Dehumidifier to help dry clothes during winter?

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Cherios

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#319927 14-Jun-2025 22:09

Hi all,

I noticed some dehumidifier models have a "laundry function", most I have looked at roughly consume ~400w for ~20L and up models and are a fraction of the cost of a heat pump dryer. I was just wondering what everyone's opinion on it.

I looked at getting a dryer, but anything that's not a heatpump dryer seems like an energy hog and decent ones costs around 1.3k upwards for 8kg.

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#3384154 14-Jun-2025 22:19

I use to live in a flat in Wellington, and would use to dry clothes on using a dehumidifier, long time ago. Costs seemed OK from what I remembered, would dry clothes oK on a clothes horse.

halper86

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#3384161 15-Jun-2025 07:16

In my flat we are drying inside at the moment due to winter, running the dehumidifier to take the brunt of the moisture. Seems to be working ok, only minor condensation on the windows. Typical for this time of year.

CrashAndBurn

670 posts

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#3384162 15-Jun-2025 07:28

We have a Mitsubishi one for years. It keeps the temp inside the house lower as well.

Batman

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#3384167 15-Jun-2025 07:48

best to have the clothes in a very small room, no overlap of fabric, completely air tight room, and then run the machine and it works best

panther2

374 posts

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#3384177 15-Jun-2025 08:49

we use our dehumidifier occasionally for helping with drying inside, especially if the cloths are too wet for the dryer. don't notice any difference using the cloths function to normal mode though

CrashAndBurn

670 posts

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#3384272 15-Jun-2025 09:10

panther2:

we use our dehumidifier occasionally for helping with drying inside, especially if the cloths are too wet for the dryer. don't notice any difference using the cloths function to normal mode though

Our laundry mode basically has 12-hour time limit. Normal mode just keeps on going until the tank is full.

mudguard

2122 posts

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#3384273 15-Jun-2025 09:23

I think I worked out our ordinary clothes dryer costs about 50c-$1 per hour. We use it three or four times per week. But the good thing is that it never seems to take more than an hour.

I also have an irrational hatred of clothes horses and even more so having them inside 🤣

I mean someone can do the maths. How long it takes a dehumidifier to dry a kg of clothing versus a normal dryer.

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SATTV

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#3384277 15-Jun-2025 10:52

As I get older I have learned a couple of things in life.

Use the right tool for the job.

The cheapest price does not always give the best results.

The cheaper option can cost more in the long run.

If it was me, I would look for a heat pump air dryer, that way it does not need ventilation.

However if you do go down the option of a rack and dehumidifier, add a fan to blow over the clothes, this will speed up drying conciderably.

John

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alasta

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#3384288 15-Jun-2025 11:08

I used to do this before I got a clothes dryer. It worked fine but would take about 12 hours to get the clothes dry - much slower than a clothes dryer.

tweake

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#3384292 15-Jun-2025 11:42

Cherios:

Hi all,

I noticed some dehumidifier models have a "laundry function", most I have looked at roughly consume ~400w for ~20L and up models and are a fraction of the cost of a heat pump dryer. I was just wondering what everyone's opinion on it.

I looked at getting a dryer, but anything that's not a heatpump dryer seems like an energy hog and decent ones costs around 1.3k upwards for 8kg.

it depends on what the goal is a bit. as mentioned time is a factor.

i dry laundry on a rack inside all the time. most clothes dry over night, some items take 2 days. this is with no fan or dehumidifier. btw the humidity in the house doesn't change because of it. a dehumidifier might speed things up a bit, but your dehumidifying the house to dry the clothes, which slows it down and adds cost. a simple fan would really speed it up for little cost.

laundry mode afaik is simply setting the dehumidifier to run constantly.

if you want it dried quickly i suggest using a dryer. if you don't care how long, a drying rack will work fine in a reasonable house. if its a house with issues, ie you need a dehumidifier to keep mold at bay, then don't use a drying rack.

tweake

2398 posts

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#3384294 15-Jun-2025 11:44

CrashAndBurn:

We have a Mitsubishi one for years. It keeps the temp inside the house lower as well.

it should be keeping the house warmer, unless your talking about dehumid mode on a heat pump.

tweake

2398 posts

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#3384298 15-Jun-2025 11:50

Batman:

best to have the clothes in a very small room, no overlap of fabric, completely air tight room, and then run the machine and it works best

yes/no yes your basically making a heatpump dryer. not good if the clothes dry faster than the dehumidifier can soak it up, as it will make the rooms humidity level go up.

however if you do it in a big room or leave the door open, is that the air volume of the house will soak up and disperse the moisture which is what stops the humidity level from noticeable increasing even when there is no dehumidifier. a small amount of moisture from drying clothes in a house load of air, is nothing in the scheme of things and normal ventilation removes it.

scuwp

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#3384299 15-Jun-2025 12:00

If you can manage it, get a heatpump drier. They are seriously good.

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KiwiSurfer

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#3384322 15-Jun-2025 14:40

As we generally hang our clothes outside in the summer I didn't think it was worth getting a dryer for something we'd use only in winter.

Generally our approach is currently:-

Is the weather good? Line dry outside. We use either or both a fixed washing line outside and/or some clothes racks.
Is the weather bad? Line dry inside (using a clothes rack) in the spare room and switch on the dehumidifier.
Is the weather good now but likely to change AND someone is home during the day? Line dry outside using a clothes rack under a bit of shelter, that way when the weather turns it's easy to just relocate the clothes rack inside.

I looked at the cost of running the dehumidifier and worked out it'd add a few dollars if that to our power bills given we are not always using it. At that rate there is no sense getting a proper dryer given the payback period would be years if not decades.

As we normally dry overnight I also just choose the half-speed mode and a target of 50%. By the time I wake up it is all dry and I put the clothes away before I set off to work.

The backup option is the local landromat -- if we need the clothes dry within the hour (for e.g. special events etc) we can just pop it in the industrial dryer there for a few dollars and it's all done within 20-25mins. Maybe once a year or so.

My husband and I debated whether to get a washing/dryer combo when we moved into our new place last year. I'm happy we decided against a dryer. I know friends who have dryers who don't use it and use dehumidifiers and/or line drying instead.

In the winter dehumidifiers also have the additional benefit of warming up as byproduct so less need for turning on the heat which saves money too.

YMMV. We are just a two-person household so don't wash clothes all that often hence the calculus for us is pretty much stacked against 'investing' into a dryer only to pay power on top of that for the dyer.

mudguard

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#3384343 15-Jun-2025 15:03

KiwiSurfer:

As we generally hang our clothes outside in the summer I didn't think it was worth getting a dryer for something we'd use only in winter.

Generally our approach is currently:-

Is the weather good? Line dry outside. We use either or both a fixed washing line outside and/or some clothes racks.
Is the weather bad? Line dry inside (using a clothes rack) in the spare room and switch on the dehumidifier.
Is the weather good now but likely to change AND someone is home during the day? Line dry outside using a clothes rack under a bit of shelter, that way when the weather turns it's easy to just relocate the clothes rack inside.

I guess it depends where you live. I'm in Auckland so I might put out and take in washing three times a day. I can't be bothered with it. Do washing, pretty much straight into the dryer apart from some sensitive items and it's done an hour later.

I want to minimise the time spent doing chores so am happy to pay shorten that time.

We use about 19kWh per day in a two person household with two heatpumps running a lot. I can't rely tell what four hours of dryer use does. I assume a dehumidifier uses very little even over twelve hours?

Edit. Our dryer uses 1.77kWh

And the first 20L dehumidifier I found (Mitsubishi) was 0.365kWh. So that over twelve hours 4.3kWh so I guess it depends how much laundry you have

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