Clothes Dryers

Able to dry clothes in any climate, a clothes dryer is an important and often essential home appliance, especially if you live in an apartment complex or an area where you have less available space for air drying.

With dryer types including vented dryers, heat pump dryers, condenser dryers, gas dryers, and washer dryer combos, you can find a model to suit your lifestyle, living situation, and preferences.

A variety of top brands including Electrolux, Beko, Haier, Bosch, Asko, Simpson, Fisher & Paykel, and Samsung, each offers an assortment of unique features designed to enhance your drying.

Each brand and type of dryer from Appliances Online features a selection of different drying cycles to take optimal care of your fabrics. Take the Bosch Serie 8 9kg Heat Pump Dryer for example, with fourteen programs including Allergy Plus and Delicate. It even makes use of a self-cleaning condenser and anti-crease functionality for a more efficient and convenient drying experience.

Along with the integrated features, you may also want to consider the energy rating, which affects the energy efficiency - and the running costs - of the unit. With tumble dryers spanning from 1.5 to 10 energy star ratings, you can find a model which ticks all the boxes of function and energy consumption. Generally, heat pump clothes dryers and condenser clothes dryers are more efficient machines due to the unique way they dry garments.

You could even pair your dryer with a brand new washing machine and enjoy a thorough and efficient laundry experience from start to finish.

The type of dryer you choose, and a few other factors, will affect whether you’ll need a tradesperson to help instal it or make alterations to your laundry room. If you do need this extra work done, Appliances Online can help connect you with local tradespeople with the skills and experience to get your dryer up and running.

Whether you’re doing your research before buying your first dryer, or you’re replacing your old one, here are some practical things to consider. If you don’t have time to compare and contrast every dryer on the market, seeing what everyone else has been buying recently can be a helpful shortcut. This list of currently popular clothes dryers provides a handy snapshot of the models making their way into homes across Australia.

If you need a little more help in finding the best clothes dryer for your laundry room, take a look through our Laundry Buying Guide.

1. What are the different types of clothes dryers?

Vented Dryers

Vented dryers heat the air and blow it through your clothing as it tumbles around the drum. The resulting warm, damp air is then vented out of the machine, either outside your home through a duct/window or into your home.

Heat Pump Dryers

A heat pump dryer works using an internal system where heat is recycled throughout the operation of the machine using an integrated heat pump. Air is heated, passed through your clothes, cooled, the waters drained off, then reheated. A heat pump dryer results in only a small amount of heat being produced over the course of the cycle.

Condenser Dryer

Condenser dryers pass heated air through your clothing as it tumbles, removing the moisture, which is then condensed into an internal water tank or drained away. If water is stored in an internal water tank, it will need to be periodically emptied. Through condenser drying, a small volume of air and moisture is released into the air surrounding your machine.

Washer Dryer Combos

A washer dryer combo combines the functionality of both a washing machine and condenser dryer. An option for homes without space for two full appliances, a washer dryer combo features an internal heat exchanger which uses water for cooling, meaning your appliance needs water for both washing and drying cycles.

2. How many types of tumble dryers are there?

A tumble dryer is any model which dries your clothing with hot air inside a rotating drum. There are three types of tumble dryers: vented dryers, condenser dryers, and heat pump dryers.

3. Which is better vented or a condenser tumble dryer?

A vented dryer is cheaper to purchase and has moderate running costs but if you’re unable to vent the exhaust air out of a window or external wall, you may experience increased humidity and dampness in your home.

A condenser dryer costs more initially when compared to a vented dryer and has decent running costs over its lifetime. Condenser dryers release a little moisture into the surrounding air but not as much as vented dryers.

4. What type of dryers are most efficient?

Heat pump dryers are the most energy efficient type of dryer you can purchase for your home or apartment. While they are generally a more expensive outright purchase, heat pump dryers are more energy efficient to run over their lifetime. Heat pumps also don’t exhaust heat into your home, making them ideal for apartments. If saving energy is a priority for you, check out some of the highest Energy Star rated dryers and other appliances available.

5. Which tumble dryers are the best?

Choosing the right tumble dryer for your home comes down to your household needs, budget, and home layout. If you don’t dry your clothes with a clothes dryer very often and are able to vent the appliance, a vented dryer may be optimal due to their lower purchase cost.

A heat pump dryer is a more expensive initial purchase but due to the high energy efficiencies, they can recoup the money with lower bills - see how much money an energy efficient dryer can save you.  Due to the higher purchase price, however, a heat pump dryer may not be ideal if you will only rarely use a machine to dry your clothes.

6. Which type of dryers are energy efficient?

The most energy-efficient type of dryer is the heat pump dryer, recycling hot air throughout the cycle to dry your clothing.

But you can find other types of dryers with high energy efficiency, depending on model and brand. 

When there’s no sun in sight, clothes drying can be a pain. If you’ve just gotten home from the pub or a shift at work and need your clothes again for tomorrow, unpredictable weather conditions turn laundry into a gamble.

Luckily, with the right clothes dryer to suit your needs, you can get your much-needed garments ready for re-wearing in a jiffy. Finding the right laundry dryer depends on many different factors. Careful planning is important for larger appliances like dryers, especially since they’re bulky and may require installation by a tradesperson.

At Appliances Online, we’ve broken down what you need to know about purchasing a drying machine and the best place to get legendary service.

Condenser dryer

A condenser dryer is a tumble dryer that uses high temperatures to get your clothes dry. Air is pushed over a heating coil and then into the drum where your clothes are stored. Heat extracts moisture from clothes as vapour, which condenses into water in a container. This is a great option for homes with smaller laundries without room for ducting.

Vented dryer

This type of clothes dryer also blows hot air through the clothes and evaporates moisture, but the humid air is released through a venting duct. While typically more affordable than other dryer types, they’ll need to be operated in a well-ventilated laundry – that is, one with an exhaust fan or a window – or appropriately ducted. This is ideal for homes that only use the dryer occasionally.

Heat pump dryer

Heat pump dryers also extract vapour from clothes, but they use a coolant to remove condensation and retain the warm air. The reheated air goes back into the tumble drum, making it a more energy-efficient clothes dryer compared to traditional options.

Gas dryer

A gas dryer produces heat by burning gas to dry laundry. The gas can either be supplied by LPG gas canisters or through plumbed mains natural gas.

However, you should only consider this option if your laundry is already set up for a gas connection and has external ventilation, either through the wall or roof. Otherwise, you’ll need a certified gas fitter to install gas plumbing, as well as have separate exhaust ducting installed.

Appropriate size

Make sure to measure the area where your new clothes dryer will be positioned as well as the width of the doors and corridors leading into your laundry. Also, consider how much laundry you regularly do so you don’t always have to do multiple loads.

Finally, don’t forget to factor in the space needed for your laundry door to open. If you have limited room, a top load dryer might be a better option than a front load dryer.

Can you see the lint filter?

A dryer with an easy-to-access lint filter is a major plus. That’s because, for optimum maintenance, your dryer’s lint filter needs to be emptied before every load. Otherwise, you might reduce the machine’s efficiency and potentially run the risk of a fire.

Auto-sensing for efficiency

A lot of modern dryers have automatic sensors that measure humidity in the drum and dry the load accordingly, whether they are heat pumps, vented, condenser or gas models. As soon as they detect that the clothes are dry, the drying cycle is automatically stopped. As well as protecting your clothes from over-drying, this feature also saves energy.

Helpful electronic display

The electronic display shows how much time remains in the cycle. Some models will also indicate when the lint filter and water container (if they have one) need to be emptied.

Clean out your lint trap

In dryers, the main problem is microscopic particles that come off the fabric when it’s heated and tumbled. Fluff like this gets collected in the lint trap, along with other small grit, sand and hair that didn’t get washed out.

Lint traps are usually located in the door opening and just need to be emptied into a bin after each cycle, before being replaced. Make sure you clean the lint filter after every use.

Wipe down the drum and sensor

Dryer sheets and fabric softeners can leave a slight residue inside the drum after a few uses, so it’s wise to wipe it down every month or so with a damp cloth. When cleaning the drum, check to see if there is a sensor inside the drum. If so, give it a wipe. When the machine is clean, its sensor will be able to adjust drying cycles more accurately to the amount of laundry.

Clean those heat exchanges and water reservoirs

The water reservoir in a condenser dryer collects moisture from your clothes. To prevent overflow and potential appliance damage, you should empty this reservoir after every cycle. If your clothes dryer has a heat exchanger, it should be cleaned at least once a month to maintain efficiency. You can usually find it behind a panel or door at the front of the dryer.

Regular servicing

Like any appliance, your condenser dryer benefits from regular servicing. An annual service by a professional can help identify potential issues before they become significant problems.

If you’re on the hunt for a smart clothes dryer, it’s natural to want the best deal possible. That’s why we offer a Price Match Guarantee on our items. If you find a lower price for an identical laundry dryer at one of our approved retailers, just take note of the price and where you saw it.

You can enjoy the cost savings of our Price Match Guarantee with more than just a new dryer, too! So whether you’re shopping for an air fryer, ice cream maker, or Nespresso machine, run the other guy’s price past us first!

If you have any questions about our dryers or even other products like our handheld vacuum options, steam mops, and kitchen sinks, drop our customer service team a line – they’re available 24/7 – at 1300 000 500 or via live chat. Once we have the details, our team will work on confirming the price match.

Get your clothes dryer sooner with Free Next Day Delivery.*

*We deliver to 95% of Australia’s population with Appliances Online’s legendary Free Next Day Delivery, and we can usually get it to you by the next day (Monday to Friday) as long as it’s in stock. Plus, we offer paid Same Day Delivery for in-stock appliances in NSW, QLD, and VIC metro areas if you order before 12 p.m., Monday to Friday. As part of our commitment to sustainability, we’ll also take your old, disconnected appliances away for recycling for free. Call our team 24/7 at 1300 000 500 or message us via the chat icon in the bottom right of this screen.