On a rainy winter’s day, taking a fresh load of laundry and throwing it in the clothes dryer is not only tempting but certainly the smartest thing to do.

But for some households, they make do without, like Ashley Iredale for example, who does not have a dryer.

Fortunately, he is Choice’s whitegoods expert, so he has access to a laundry lab where he can take his washing on a rainy day.

Having a clothes dryer isn’t an essential, it simply depends on the circumstances, he told TND.

“If you’re living in a small space for the large family, particularly if you’ve got lots of young kids, they tend not to respond well to having wet clothes every day and certainly the school won’t take kindly to it. Then it’s probably worth having one,” he said.

But if a small household is living in a small space, but there is a clothes horse available, then it really isn’t essential, especially if you can time it with the weather.

What kind of clothes dryers are out there?

There’s certainly a grandmother out there who has has been using the same one since the 1970s.

Those old-style ones are vented dryers. They are essentially just a big sheet metal box, a heating element, a fan and a small motor in it.

Because there’s not much to break, vented dryers will last a very long time, Iredale said.

However, they are not energy efficient and parts of Europe are banning them because of this.

The alternative is a heat pump dryer.

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“A heat pump dryer, on the other hand, uses the same heat exchange technology as you’ll find in an air-conditioner or a fridge and it doesn’t actually create heat energy,” Iredale explained.

“It just moves it from one place to another. In this case, it moves heat from outside to inside the dryer. And that’s a lot more energy efficient than creating new heat energy from scratch.”

There are also washer-dryer combinations, which sound better in theory.

If you’re living a in a small space one could be ideal, but Iredale suggests if you have the space, get a stand-alone washer and dryer.

A heat pump dryer is more efficient, but it’s not for everyone.

What kind is the most cost-efficient?

If a household was to use a clothes dryer once a week for 10 years, then the cost to run a vented dryer and a heat pump dryer is very different.

Over 10 years, at one load per week, you’re probably going to spend about $2000 with a vented dryer, opposed to $750 with a heat pump dryer, Iredale said.

But again, the question of which to buy depends on the circumstances.

If a household is only using a dryer rarely or only in emergencies, then a vented option might be the way to go.

Heat pump dryers are more expensive, but for people who have washing emergencies every other week, or just prefer to use a dryer, then it’s worthwhile investing in one.