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With so many types and features on offer, shopping for clothes dryers can be intimidating. Their job is pretty simple, but a smart buy will save money and time in the long run.
We review condenser, electric-vented and heat-pump clothes dryers to tell you which models:
Our Recommended list will tell you at a glance which dryers we rate the best.
Your filters
List of brands we tested in this review.
The manufacturer's recommended retail price. Prices are generally always flexible, so shop around both online and in bricks-and-mortar stores for options.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 249 and 2999
We recommend currently available dryers which score at least 75% overall, 75% for drying time and at least 70% for energy efficiency.
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Whether the dryer is electric-vented, condenser or heat-pump condenser.
The manufacturer's claimed capacity. This is the weight of the laundry when dry.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 4 and 10
Most electric-vented dryers can be wall-mounted, but you may need to buy mounting brackets separately. Condenser and heat-pump dryers are generally too heavy for wall-mounting.
Generally most dryers can be stacked on top of a front loading washing machine, but some require stacking brackets, sold separately.
An auto-sensing program means the dryer will stop when it senses the load is dry.
This means instead of or in addition to a sensor, you can turn the knob of the dryer dial to choose how many minutes the dryer will run.
This allows you to delay the start of the drying cycle, meaning you can set the dryer to come on later in the day or night to take advantage of off-peak rates.
This is for tumble drying woollens or delicate fabrics with gentle heat and minimal tumbling.
Stops every few seconds and reverses the tumbling action so the clothes don't bunch up. Also helps limit creasing.
We measure how long it takes to dry 3.5kg of wet washing and how much energy is used. The energy efficiency and drying time scores are based on the amount of energy and time used per kg of clothing.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 0 and 0
If the dryer has a sensor to determine when the clothes are dry and automatically turns off, we use it, otherwise we test using the timer.
How long the cycle took on the program we used.
The energy rating in stars claimed by the manufacturer, based on a full load cycle.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 1 and 9
This shows the cost per kg of drying a load of clothes, irrespective of the dryer capacity, and will give you an even comparison regardless of the total capacity of the appliance. It's calculated by multiplying the energy we measured for a run by the cost of energy (currently $0.30), and dividing by the 3.5kg (dry weight) of our test load.
Based on drying a full load about three times a week (150 times a year) for 10 years, calculated at 30c/kWh. Clothes can make up to 3.7% of your average household's energy usage, so look for the lowest number to avoid paying more for your energy than necessary.
These scores are taken straight from our brand reliability survey, but do not add to the overall score. These scores refer to the brand only, not the particular model.
A Similar model is identical in most aspects except for a few. This means that a majority of its test results are identical so you can reasonably expect to get the same results from the model we tested, but for those aspects which aren't identical, we'll note these as "Not Tested" in the Compare tables.
A Tested model refers to a model that is still current and available in the Australian market. You should be able to order this model through your local retailer, or find it online.
These models can't be found in retailers or online or are no longer manufactured. You may still find these models on second hand websites, or in second hand dealers. Test methods may change over time, so criteria which can't be directly compared will contain an N/A.
An Identical model is exactly that. Performance characteristics will be identical and the only difference will be something trivial such as colour, which won't have an impact on performance.
These are models we haven't yet tested but that are available.
