Best Tumble Dryer 2021 – Buyer’s Guide

The Bosch Serie 6 is one of the most energy efficient condenser dryers available.

It dries clothes economically and is an energy class B machine (which for a dryer is pretty good). With a large 8kg drum and an anti-vibration function damping the noise to just 65dB, it means business.

The eco-silence drive means it uses magnets rather than brushes to rotate the motor making it close to silent and reducing damage to parts inside the machine.

Everybody has experienced the annoyance of turning on a cycle and noticing you missed some clothes. A nice added feature to the Bosch Serie 6 is that you can add clothes to your dry even after you have started the cycle. This is a nifty feature, especially in busy homes. It is a condenser tumble dryer which is suitable for any home in the UK.

If you are looking for a sleek tumble dryer with convenient drying, the Hotpoint Aquarius is the perfect choice.

Boasting a 9 kg drum size, it is well suited to families or house shares. Equipped with essential settings like sensor drying, delay timer and specialised programmes, you will have full control of your laundry. The Hotpoint Aquarius even has a reverse tumble action, ensuring clothes don’t get tangled while they are drying.

Specialised programmes take care of your fabrics whether delicate or hardy, with Fibre Care technology that automatically selects lower temperatures to protect certain fabrics during the cycle. This model offers a delayed timer function too, so you can decide when is most convenient to dry your clothes. No need to keep everyone awake at night – why not set it as a house alarm for the morning instead?!

It is fast to dry and easy to use, making it one of the best condenser models available. Simple and effective, this machine is well suited to any family home or busy household.

First of all, we love how this machine is available in silver. Washing machines of this colour are commonly available, but dryers aren’t so it is a great pick if you’re conscious of this.

Now onto performance. There are a lot of features which make this dryer a good option for busy homes who need a bit of help with attention to detail. Sensors prevent the clothes from drying out too much which can make them hard and difficult to iron and could also save you a bit of energy as the time could be reduced. Letting the clothes dry naturally for the last little bit of the process can help them stay their best, too.

Auto cool reduces the temperature of your machine and its contents in the final phase of the cycle. By blowing hot air into the drum, you will be able to bring your clothes out of there immediately without risking them being too hot to handle.

There is also Anti-Crease technology as standard. The drum is rotated every 60 seconds to reduce the strain on the clothes and help keep them moving, so they don’t become wrinkled. Even if it takes you a few hours to get them out, they’ll remain in this state.

It is simple to work as all you need to do is turn the dial. There are three settings which give you low heat which is great for sensitive clothing which still needs a bit of encouragement, plus a half load option – a great price for what you get.

Sensor drying, 24-hour delay timer, 14 dedicated programmes and a large porthole – this machine is packed with lots of features to keep your life as easy as possible.

Drying is efficient as it uses the perfect amount of energy without leaving your clothes damp or looking worse for wear. Using the Hoover Wizard One Touch app, you can keep an eye on the wash remotely and download new programmes if you have any specific needs.

Reverse drum action keeps clothes crease-free by ensuring they don’t become too clumped together or forced into one shape for prolonged periods. No more soaking wet socks entangled with your duvet cover.

We love the ability to choose the colour. Black, white or graphite are solid choices, so if you have your eye on this model but are worried about aesthetics, then you have nothing to be concerned about.

It is lightweight compared to other models (almost half of the weight). So if you are fitting it yourself and it is going to require a bit of jiggling to get it into the right position, it will reduce the effort. We are disappointed it is only B rated, however. This isn’t a rare rating for dryers of its type but if you’re concerned about running costs, then it may be best looking for a heat pump option.

Bring style into your kitchen with the GTN39250GCW heat pump dryer. Grundig’s top-of-the-range machine combines efficiency and class to bring you this sleek and stylish appliance.

With impressive heat-pump technology, it keeps energy consumption to a minimum without compromising power. Sensor drying means that it senses when clothes are dry and ends the cycle so they aren’t over-dried or damaged. Anti-crease functions are automatic so clothes are kept at their best when drying.

The Grundig GTN39250GCW boasts a 9 kg capacity so is perfect for busy and bustling households always on the go. There is even a light on the inside of the drum, ensuring you never leave anything behind. Auto Cool Down makes unloading easier and quicker, as the cold air allows you to get clothes out without burning yourself.

There are a number of different programmes to suit specific fabrics, with delicates, cotton, bedding and denim settings available. The LED screen on the front of the machine displays the settings and duration of the cycle. This will keep you in full control. The Grundig condensor machine is a reliable and efficient dryer, especially for those that have a busy home.

A very clever tumble dryer which will help you out both time and effort wise. Sensors within the drum will monitor moisture and temperature levels, so drying times can be adjusted to suit whatever you are doing.

Your clothes won’t spend too long in the dryer, which will save you money on your bills as well as keeping your clothes in good condition – if they get too dry, it could damage them. Likewise, they won’t come out with a few hours of air drying still to go.

Clothes can be dried in as little as half an hour, and it also works to reduce the amount of time you will spend in front of the ironing board: a gentle tumble and just the right amount of heat limits the creases made.

The reverse tumble method also ensures that no clothes will get snagged or caught in the machine, and the diamond-embossed design prevents snagging while the drum is turning, and the water becomes a cushioning barrier. Plus, you won’t find a that a stray sock has been caught up by everything else and remains damp when you take the load out.

Now for the selling point – it is another of the latest smart pics. You can control the DV90N8288AX/EU from anywhere using your smartphone, checking in on progress and starting/pausing/stopping it according to your needs.

This technology comes at a price, but as seeing as it is as modern as you can get, you aren’t going to have to be updating it anytime soon. Look after it, and it will be a fab investment piece.

With an 8kg capacity that is ideal for any medium households, this is a perfect tumble dryer for a reasonable price.

It is also economical to run. Using heat pump technology, the hot air is recycled around the machine, so it uses less energy. Sensor drying technology also can optimise the amount of heat and time it takes to dry the clothes. Not only do they not get too dry but it won’t keep running when you don’t need it to.

Connect up your compatible smartphone to control it from anywhere, or download extra cycles which are best catered to your lifestyle thanks to NFC connectivity. The programmes which are actually already installed include anti-crease, cotton, quick dry, jeans and wool.

As with every heat pump dryer, the actual drying process is a little more time-consuming. But the end result is worthy of the wait which is a positive. We like how the water tank is actually in the door, so you can see how full it is. This is opposed to having to rely on a warning sign or signal. Sometimes, common sense prevails.

There are two filters to clean, one of which is rather spongy and requires some more cleaning than the other. However, the manual is very explanatory, and every setting is well described so you can get the best use out of it from the first go.

Largely a condenser dryer but with heat pump technology, this is a model which has the best of both worlds.

The heat pump keeps running costs down by reusing the hot air that would otherwise be lost. All of the excess moisture is stored in the container ready for you to empty when full. As it will hold 9kg of clothing at any one time, it is ideal for medium sized families where a wash load of clothing always seems to be in need of a dry.

If you suffer from allergies, there is a good chance you already have a washing machine and vacuum cleaner which can keep most at bay. This tumble dryer is also perfect for your collection. The Allergy Plus programme uses higher temperatures to remove pollen and dust mites from clothing without damaging it.

Now for the people who are a bit lazy when it comes to caring for their appliances. The SelfCleaning Condenser™ uses some of the moisture caused by every cycle to clean itself, so it can continue to work for longer without needing any attention from you.

There is a couple of features missing which can be found on other models. This includes a delay timer, end of cycle alert (it is just a buzzer) or childproof lock. But if you’re one who does the drying there and then and gets on with other things while it is running, it isn’t going to be a massive issue. The sensor works well and clothes are left uncreased.

Coming in a striking graphite colour, this efficient and roomy dryer is ideal for medium households where drying can often be an effort.

The sensors will detect how dry the clothing is, so it won’t continue for any longer than necessary. This keeps running costs down. Once it detects they are indeed dry, a blast of cool air will fill the drum to make the clothes safe to remove once the dry is done.

If you encounter any issues, don’t go running to the repairman or grabbing the toolbox before you have consulted the Samsung app. It gives you all the troubleshooting you’d ever need in the form of Smart Check.

As it is a heat pump model, it is best if you don’t overload the drum. Understand that it takes a little while longer to dry than other versions, too. We say a little though because for a heat pump model, it is actually only marginally slower than a condenser.

Because it is gentle in operation, clothes do come out well cared for and in that perfect ‘not too wet but not too dry’ state.

With a pretty generous 7 kg capacity and an extra-wide door to help you load and unload the drum easier, this Indesit tumble dryer is great for families and larger households who need to do quite a bit of bulk drying.

It is good at drying too; using reverse spin technology, it keeps the clothes separated for more efficient drying and reduces the crease likelihood, which in turn reduces the time you spend standing over the ironing board.

There is also 12 drying settings, from choosing the particular materials (cotton/acrylics/synthetics) to a refresh setting and choosing the specific weight of the load for better optimisation.

As it is a venting model, there is a vent hose supplied so you can get going as soon as it is all installed. Some of the drying modes take a bit longer than those of other models, but the drying level was high, so this is something we could happily live with!

The only niggle is that the timer dial only rotates clockwise, starting at the 140-minute mark and going down to 0. If you want to select 80 minutes, for example, going past this means it has to be turned again. This is a bit annoying at the start, trying to get the right speed, but soon becomes the norm.

The Beko DRVS73W is impressive for many reasons, but mostly because of its load capacity.

It can handle drying large volumes of laundry in each cycle, saving you money on multiple drying cycles. It comes with indicator lights for drying, filter cleaning, end of cycle and programme progress. The timed dry will go up to 140 minutes and an auto cool down phase to prepare laundry for the next of cycle.

The Beko is a freestanding vented machine so needs a vent to filter out hot air from the machine. It’s a bit on the noisy side when compared with other models, too. It also isn’t as energy efficient as alternatives with an energy class of C.

To say these are the only downsides, we’d still be happy having it in our home. Overall it is an effective machine and suitable for most layouts.

A mini tumble dryer designed to fit on a worktop or table, this Cookology vented dryer is perfect for anyone short on space or who would like a dryer for a motorhome or mobile home.

All of the features are selected with just one dial, which gives you both temperature and time adjustments. Air dry is great for refreshing clothes without heat, and there is also the traditional hot drying which will speed up the process. You can set the time of each depending on the load size.

There is also a cool setting, which can be selected after a cycle finishes to reduce wrinkles and also make the clothes safer to unload. Like many other compact tabletop tumble dryers, it is also wall mountable so you can save even more space and have it at just the right height.