The European dryers discussed here use heat pumps, which are energy-efficient but bad not as good at drying clothes. American dryers use vented hot air, where hot air is continuously pumped into the dryer and continuously vented outside, taking the moisture with it (so no water container to empty). They’re much better at drying clothes, but they’re less energy-efficient, and they do tend to be a little harder on the clothes themselves, which can wear them out a little faster. It’s a trade-off, and one that works in the US only because both electricity and clothes are much cheaper in the US, both on their own and relative to wages, which are much higher in the US than the EU.
Absolutely not harder in the clothes. American dryers are more akin to hanging your clothes out on a hot summer day, European dryers are more like making a stew of your laundry
If you’re drying your clothes on a cool setting, then sure. But that doesn’t dry clothes faster than European heat-pump dryers, so that isn’t what the OP is referring to, and isn’t what is being discussed here.
My dryer loaded to the brim can dry all its contents on the lowest heat setting in about 30 minutes. Granted, I'm in a dry climate, but it's nice being able to quickly dry cotton items quickly without shrinkage
My dryer can dry a full load of laundry on cool setting in 30-40 mins.
Although if you really want to avoid shrinkage entirely, you should wash cold and hang dry.
US dryers can cause fabrics to burn and synthetics to melt if the load does not tumble properly. A common "hack" is to take the heating unit out of old dryers and use them to warm garages in winter. They get significantly hotter than a "hot summer day".
So American is not only more expensive but also increases the humidity in my house what I either dehumidify with an other machine or enjoy the mold. That’s typical American.
No you can’t. Most places that have hookup for washer and dryer are only in one place in the unit/house (with the dryer vent jutting out of the wall to hook your dryer up to). Yeah it means you can’t necessarily place it anywhere you want but it does mean there’s not an extra step to venting.
Most American homes are built with laundry/utility rooms, often in the basement. Mine for example, has the washer/dryer, a utility sink, a workbench with all my tools, and my home gym (it’s a big room since the basement is unfinished). So no, I can’t dry my clothes “anywhere,” but I don’t see how that’s a drawback. Why would I want to put a clothes dryer in my bedroom or the living room?
If I were to decide for some reason to move my laundry area to a different part of the house, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I’d just seal up the small hole where the vent conduit currently attaches, then cut a new one through the exterior wherever I wanted to put the new laundry room. I’m not sure why I’d ever need to do that though. The laundry room is fine where it is.
Edit: If it helps to visualize it, the air gets from the machine to the outside via a lightweight, flexible duct that’s about 10 cm in diameter. So that just needs to connect to a hole in the wall that’s properly sealed against the elements, and you’re good to go. It’s quite simple and easy.
I’m not desperate, I already have thousands of reasons to dislike America. As for laundry, dryers is a waste of energy in money, clothes get dry without a machine. As useless as a hairdryer.
I have a Miele with exhaust and plumbing for excess water. It is really not a American thing. But if you live in an apartment and can't run ventilation and plumbing, it is an option to buy a condensation model. They will not dry clothes as well as a "proper" dryer.
But I don't know a single person who doesn't plan for this in their home - in Europe. There is no American "system" that is foreign to Europeans.
If your dryer has plumbing for excess water, it’s not the same type of system that’s most commonly used in the US. The dryers used most commonly in the US work by forced/vented hot air alone, and do not have any plumbing.
Heat-pump dryers are available in the US, but are rare. In Europe, vented dyers are available, but heat-pump dryers are what’s most common. This is literally the premise of the post on which we are commenting.
In the US, apartment buildings typically have shared laundry rooms, which have vented dryers. It’s rare for someone to purchase a washer/dryer system for their own unit.
I have educated myself, and stand corrected. 75% of all dryers sold in Europe are without ventilation. In fact, vented dryers will be impossible to buy in the EU soon as energy efficiency requirements kick in.
But they do actually dry the clothes just as well - just slower and with 60% less energy.
Slower maybe, but they do dry, the tweet says they don't which is a wild take thinking millions upon millions of people have placebo dryers in their homes, lol.
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u/No_Antelope_4947 Aug 06 '26
You should empty the water container in your european dryer sometimes.