Thread: Front load dryer struggles

Got home from work to a new motor from Amazon in less than 24 hrs. Very cool.
So did the install and happy to report its a quiet running rig once more!
Purrs and smooth in operation and great airflow again.

Funny you mention the moisture sensor Shaun, cause when I asked the misses if the clothes were taking longer she didn’t know.
Seems the new machine runs automatically till things are dry so the old timer route is moot. She didn’t track time on loads like back when they all only had a timer switch.

So my rule of thumb will be every two years, pull the front as the drying time don’t tell you anymore.
Cheers men.

A little off-topic; just curious. Does anyone air-dry their clothes on a drying rack indoors and a line outdoors in summer? I've done this for about thirty years and find that the clothes are stiffer that way and without a static charge. The only reason I keep a dryer in the house is for when we have folks staying at our place long-term, in thinking that they would sort of expect a dryer to be there.

Maybe it's a North American thing too. I've noticed in Europe that no one seems to use a dryer for clothes, everyone air-dries their clothes, perhaps to keep energy costs down.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

A little off-topic; just curious. Does anyone air-dry their clothes on a drying rack indoors and a line outdoors in summer? I've done this for about thirty years and find that the clothes are stiffer that way and without a static charge. The only reason I keep a dryer in the house is for when we have folks staying at our place long-term, in thinking that they would sort of expect a dryer to be there.

Maybe it's a North American thing too. I've noticed in Europe that no one seems to use a dryer for clothes, everyone air-dries their clothes, perhaps to keep energy costs down.

Intersting observation. My mother on the farm still dries her clothes on the line or indoors. I grow hops on my outdoor posts and my garden is underneath where the lines would be. The hooks are still on the walls in my basement but I haven't strung them in years. Not in my neighborhood but in many with covenents it is against the rules to have a clothes line strung in your back yard unless it is in use. So you would have to use a retractable line. People think they are ugly and dangerous to someone running through your yard.

Some of it is time and people want to just push a button and then go to work or out. I won't do that because I was taught to not run the drier when you are not home because of the risk of fire.

Energy has been relatively cheap here but it is rising so that may start to influence people.

I remember watching my Grandmother washing clothes in the bath tub with a toilet plunger. When I bought the house from her I got a washing machine!

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

A little off-topic; just curious. Does anyone air-dry their clothes on a drying rack indoors and a line outdoors in summer? I've done this for about thirty years and find that the clothes are stiffer that way and without a static charge. The only reason I keep a dryer in the house is for when we have folks staying at our place long-term, in thinking that they would sort of expect a dryer to be there.

Maybe it's a North American thing too. I've noticed in Europe that no one seems to use a dryer for clothes, everyone air-dries their clothes, perhaps to keep energy costs down.

I do, especially in the summer although we just bought an indoor rack a few months ago. Most of the time we still use the dryer as it's so convenient and air dry things that can't/shouldn't go in the drier. Can't beat the smell of clothes dried outside on the line.

As far as the indoor drying rack goes, we have ours in the upstairs bedroom, where it is warmest and driest. Leaving things to air-dry in the basement seems like an exercise in futility.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

As far as the indoor drying rack goes, we have ours in the upstairs bedroom, where it is warmest and driest. Leaving things to air-dry in the basement seems like an exercise in futility.

Much of it is proably a different climate. Our basement is high humidity in the summer but then you can dry outside. With the furnace down there in the winter it is very dry and we need to add any humidity to the air as we can.

We have had many days recently with high temps of less than 18'C. This week we should have a couple of days above 0'C.

Originally Posted by 32t

Intersting observation. My mother on the farm still dries her clothes on the line or indoors. I grow hops on my outdoor posts and my garden is underneath where the lines would be. The hooks are still on the walls in my basement but I haven't strung them in years. Not in my neighborhood but in many with covenents it is against the rules to have a clothes line strung in your back yard unless it is in use. So you would have to use a retractable line. People think they are ugly and dangerous to someone running through your yard.

Some of it is time and people want to just push a button and then go to work or out. I won't do that because I was taught to not run the drier when you are not home because of the risk of fire.

Energy has been relatively cheap here but it is rising so that may start to influence people.

I remember watching my Grandmother washing clothes in the bath tub with a toilet plunger. When I bought the house from her I got a washing machine!

When I was a little tyke my mom used to go down to the stream and pound the clothes with rocks to get them clean. I still remember the day Julius Caesar rode by with his legions on the way to battle. What a magnificent sight it was.

Originally Posted by 32t

Much of it is proably a different climate. Our basement is high humidity in the summer but then you can dry outside. With the furnace down there in the winter it is very dry and we need to add any humidity to the air as we can.

We have had many days recently with high temps of less than 18'C. This week we should have a couple of days above 0'C.

As your location is not given, I can only guess. Tonight, the forecast here is for -14 degrees C, the low relative humidity in January generally reflecting this pegging to around 25 per cent, followed by skyrocketing numbers in both respects during the summer. All the same, drying the clothes upstairs is the most balanced approach for us year round, not wanting to scorch our clothes near the fire in the basement in winter or when rain falls during late spring, summer, and early fall when the heat is off (this leading to excessive humidity and what I wrote pertaining to an exercise in futility).

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

A little off-topic; just curious. Does anyone air-dry their clothes on a drying rack indoors and a line outdoors in summer? I've done this for about thirty years and find that the clothes are stiffer that way and without a static charge. The only reason I keep a dryer in the house is for when we have folks staying at our place long-term, in thinking that they would sort of expect a dryer to be there.

Maybe it's a North American thing too. I've noticed in Europe that no one seems to use a dryer for clothes, everyone air-dries their clothes, perhaps to keep energy costs down.

When I was growing up, my grandmother lived with us an did the laundry. She always hung the clothes out to dry on a line outdoors. My parents never owned a dryer until she died.

Now I live in a home in a subdivision governed by home owner association (HOA) covenants. Clothes lines are strictly prohibited in the neighborhood. Apparently, seeing my underwear on a clothesline would be deeply offensive to my neighbors.

Originally Posted by RayClem

Now I live in a home in a subdivision governed by home owner association (HOA) covenants. Clothes lines are strictly prohibited in the neighborhood. Apparently, seeing my underwear on a clothesline would be deeply offensive to my neighbors.

That's completely insane. My heart goes out to anyone who has to deal with any bonkers HOA/condo board policies like that.