, I believe that the UV has some benefit in sanitizing clothes dried in the sun. Anyway, my dryer lasts longer and my electric bill is smaller.

 

[zinfamous]

I try to not dry my clothes under trees. Actually, I believe that the UV has some benefit in sanitizing clothes dried in the sun. Anyway, my dryer lasts longer and my electric bill is smaller.

yeah UV will definitely do that, but it will also quickly destroy anything synthetic, which is some percentage of most clothes these days. 100% cotton, linen, wool or whatever, would be fine.

 

[Muse]

yeah UV will definitely do that, but it will also quickly destroy anything synthetic, which is some percentage of most clothes these days. 100% cotton, linen, wool or whatever, would be fine.

I guess there's some synthetic in my whites, including underwear and socks but I haven't noticed problems. Still, it's a consideration.

Thing about drying outdoors, if conditions are decent and you leave it out there long enough and in a breeze (it's usually pretty breezy here), you know it's pretty dry. With a dryer unless you leave it in there a long time, you can't be sure. And there's the noise! I'm not even sure exactly how my dryer works. I bought washer and dryer off a couple acquaintances used and have never been able to find instructions. Sears Kenmore stuff, pretty old now. It's got dials, timer, it works but I don't know the ins and outs.

 

[IronWing]

yeah UV will definitely do that, but it will also quickly destroy anything synthetic, which is some percentage of most clothes these days. 100% cotton, linen, wool or whatever, would be fine.

UV hammers cotton as well.

 

[IronWing]

I guess there's some synthetic in my whites, including underwear and socks but I haven't noticed problems. Still, it's a consideration.

Thing about drying outdoors, if conditions are decent and you leave it out there long enough and in a breeze (it's usually pretty breezy here), you know it's pretty dry. With a dryer unless you leave it in there a long time, you can't be sure. And there's the noise! I'm not even sure exactly how my dryer works. I bought washer and dryer off a couple acquaintances used and have never been able to find instructions. Sears Kenmore stuff, pretty old now. It's got dials, timer, it works but I don't know the ins and outs.

Most dryers, you set the temperature to melt mantle rocks, turn the timer dial to dessicate, and pull it out. Listen for the thumping to stop or for the fire trucks, whichever comes first.

Edit: Clean the lint filter before starting a load and half way through the load. It speeds up the cycle and saves power.

 

[Red Squirrel]

A very short pipe run to the outside can make a huge difference for a dryer too. Mine runs for under half an hour in "low heat" mode but it's a very short line.

In my city I wouldn't trust putting clothes outside. Crackheads will either steal them or use them to clean their needles, though my area is not as bad so not super likely but a possibility. That and it's below freezing more than half the time so it would not dry very well anyway.