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Choosing a tumble drier that's easy to use (view report contents)

Visibility

Labelling
The larger the lettering, and the stronger the colour contrast, the easier to see. Both are covered in Summaries ratings for control labelling and for the drying guide.

Some manufacturers provide tactile controls for blind people. Most send an engineer to your home. Or if you already have the machine, they will send you a kit. None of the manufacturers charge for these services. All the machines with a timer dial had a drying time guide on the front, which gave the amount of time needed to dry different fabrics. Most print was reasonably sized but none was very large.

Indicator lights

Half the driers had a light to show the machine was on. The condenser driers also had lights to show when to empty the water container.

The Summaries show which driers had lights that were both large and bright.

Day-to-day maintenance

clearing the lint

All the driers had a filter to collect lint shed by the washing. Most were behind or near the door. All could be removed and replaced with one hand and needed little strength. Some were easier to grip than others and a few had sharp edges. See the Summaries for ratings.

Clearing the lint

Emptying the water

The three condenser models had a container for the condensed water which had to be emptied when full. Always at the bottom, they were not convenient if you have difficulty bending down. The Creda also had a removable panel in front of the water container.

All the driers came with instructions that were accurate and reasonably easy to follow. But most were printed in fairly small type. The Whirlpool had Braille instructions.

Safety features

All the driers tested stopped automatically if the door was opened during a drying cycle. However most started again when the door was closed. A start button had to be pressed to restart the Bosch, Whirlpool and Creda condenser driers - safer if you have young children.

All tumble driers have a thermal cut-out to stop them from overheating.

 

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Report contents

Introduction
Guide to types of tumble driers
Buying Guide

Finding an easy to use drier
Guide to test results
Controls
Visibility
Order by Grip
Order by Mobility
Order by Sight
Manufacturers Addresses