European washers & dryers operate quite differently than U.S. units. Some of our clients will tell us that their European dryer either takes a long time to dry or never does dry the clothes.

A) Of course the very first tip is that the lint screen be cleaned after EVERY load. It has been explained that dryers do not dry the clothes, they remove moisture from the clothes and therefore the clothes end up dry. The moisture is exhausted out the vent, if the lint screen is blocked with lint, the moisture can not be exhausted out of the dryer and the clothes won’t dry.

B) Many people like to use the fabric softening sheets in their dryers, these should NOT be used in the Miele and Asko dryers, the lint screens on these units are extremely fine and the residues the sheets use to soften the clothes actually block air flow, these manufacturers specifically state in the owner’s manual, DO NOT use these products.

C) An important thing to keep in mind is that the bulk of the drying is done during the spin cycle of the washer, therefore, if the washer is set to a low speed spin and depending on the heaviness of the clothes, they may be too wet when they are put in the dryer. With heavier clothes, a higher speed spin in the washer is required for the dryer to be able to properly dry the clothes in a timely fashion.

D) Dryers are also not designed to vent vertically, although many homes are built with the laundry room situated where the only direction for the dryer to vent is through the roof. This can cause the house ducting to build up with lint, restricting the exhaust flow as well as the dryer not being able to push the heavy, humid air up through the roof, causing the moisture from the clothes to remain in the dryer.