My last blog post was about washing machines because, quite frankly, I needed to purchase a new one for my family. Thus, this month I will share the information I learned on clothes dryers. One may think that matching color and style of a dryer are most important to me. But in actuality capacity of the dryer is the one thing that I researched the most.
Since I purchased a washer with a capacity to wash large comforters, I needed to make sure the dryer’s capacity was about double that of the washer. It is important for the dryer to be large to completely dry the wet clothes in one cycle. Often retailers will say the words ‘king-sized’ so before you purchase make sure you know your washer’s cubic foot capacity. If you are not buying a new washer and dryer set, keep your future washer in mind. If you plan to purchase a new large capacity washer go ahead and buy the larger capacity dryer now.
Dryers now have great new features available. The most interesting one is the new steam cleaning cycle available on some units. If you need to quickly remove light stains, odors and some light wrinkles, this new option is for you. This feature can even ‘wash’ items like throw pillows and toys. Some dryers offer drying racks inside the drum for delicate clothes and detangling features to help with few wrinkles in bedding. Lastly, some dryers offer smartphone controls that allow you to monitor your dryer remotely.
Stackable washer and dryer pairs are also popular if space is a concern. Originally these were developed for smaller areas like apartments but now many washer/dryer sets can be purchased with a kit to stack them. If you need additional storage space in your laundry room consider stacking units. I have even designed luxury clothes closets with stackable washer and dryers. As always, remember to measure your available space before you purchase and don’t forget about needing a clearance of about 6” away from the back wall and dryer vent.
julie
