Home Improvement Product Reviews

Independence!, October 16, 2008

I have only had this dryer for about 10 days now, but I’m very happy with it! There is one other review for this dryer and in it they say it takes a long time for the clothes to dry… this is true. But I think it’s to be expected since this dryer can simply be plugged into any outlet unlike a normal dryer. So, smaller dryer… less power… longer drying time. The reason I’m giving this unit 5 stars is because if getting out the laundry mat is as important to you as it was to me, then the extra drying time is more than acceptable. Also, this dryer is VERY QUITE, simple to use and set up. For the first 5 loads I just had the machine sitting on the floor near a window – I didn’t even have the hose out the window. It did get my apartment a little warm and humid (not since I’ve put the hose out the window of course), but I’m just making the point that it is very easy to set up.

How long does it take to dry clothes? I’m still trying to get all the drying times down myself. But I’m having much better luck using the timed dry instead of the auto dry. On auto drying it does seem to take hours before it finally stops. So I’ve just started to try and figure how long certain things dry. For example, my sheets (fitted bottom and the top sheet) I’m drying now between 60 or 90 minutes. On both times the sheets are close to dry and hanging them up for a little longer is enough. I guess this review is a little premature since I don’t have the dry times down yet. But I have the feeling 90 minutes will dry most stuff about 90 percent.

I think once I make the adjustment and get things organized drying will not be a hassle at all. And for me the extra fiddling I have to do while drying in my apartment is so much better than having the hassle of organizing taking everything out of apartment, waiting, digging up quarters, using a machine that has been used 10,0000 times instead my nice new machine.

UPDATE! THE SOLUTION! March 18, 2009

I have owned now the Haier Washer and Haier Dryer now for 5 months and I still am incredibly happy with my purchase. Even with the very long drying times with the dryer I love not having to go down to the W&Ds in the apartments laundry room.

But there is a solution to the long drying time with the dryer: Not long after posting my review C. Mok posted this comment (note: the spin dryer is very small 24 inches high, 14 inches in diameter – 4.00 + shipping – and only one company seems to sell them in the US):

C. Mok says:
May I suggest complementing your electric dryer with a small spin dryer? I bought a spin dryer on a whim when I remembered those were the only things used in Asia when I was there during the 80s. It has worked really well along side my small portable washer in my small apt. I hang dry most of my laundry except when I’m in a hurry. The spin dryer cuts drying time in half easily. Most spin cycle on washers go about maybe 600 – 800 rpm. The little spin dryer spins at 3000rpm. On a small wash (2 bath towels) it can spin out over a quart of water (over 32fl oz) in less than 2 minutes. That is a significant amount of water to evaporate using normal dryers. This will shorten your drying time and also save your clothes from heat damage from the prolong drying times. The only catch is trying to balance the load in the small spin dryer. I find it easiest to load all the heavy cotton clothes on the bottom and the lighter synthetic clothes on the top. Then give it a good shove and compress everything tightly down. Thats has worked really well for me. Check out [...]for a small spin dryer. Good luck!

I finally bought the spin dryer to work with my Haier dryer about a month ago and now washing and drying is very similar to using normal sized machines. Now there is just a very short middle step. I’ll give examples of some of the basic loads I do each week.

Whites (socks 10-12 pair, underwear 10-12 pair, t-shirts 2-4):

After using the washing machine I put all clothes in the spin dryer. It is important to pack the spin dryer the way the manual suggests to prevent the dryer from bouncing around like R2-D2 in a bad mood. With small items like socks and underwear though, it’s pretty easy, and after experience you will see what you can just drop and press in the SD (spin dryer)and what you need to wrap around. I does sound like this middle step is a pain, but after you use it a bunch of times, it’s pretty easy and you don’t give it a second thought. When you turn the SD on, it starts to spin, shakes a bit, then settles down and gets very quiet as it picks up speed. When you first use the spin dryer, you think, wow, i got ripped off! No water is coming out!…. But wait… after about 30 seconds water starts flow out. Dribbly at first but then… wow! With a full load, CUPS of water fill your water catcher. I have had between 1 and 5 cups of water (normally 2-3), depending on what I was…

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well packaged and dries well., October 14, 2010

By 

Louie Lefkowitz “Lou da Joo” (New York, NY) – See all my reviews

  

Customer Video Review Length:: 1:49 Mins

My setup: I wash using the Haier HLP21N Pulsator 1-Cubic-Foot Portable Washer, spin dry using the Centrifugal Clothes Portable Spin Dryer, and finalize the process with this dryer. this process works for me.

edit 11/15: forgot to mention that you can set the dryer to a timed setting (30,60, 90, 120 minutes) and choose a higher or lower heat setting. BOY, I’m so happy I bought this. I no longer have to get quarters from the supermarket on Friday after work. This dryer really dries well. I really love the convenience of watching a football game on Sunday, and checking on the clothes during a commercial. Best investment for me EVER! I can almost guarantee if you buy this dryer, you’ll be coming back to write a positive review.

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Does what it’s supposed to do in a convinent size!, November 18, 2008

I have a model of this I bought about a year ago–it looks slightly different than the one pictured here but has the same model number.

That said, this dryer is GREAT. It does take a while to dry clothes, but I got it to go along with the haier portable washer, and it dries one load in the time it takes another load to wash when I use the power wash setting, so that’s pretty good.

However, the automatic settings really don’t work that well–like a previous poster, I recommend using the timed dry options.

I also don’t have the dryer vented to the outside–I instead purchased an indoor lint trap thing. I don’t know that it really does much, but the dryer doesn’t seem to release a lot of lint into my apartment. The dryer does add some heat and humidity to the apartment, but that’s great in the fall/winter. Not so much in the summer, but it still beats having to go to the laundromat.

If you live in an apartment or somewhere that doesn’t have laundry hookups or a 220V line, this dryer is a great purchase.

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