Gone are the days of ordinary run-of-the-mill clothes dryers. Well, that’s not entirely true, as most manufacturers still produce a base-line model, but for the most part, buying a new dryer is akin to trying to pick out a new car. Which flashy colors and bells and whistles do you prefer?
Here’s a quick guide to help you narrow down your choices, and perhaps introduce you to certain features that you may have never though were available in a dryer.
Choosing a Dryer – The Essentials

Of course, the first choice you have to make before you even begin thinking of features is whether to purchase a gas or electric dryer. Electric dryers are less expensive than their gas counterparts, but they will cost more to operate over the long run. Of course, in order to use a gas dryer, you do need to have natural gas available in the home. If you go with an electric dryer, you will need a dedicated 240-volt receptacle to power it.
You also need to be sure the dryer you are interested in purchasing will fit in the area you are going to be installing it. Most compact models are approximately 24 inches wide, whereas traditional-sized dryers range between 27 and 30 inches in width.
Newer dryers forego the old thermostat system used in our parent’s dryers. Today’s better dryers have sensors that are capable of measuring the amount of moisture in the clothing. These sensors help to reduce over-drying which can ruin or shrink certain fabrics. Dryers that feature sensors may be slightly more expensive than a base model, but the benefit is definitely worth the extra money.
On the other end of the dial, many of the newer dryers feature highly technical and detailed controls which can be confusing for some people. If all you’re looking for is for your clothes to be washed, choose an easy-to-use dryer with standardized controls (and a sensor).
Choosing a Dryer – The Luxuries
Some of the top manufacturers of dryers have recently begun to offer many tantalizing features to their top-of-the-line appliances. One such luxury is steam. Dryers can now be purchased with the ability to steam your clothing to help reduce wrinkles in recently washed clothes, or to help perk up clothes that have been in the closet for a while. Dryers that feature steam are currently only available from the big-name commercial companies and as such, they are the most expensive on the market. However, as more appliance manufacturers begin incorporating steam into their designs, the price for these units should begin to drop.
If your dryer is going to be located near a bedroom or a living area, you may want to look for one that features more insulation and a better than average suspension. Low-end dryers can be quite loud when they are in operation, so check out the db level of the new unit you are considering. The lower the db, the quieter the machine is. If the db level is not indicated, you can be sure that it’s one of the louder dryers on the market.
The Energy Star label will give you all of the information you need to know about the dryer’s efficiency. The better the efficiency, the more expensive the unit will be. But remember, a more efficient dryer will cost less to run and it helps reduce your carbon footprint as well, so purchase the most efficient dryer you can comfortably afford.