Energy Saving · Autumn 2026
Dehumidifier vs Tumble Dryer: What Drying Your Washing Actually Costs
Radiators, a tumble dryer, or a dehumidifier — the real cost of drying a load of washing indoors this winter, worked out in actual pence.
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Millions of UK households dry a load of washing on the radiators every week without ever asking what it costs. It isn't free — it just doesn't show up as its own line on the bill. Here's what each of the three real options actually costs, worked out honestly.
⏱️ The 30-second version
- 🌡️ Radiators aren't free — they trap moisture indoors, feeding condensation and mould
- 🌀 A tumble dryer costs around 65p a load at today's electricity price
- 💧 A dehumidifier is usually cheaper per load, and dries the room, not just the clothes
- 🔥 The bit nobody explains: almost all the electricity a dehumidifier uses ends up as heat in your room
- ⚠️ That's not cheaper heating than your boiler — it's a genuine bonus, not a replacement
Option 1: Drying on the radiators
This is the default for most UK homes, and it feels free because nothing new switches on. But it isn't free — the cost just hides inside your existing heating bill and your home's condition rather than showing up as its own number.
A wet load of washing holds roughly 1–1.5 litres of water. All of that evaporates into your room air rather than outside. That extra moisture has to go somewhere: it raises indoor humidity, it condenses on your coldest surfaces — windows, external walls, behind furniture — and over time it's one of the biggest contributors to condensation damp and black mould in UK homes. It can also make your heating work slightly harder, since damp air feels cooler than dry air at the same temperature, so people with wet washing draped around the house often nudge the thermostat up without realising why.
The Energy Saving Trust's guidance on condensation specifically names drying clothes indoors on radiators as one of the main everyday causes of excess moisture in UK homes.
We can't give this option an honest pence-per-load figure the way we can the other two, because the cost isn't metered electricity — it's a slower-building cost in mould treatment, redecoration, and marginally higher heating use. That's precisely why it's worth naming rather than ignoring.
Option 2: The tumble dryer
The most straightforward to cost, because it's a single appliance with a rated power draw. A typical vented or condenser tumble dryer draws around 2,000–2,500W and runs for roughly an hour to an hour and a half per load.
The maths: roughly 2.5kWh per load × 26.1p/kWh = ~65p a load. A household doing four loads a week spends roughly £2.60 a week, or around £135 a year, just on drying.
A heat pump tumble dryer is considerably cheaper to run — often drawing under 1,000W — but costs significantly more to buy, so the true comparison depends on how long you'll own it.
Option 3: A dehumidifier
A compressor dehumidifier typically draws 130–350W depending on the model and room conditions, considerably less than a tumble dryer. Left running near an airer of wet washing, it usually takes 4–6 hours to dry a full load, depending on room size and how efficiently the air circulates around the clothes.
The maths: 130–350W for 4–6 hours = roughly 0.6–2.1kWh × 26.1p/kWh = ~16–55p a load, depending on the model. Usually cheaper than the tumble dryer, and it dries the surrounding room at the same time rather than just the clothes in the drum.
The trade-off is time and space — a dehumidifier dries slower and needs the washing on an airer taking up floor space, whereas a tumble dryer is quicker and self-contained. For many households the honest answer is both: a dehumidifier for everyday loads, a tumble dryer kept for when you need something dry fast.
The bit nobody explains: dehumidifiers make free heat
A compressor dehumidifier works by condensing water vapour back into liquid water — and condensing water releases real heat, the same physics that makes a fridge warm the room behind it. Combined with the compressor's own waste heat, essentially all the electricity a dehumidifier uses ends up as warmth in your room. In practical terms, running one in winter is a bit like running a small electric heater that also happens to dry your washing and your walls.
Important honesty check: this doesn't mean a dehumidifier is cheap heating. It converts electricity to heat at roughly the same rate as a plain electric heater — genuinely useful as a side effect, but not remotely as efficient as a heat pump, and certainly not cheaper than gas central heating per unit of warmth. The real win is that you're getting that heat anyway, as a byproduct of drying the air, rather than paying for it twice.
Which is actually worth it?
Choose a dehumidifier if...
- You already have condensation or damp problems
- You dry washing indoors regularly
- You have space for an airer and don't need clothes dry in an hour
Keep the tumble dryer if...
- You need clothes dry quickly, not overnight
- You have limited space for an airer
- You already own one — a dehumidifier is an addition, not always a replacement
A few worth considering
Four established compressor dehumidifiers suited to whole-room drying, not just spot dehumidifying.
MeacoDry Arete® One 12L
2-in-1 dehumidifier + HEPA air purifier · designed and tested in the UK
The best-evidenced product in this roundup. Meaco publish their extraction rate and power draw across six different room conditions rather than one flattering headline figure — at a realistic UK autumn condition (10°C, 60% humidity) it draws just 130W and pulls almost 2 litres of moisture a day. Built-in HEPA filtration doubles it as an air purifier, and the 5-year warranty is the longest of any unit here.
De'Longhi Tasciugo AriaDry Multi 14L
3-stage filtration with active carbon · R290 refrigerant · laundry mode
A genuine 3-stage filtration system — dust, allergen and active carbon — backed by a real third-party Asthma & Allergy Friendly certification. Made with a minimum of 30% recycled plastic. Currently discounted from its listed price, though as with any single-retailer "was" price, treat the saving as indicative rather than guaranteed.
Pro Breeze 20L Max Extraction
Laundry mode · continuous drainage option · 946 reviews
The largest capacity here, suited to bigger rooms or whole-house damp problems rather than just one load of washing. Pro Breeze's own listing states two different running costs (8p and 10p an hour) — we've used 8p since it's the one that actually matches their disclosed 0.31kWh energy consumption figure. One verified reviewer notes it's louder in practice than the stated 38dB, worth bearing in mind for a bedroom.
DREO Smart Dehumidifier 512S
App control · dual drainage options · auto mode
The only unit here with full smart WiFi control and an intelligent auto mode. 38dB is unusually quiet for a 20L-rated unit. Note that 20L/day ratings are measured at 30°C/80% humidity, the industry test standard — real extraction in a cooler UK winter room will be meaningfully lower, which is true of every unit in this category, not just this one.
The Meaco draws roughly half the power of the others for a similar job — its published extraction-rate table is also the most transparent of the four, testing real UK-like conditions rather than a single warm-lab headline figure.
Frequently asked questions
See also: Energy Efficiency Bundle · Insulation guide
Published 7 August 2026. Costs based on the July 2026 Ofgem price cap of 26.1p/kWh. Appliance run times and power draws are typical figures — actual costs vary by model, room size and load. This is general guidance, not a substitute for checking your specific appliance's rated power draw.