Clothes dryer
Clothes line and Tumble dryer are the well known clothes drying options. Here a 3rd option is presented with advantages over tumble drying. This is a humidistatic dehumidifier in a large wardrobe.
How it works
Clothes are taken out of the washer and put away in the wardrobe. And thats it, the end user need do nothing else.
Putting damp clothes in the wardrobe sets the dehumidifier running. The dehumidifier fans the air round, heats the small space, and removes the moisture. The dh switches off when the clothes are dry.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages compared to tumble dryer:
- Takes up less space
- Takes up no kitchen space
- One less operation per load, since the clothes all go from washer to wardrobe, not via the dryer.
- No dryer noise.
- Much less energy consumption than a tumble dryer
- Much lower run cost
- Much less wear on clothes
Disadvantage:
- Heavier clothes such as winter coats can take many hours to fully dry. However this is rarely a disadvantage in reality. You would have to be a bit disorganised for this to make any difference.
Notes on Operation
Normally all clothes would be hanging.
Socks can be put in a plastic matrix on one side if this is preferred to a multi-bar hanger. Drawer dividers are used to create this matrix of miniature cubbyholes.
For items to be stacked, such as bedding, these can't be stacked when wet, but can be once dry. They can be put in the wardrobe on slatted or wire shelves to dry, or if preferred one could even use extra large bedding hangers.
Requirements
The dehumidifier needs to be humidistatic and have a continuous drain connection.
See Also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothes_dryer
Keywords: tumble dryer tumble drier clothes laundry design kitchen layout planning plan