Anyone never owned a tumble dryer or microwave? - how do you manage?

I have never had a tumble drier. Dry things on a rack in the back room overnight.
I wouldn’t be without my microwave now that I cannot have pans of boiling water being unsteady on my feet. Cook potatoes, vegetables, porridge, eggs, sauces, meals, defrost etc.

I didn't have either a tumbler dryer or a microwave until we moved into this house in 2016.

I only use the dryer in the worst winter weather in other words from the end of October until April here and only for bed linen and denims. DH's shirt sleeves which are never long enough in any case shrink if dried in the dryer and I itch so I can't wear either my shirts or pants if they are dried in it, so hardly the most useful gadget we ever spent money on.

It is however a boon when drying bed-mats and mattress covers!

The washing machine spins well enough for most washing to dry overnight in the back kitchen, during the winter and in the summer I dry everything outside.

The microwave was bought in a charity shop as DH loves popcorn, apart from that we only use it for warming things like meat balls the day after they were made, or if they come straight out of the freezer. We may start using it more now that the electricity prices are going up.

Only use the tumble drier for certain things. In the winter I put heavy items like towels and duvet covers on the radiators and tumble light items until just dry. With energy bills set to rise horrendously don’t think I’ll be using it unless absolutely necessary.

I've always thought microwaves probably use less energy than the oven (baked potatoes 10min v 1h approx)?

kali2 ''A single tumble dryer could be responsible for releasing 120m micro plastic fibres into the air each year, a study has found''

only if you have man made fibres in there, not if cotton, linen, viscose, wool etc. Many of us make a point of buying/making only from natural fibres

I have a tumble drier but don't use it as too costly. Use a multi rack which I put in the conservatory on days when I can't dry washing outdoors. Dishwasher is stacked as I use dishes and when full is switched on. As I live alone this can be 2/3 days unless I am batch cooking. Microwave is a combi so saves on using the large free standing electric cooker.

Had a tumble drier when for babies clothes but gave up. I love to see washing hanging on a line so as others say do washing on a clear day. We have a microwave which I'm trying to get my husband to let me get rid of. Used only for warming milk and baked beans! Such a waste of space in my little kitchen

Miele washer and Miele tumble dryer. Brilliant! I dry everything on a low heat. It means that nothing needs ironing.
I have a microwave but don't use it lots. If I had to choose between the two, then I would keep the tumbler and happily get rid of the microwave.

I have no tumble drier and love the smell of washing dried outside. At this time of year tend to do washing in the evening so that I can put it out first thing in the morning to get dry. Even if there is little breeze and have to dry it more inside on clothes horse still smells better and cheaper than a tumble drier.

I have had a microwave for years and would not want to be without it.
I had a tumble dryer for a long time and did find it useful, especially for finishing off after bringing things in from drying outdoors. I didn't replace it when it died and not sure where I could put one in this house. They are definitely useful.

When I had a family all living at home, we always had a tumble drier, microwave, and dishwasher.

Currently I am living alone in rented accommodation, with none of the above. I have to say, I don't miss the microwave at all, quite happy to heat things up in a pan on the stove. Same goes for the dishwasher, I'm only cooking for myself, so there's not much washing up, and I find it quite therapeutic. I miss the tumble drier for big stuff like bath sheets and bedding, but always hang the washing outside, and find I can dry it off completely indoors by using radiator racks (cheap from Amazon) or draping duvet covers over the bannisters. Hopefully my electricity bill is being helped, too.

When I buy my next home, I doubt very much if I will purchase any of these appliances again.

I've lived without a washing machine, tumble dryer, vacuum cleaner and TV for years . I also made food from scratch .
I'd cycle a minimum of five often ten miles a day as well .

No wonder - I weighed less than eight stone and had trouble keeping weight on !

My head would hit the pillow at ten and I'd be out like a light .

I also read a great deal .

These days ,I can't manage without my mod cons and I enjoy watching the TV !

And I don't feel guilty !

My tumble dryer and microwave are both in the garage as they are rarely used. I love the smell of clothes from the outside line or I put them on the clothes horse inside to dry them in the winter.
My microwave is mainly used for my porridge and warming milk.

I have never owned a tumble dryer.
In good weather, washing gets pegged out on the line outside.

In wintertime, my washing gets draped around the airing cupboard and radiator towel rails. Next day, everything is dry and ready to put away.

I have owned several microwaves since the 1980’s.
I find them very useful for heating up food, but I hardly ever use it for actual cooking.
Also, have never owned a dishwasher either.

Never had a tumble dryer, even when working. At this time of the year we put the washing on a clothes horse in the sitting room to dry over night. Our sitting room stays lovely and warm due to the wood burner. In the better weather it’s easy, outside and you can’t beat the smell of fresh air on clothes or bedding

What a waste of money, all these barely used tumbles are.

Esmay it’s true how many mod cons we did without. I wonder how we managed.
It’s good that we’re more environmentally and certainly more financially aware, but I’m with you, I don’t feel guilty about what I do use.

I have both and use my microwave all the time, but only use the dryer if I need something in a hurry. I agree that they do wear out clothes faster, the edges of towels and so on.
But I did use the dryer for things like school clothes (to reduce the ironing) and baby clothes, as you need them fast!

A lot of you have mentioned dishwashers, I would always have one, I believe that they're actually more economical in terms of water use and water heating

Just use whatever makes life easier.
If you need a lot help, use it.
No point wearing yourself out by making hard work of something.

I love my tumble drier - fluffy towels and no washing hanging over the landing or spreading its wet fingers all over the house.
I also love my microwave - though don't use it as much as I should.
And my dishwasher? Love that, too. Dirty crockery is hidden in there until I switch it on.

Frogs

In answer Teacherannes comment above our dehumidifier is quite small (no where the size of a tumble dryer and not that heavy) it has a handle on top and can be moved easily so storage isn’t a problem.

Interesting, so I could keep one in a cupboard or in my wardrobe ( have a bungalow) and bring it out to use with airer in bathroom for an hour or so, then put away again? I might do a energy cost comparison with a tumble dryer to see how much cheaper it is. As I only wash three of four loads a month, it would have to be a lot cheaper to change I think.

I’ve just looked up the energy used to run a tumble dryer for one cycle and the energy used to run a dehumidifier for ten hours - the time the web site said it took to thoroughly dry clothes. (assuming my maths is correct!)

Amazingly, it was almost the same!

Tumble dryer - 4.5 kWh

Dehumidifier - 0.46 kWh per hour ie 4.6 kWh for ten hours or overnight.

Obviously the costs are going to vary considerably based on different models as I think newer ones will be more energy efficient than older ones. I thought it was interesting to see how similar they are although I’m not sure if you need to run a humidifier for that long.

I’ve not worked out current costs based on kWh as I don’t think I really want to know! I physically cannot hang washing outside and do not have an ideal space to hang wet clothes indoors so will stick to my tumble dryer.

I took my washing line down many years ago and just use my tumble dryer. I've never had anything shrink at all. The best part about it is it actually saves electricity. This is because if you take out the garments when they're dry and either hang them up or lay them flat for a while they don't need ironing. I hardly do any ironing it's absolutely not necessary. If you look up electricity usage ironing is up there with the kettle for highest electricity usage.

Many years ago when my granddaughter was at school, my daughter used to say to her in the morning: 'Hang on J, I'll just iron your shirt' - then promptly put it in the tumble dryer for a minute or two! That was it, her ironing, too, all the creases out...... of course it had the added benefit of being nice and warm to put on.