clothes dryers are an essential part of many households. 17 million units, the Laundry drying in Germany. The Stiftung Warentest has taken the new Generation of tumble driers under the magnifying glass. In contrast to previous Tests, the result is very pleasing to a cheap dryer from Hoover all the devices are in the Test well. Particularly pleasing, the coveted Not “Good” is also a device that costs in the Store for only 400 Euro. The Koenic KTD 83012 A2 is not quite to the top group, but costs only the half of it. In terms of dry performance, he is as good as the Best. Only in the case of the cleaning of the screens and the power consumption of the device from Koenic performs worse.

Low power consumption Stiftung Warentest, A+++dryer review: Good for the environment, bad for the purse

Speaking of electricity. At the environment the dryer will have moved a traditionally bad reputation. This, however, was only entitled in the case of old devices without a heat pump. The electricity cost for a sample household in the current devices in the Test between 23 and 34 euros in the year. The still existing differences among the devices are interesting for the eco-conscience for the cost balance can be neglected.

test winner is the AEG device T9DE87685, it costs but also proud 965 Euro. A cheaper Alternative is another AEG device, the T8DB66580 – the Stiftung Warentest has determined an average price of 535 Euro, a T8DB66580 you can get but starting at 475 Euro. This device is clear of the price-performance winner.

The dry performance is convincing in all devices. There are differences however, in how easy it is to strainers and heat fins can be cleaned. Reminder: screens and louvers must be regularly of the lint freed, otherwise the device may not dry. Long neglect can reset the heat pump, in individual cases, it may even lead to a fire of the dryer.

reliability of tumble dryers

The first Generation of energy-saving dryers with heat pump had a major Problem: In many devices, the heat pumps were, in spite of regular cleaning with lint, after a few years, the devices were defective. A large customer survey, the tester showed that these times are over.

However, the devices are not completely reliable. 16 percent of the owners of dryers, between the ages of 2 and 8 years of complaining about problems. At an average age of 5 years, this is not a low error rate. Is particularly problematic the devices from Miele with nine percent, and the Greek with ten percent error rate. Who wants to have long to enjoy his tumble, should consider, therefore, the Beko DE8635RX. He is the fourth placed in the Test unit, and the median price is according to the test at 760 Euro, it is around 670 euros.

The whole Test, you can view for a fee here at the Foundation goods test.

Stiftung Warentest case of a problem with a dryer – these devices choke on fluff muck

In the Test, a High-Tech dryer perform well. But customers complain that the machine choke on the fluff. Either you pay for new repairs, or help yourself – for example, with a garden pump.

Gernot Kramper