To not allow the tumble drier to be used apart from emergencies

Last weekend, my nephew's family, touring from New Zealand, had a mound of washing which had to be dried quickly as they were staying just one night. A good thing I had an efficient tumble drier then! I'm about to use mine to dry the washing I didn't put out today because it looked like rain - and it did rain! My smart meter doesn't show excessive use when the drier is on.

Hmm.

I would not use the tumble dryer if its good drying weather. And I use a clothes airer when I bring them in off the line. My towels though are much softer if tumble dried and duvet covers need less ironing. I think we should be economical with energy and money. But I think I might have let my guest dry his washing. I think he may have been embarrassed being asked to take it out. Sometimes guests use things more than we would but its only short term so we ignore it.

I did have a tumble dryer when I was at FT work and teenage DDs used towels like disposables! When we moved house I never replaced it and have not missed it.

Gramaretto I do think, unless you expressly told your house guest not to use it and he did, that it was rude and unreasonable to make him remove his stuff. He was being responsible and sorting out his laundry.

I have never owned or had the desire to own a tumble dryer. I do heaps of washing and manage perfectly well without one. Just saying.

I can’t imagine begrudging a house guest the use of the tumble dryer, especially a lad of 17.
Why did you have him to stay if you were going to count the cost like that?

Eugh are we only supposed to wash clothes and towels etc if they are dirty or smell. Towels don't really get dirty when used for drying clean bodies so wouldn't be washed very often.

Yes, you were I’m afraid. What’s the point of having a tumble drier if it can’t be used when the weather is wet? If you are concerned as to the amount of electricity it uses, get rid of it.

I haven’t seen in any posts the fact that using tumble dryers all the time wears out clothes. All the lint that has to be cleaned from filter is fibers from the fabric.

Obviously some people don’t have any alternative, but I prefer to avoid using dryer if possible.

Like Grammaretto, I get annoyed at younger people who have long showers, do washing up under a running tap, wash clothes, towels etc even if not dirty and waste food, but I probably wouldn’t reprimand a guest.

Do not feel bad I am sure he has not even given what you said a second thought.

Towels dry. Smart meter says I've used 30p, but I also have the television on, so for just the tumble dryer it's probably a bit less. I've never costed for the television.

I use mine all the time, no washing line as the birds crap all over the washing. I think you should have told him in advance it was out of bounds rather than make him remove his stuff especially as he's leaving tomorrow. So yes you were unreasonable in my opinion but bit late now.

I think I would have not said anything as your guest was leaving the following day. Its your house and your rules though.
As others have said please get your drier checked or get rid of it for reasons of safety.
GrandmaKT I thought your comments were a bit harsh.

I wish, Lemongrove! No, this is rural Scotland, which makes it even more astonishing, when you consider the wind power we have available.

I see no problem with having an old tumble dryer and just keeping it for emergencies, it may be less efficient than a more modern one but you need to take into account all the energy consumed when manufacturing a new one and the raw materials consumed in making it. That may well make the older tumble dryer the more efficient.

Fires in tumble driers are very much a recent phenomena so for that reason as well on older tumble drier may be more safer as well. I always think the most energy efficient way to run any machinery, whether car or tumble drier, is to run them until they fail and only then replace them.

As for occasional use, that strikes me as admirably ecological. There will be times, like, for example this year's wet spring when constantly drying clothes on racks indoors is causing excessive moisture and condensation indoors and it is necessary to dry things in a tumble drier.

What I wouldn't have done was ask someone to stop the tumble drier and take things out. I would simply explain that it was much better for the environment and global warming if, where possible, clothes are air dried rather than tumble dried. He will have to live with global arming far longer than we will.

I don't think the modern ones use up as much electricity. I use one in the Winter. If I hang out things during the better weather, I put things that might need ironing in for about two minutes and they come out smooth.

I find during the Winter months that you often come home to wet washing.

Yes, I admit people didn't use them years ago and I am perhaps much lazier than previous generations of my family but I guess one could say that of many modern appliances. After all, years ago we didn't have electric light, TV's, refrigerators or telephones but most people have these things now. Life changes.

Yes, I'm afraid I think YABU. A tumble dryer costs about 36p an hour to run (that's a modern one I presume). If you begrudge your young house guest that, I dread to think what you have been feeding him on! I feel it is much more important to make guests feel welcome and would never dream of forbidding guests from using anything in my house, let alone instructing them to take washing out of a dryer that is already in use!!

Kensington Sue?

Yes, YABU. It was a one-off and the cost was unlikely to break the bank.

I use a TD for almost all laundry as I don't have easy access to an outdoor line. In fact, I've recently had to look at my house deeds, for another purpose, and discovered that in the area where I live, we are not permitted to hang laundry outdoors!

It's been raining here all day. I'm about to put my towels in the tumble dryer. I have nowhere in my house to dry anything except over the radiators. I'll check the smart meter reading and let you know how much it cost to dry them.

I wouldn’t use any electrical item that was as old as that.

I use mine all the time,I always worked full time so it was simpler to use the dryer than hang washing out to be rained on ...and rewashed .My bills aren't significantly high and I will continue to use it even though I only work part time now .

New tumble driers are energy efficient, use mine all the time. You have to clear filter each time to ensure efficiency and safety. Maybe you could have handled the situation better.

Personally I would not use a 40 year old machine.

We have one that is not often used, but we are contemplating moving into a hose that only has a tiny courtyRd, so no room for a washing line. Definitely nowhere for a ‘pulley’, but also no space for a tumble drier either! What to do? Naturally this hadn’t occurred to DH until I pointed it out!

I think YABU unless you had told your guest in advance not to use the tumble dryer. If he was living in a household where a tumble dryer is used regularly I don't think it would have even occurred to him that there was anything wrong in using it. His washing probably wouldn't dry overnight on the pulley anyway.
I would just be pleased that he'd done his own washing.