Everything you need to know about ventless dryers
For when you're not allowed to cut a hole in the wall
Credit:
Reviewed / Dave Swanson
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About 80% of American homes are equipped with clothes dryers. Most of these are traditional hot boxes—the kind that dry your clothes with hot air and vent it outside your home.
But what about homes that lack space for a laundry room, or where a landlord or condo association forbids punching a hole in the wall for a vent? Is there anything to save us from a life of hoarding quarters for the laundromat?
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Fortunately, yes: The answer is ventless dryers. While ventless drying has limitations, it can also provide real consumer benefits. Here we'll go over the basics of ventless drying, so you can determine if they might be the right solution for your home.
In Europe, they're just called "dryers"
Since most ventless dryers are made by European manufacturers, emphasis is placed on cycles rather than customizable settings.
While ventless technology might seem unusual to most Americans, like washer and dryer combo units (which use ventless technology), ventless dryers have been popular in Europe for generations.
American consumers are unusual in the appliance world, preferring large, vented dryers. In Europe, however, small homes in centuries-old buildings mean that large, vented units aren't feasible. Small 24-inch machines—sold as "compact" in the U.S.—are the best option. The benefits are obvious: You don't need a dedicated laundry room and can stick one anywhere in your home there’s an electrical outlet.
Not only are vented dryers unpopular in Europe, but in some places they're actually illegal. Switzerland has outlawed them since 2012—fair warning for everyone hoping to bring their Maytag on a trip to Zürich.
How do condenser dryers work?
Vented dryers are basically hot air vacuums. They pull room-temperature air in from your laundry room, heat it, tumble your clothes in it to evaporate moisture, then blow it outside. Losing that hot air is a major waste of energy.
Unless you live in a temperate climate, your vented machine is likely taking in climate-controlled air from your home and pumping it outdoors. In winter, that means your furnace has to work harder to make up for that air. The waste is even worse in summer, where your dryer has to heat up air that's been artificially cooled by your air conditioner.
The majority of ventless units sold in the U.S., however, are condensers, which don't exhaust air. Instead, they use a dual loop airflow system that’s much more efficient.
To learn more, we spoke with Mike Peebles, who has served as the technical services manager in laundry for Bosch parent company BSH Home Appliance Corporation in North America and Canada for the past 13 years. Peebles knows his stuff: Although Bosch's 24-inch ventless dryers are niche models in the U.S., Bosch is the laundry market leader in the rest of the world.
As he explained it to us, the first airflow loop draws a small amount of ambient air into the dryer—much less than is needed in a conventional unit. The air passes through the condenser for initial heating. The heated air is then pushed into the drum, to heat up the wet laundry and causes water to evaporate.
Instead of venting that hot, wet air outside, the air is looped back into the condenser where it's cooled down—that's the second airflow loop.
From there, the air that’s already inside the condenser is reheated and sent back into the drum to repeat the process until the clothes are dry. The evaporated water either goes down a drain pipe or collects in a tray that the user must empty after a cycle.
The condenser difference
Instead of a vent, you get a hose. Simply set it up near a drain, sink, or even a bucket.
Aside from not needing a vent or much space, the most direct advantage of this system is its energy efficiency. Your furnace or air conditioner doesn't have to make up for any air that's vented outside.
Since condenser tumble dryers don't get as hot as vented models, they are gentler on clothes. In our tests, we found that condenser drying cycles were 30-50°F cooler than in their vented counterparts.
Though consumers often complain that clothes coming out of ventless dryers lack the warm, toasty feel they're used to, that's actually good news for your fabrics.
"Vented dryers have a history of overdrying, which is where the majority of fabric damage occurs," Peebles said. "On the other hand, fabric tends to be cooler coming out of a ventless dryer, so consumers think it's still wet even though the clothes are close to 0% excess moisture."
Ventless units also require less maintenance than their vented counterparts. While the dryers themselves may need to have their secondary lint traps emptied out every month or so, it's far less cumbersome than cleaning a long dryer vent.
"Condensers rarely have to be cleaned," Peebles explained. "It's recommended that you do it once a month, but I've spoken to consumers who do it every three. I usually clean mine about once a year."
What about heat pumps?
Condensers aren't the only option. Since 2014, three manufacturers have begun selling heat pump dryers in the U.S. These ventless machines replace the condenser with a heat pump, which works like an air conditioner running in reverse: As they recirculate hot air in the drum, they also remove moisture from laundry.
Heat pump dryers are more energy efficient than condensers since they dry at even lower temperatures. The average heat pump unit uses half as much energy as a vented model. Heat pump technology tops the Energy Star electric dryer efficiency ratings.
The drawbacks
While more efficient, ventless dryers are substantially smaller. Most only have a drum capacity of about 4 cubic feet.
Ventless dryers typically lack the size and speed that most Americans crave. While the average vented unit can hold more than 7 cubic feet of laundry, compact condenser dryers are usually about half as big.
Ventless dryers also have slow drying times. Based on our testing, a vented dryer might finish a Normal load in about 45 minutes, but condenser or heat pump drying cycles can top an hour and a half. Want to dry a bulky blanket or comforter? You could be waiting more than three hours.
To top it off, ventless dryers are at least as expensive (if not more so) as conventional ones. While prices on all appliances have been fluctuating since the pandemic, you can expect the least expensive condenser dryers to hover around the $1000 price point, so you're paying a few hundred dollars premium, on average, for the privilege. While a heat pump dryer offers significant energy savings—and may be eligible for rebates from local utility providers—it might be hard to stomach an initial purchase price of $1,699.
Is a ventless dryer right for you?
Since this ventless dryer drains into a plastic water jug rather than blowing out steam you have the option to put it anywhere in your home without having to worry about venting it outdoors.
So, now that you know the pros and cons, is a ventless dryer right for you? It depends.
Despite their slow drying performance, their compact size means they could be the best (and only) choice for those who live in smaller homes or apartments. Even the worst condenser dryer is better than a pricey remodel—or frequent trips to the laundromat.
Heat pump dryers, however, offer significant energy savings, and are gentler on clothes. They're even sold in sizes that wouldn't look out of place in most American laundry rooms. If you’re particularly concerned about the environment or clothes care, it might be time to check out a heat pump dryer. Just be prepared to pay a lot more for the new technology.
