tumble drying

[shivvy]

Lots of people say that they put nearly all their clothes straight into the tumble dryer from the washing machine. Most of the labels seem to say not to do this, or to do it on a gentle heat only. Does anyone else ignore the labels and if so are there any consequences?!

Also, I have tumble dried jeans before but it seems to have 'dried' a crease into the jeans. Does this happen to anyone else?

[Ethel]

I tumble dry everything.

If the label says not to, I choose the delicate and low setting. No problems whatsoever.

I don't know how it's pressing a crease into your jeans though.

[Windinmyhair]

If I accidentally tumble something, it often comes out shrunk or misshapen!
And yes, I think you get that crease in the jeans if you overdry them!

[shaneystar2]

Give the jeans a good shake and smooth them out before you put them in the dryer ..don't just chuck them in any old how.Lots of tumble dryers have a thing that makes things come out crease free or supposedly .I have got a tumble dryer but use it as a last resort when the weather is bad.They eat electricity. I find jeans take ages anyway and then shrink up so I would dry them off as much as possible on the line first and then finish them off in the dryer . When they are nearly dry ..take them out and shake them from time to time.Don't leave them in there ,take them out whilst hot and smooth them out.No ironing then !
I'm afraid I do take notice of labels .I dried a jumper once and it came out about two inches by two.
I think they are OK for towels and underwear etc but I wouldn't put any of my good stuff in one.

[WendyS]

I use my tumble drier for emergencies only in wet weather when I have heavy wet things like big towels to dry. Otherwise everything either goes outside on the Hills Hoist if it's dry or windy, or on my bathroom fold-away Tidy Dry line with the windows open. I iron as little as possible and find that tumble drying seems to fix in creases which are difficult to remove, even with a hot iron.

[smurfchops]

I always dry everything outside on the line or inside on an airer, then when it is almost dry I finish off in the drier. If the clothes and towels are completely dry, like on a hot sunny day, put a damp cloth in the tumble drier with the clothes and it will make them nice and soft, including your towels. Only recently learned this, after years of using fabric conditioners and thinking they didn't work ...