The most common clothes dryer mistakes to avoid

Who doesn't give their dryer a workout in the colder months?

You don't have to wait for the rain to clear to get fresh, warm sheets and you can toast up your socks and underwear at a moment's notice. But this increase in usage often comes with an increase in wonky bras and shrunken jumpers too.

We asked a couple of experts about the most common mistakes you should avoid.

Drying wool and delicates

Susan Toft, the CEO and founder of a nationwide domestic laundry business, says the biggest mistake people make is simply "putting items in that are not meant for the dryer, because you can damage them".

"Wool, in particular, will shrink. And that's probably the thing we see the most," she says.

But, she says, you should also take great care with bras, other delicate items (such as anything with silk), and clothing with prints on it.

"The best tip is to always follow the care label," she says.

Ashley Iredale, a whitegoods expert at consumer advocacy group CHOICE, also advises caution when drying anything with lycra in it — so throwing in your activewear might not be the best bet.

But, he says, if you do end up shrinking something, it's not the end of the world.

"There are things you can do to try and stretch shrunken items out again," he says.

"For jumpers, you can wet them and pat them out with towels to try and stretch them back out, and then leave them to dry in a shady spot."

Chucking everything in together

"Try and dry like with like," Mr Iredale says.

"If you throw some really light fabrics in with some heavy bath towels or even jeans, you're going to find the lighter stuff is gonna dry way sooner than the other stuff. And by running the dryer long enough to dry everything, you're going to overdry those things and potentially damage them."

Overdrying, he says, can cause your clothing to shrink and it can even slightly melt synthetic materials.

Ms Toft advises doing a number of different, smaller loads: "keep your clothes together, your towels together and your sheets together".

"Newer dryers will have automatic settings [for each of those materials]."

Overloading the machine

"If you put too much in there, then it won't completely dry," Ms Toft says.

It seems like common sense, right? But, at one time or another, we've all been guilty of cramming the drum full of wet clothes, cranking the heat up and hoping for the best.

This is a problem, Ms Toft says, because it's not just the heat that's doing the drying — it's also the movement.

That's bad for your clothes and bad for your energy bill too.

Forgetting about the lint filter

"You've got to clean the lint filter every time you use the dryer," Mr Iredale says.

It might seem like a big ask but, he says, it's an important step to ensure both safety and performance.

"If the filter clogs up, air's not going to circulate as easily and your clothes are not going to dry as well. And it could potentially cause a fire. Synthetic lint fibres and microparticles plus lots of heat — it's not a good combination."

Ms Toft says she always cleans the filter for every single load, but adds, "it's always a really good idea to just check what the manual says".

This will also outline other maintenance requirements, like emptying the water reservoir (in heat pump and condenser dryers) and regularly cleaning the silicon edging around the dryer door.

"Contaminants can get trapped [around that edging]," she says. "You're putting your laundry in and pulling it out of that area, and it isn't getting the full heat of the inside of the machine."

Letting your socks fly around loose

Missing a few of your favourite socks? Your dryer could be to blame.

"Dryers and washers can eat little items," Ms Toft says. "I've cleaned filters in dryers and there will be socks in there. It's a really regular recurring thing."

The solution: popping them in a mesh or netted bag. Ms Toft says these are handy for any kind of small item, as well as things like cords and belts that could get tangled up in your clothes. It's also a good investment if you have a baby or young child.

"Put their tiny things into a net bag so they don't get lost in the ether of the dryer!"

Spending $$$ on unnecessary products

It's time to ditch the dryer balls. Mr Iredale says that CHOICE has tested different types over the years and found there's consistently no benefit in using them.

"They're often sold as helping keep clothes softer and fluffier. Some of them make claims to speed drying time. We've found they make absolutely no difference.

Ms Toft says that her team of contractors have been debating their worth recently too.

"The majority of us have found that no, there isn't very much difference," she says.

"[If you regularly need to dry clothes] it's better to invest in a really good heat pump dryer. That will do a better job than anything."