The Much Awaited Miele Condenser Dryer Post..
Thanks everyone for all the emails asking where is the Miele post! The truth is, I was too busy using the new appliances to write about them. So what is a Condenser Dryer, how does it work, and what good is it? Pay close attention because I am about to tell you all the secrets and why it is worth buying one. Most of the images in this post can be clicked on to see a larger image. 
How Does A Condenser Dryer Work?
It works by taking the moist, warm air from inside the dryer to this little unit you see below – it looks a bit like the radiator from the front of your car. 
Air from the room the dryer is located in is on the other side of the fins and the difference in temperature magically makes the moisture turn into water droplets.
What Does It All Mean?
- It means the drying is done at much cooler temperatures
- Fabrics you would not normally tumble dry can be safely tumble dried
- It is less harsh on your clothes, which means they last longer
- There is no need to vent the dryer at all
- There is very little lint produced
- You get some water back which you can use to water your plants.
- The dryer does not heat up the room it is in
- You do not have moisture and lint covering your walls – you can sometimes get that with a normal dryer if you don’t have it vented. 
Where Does The Water Go?
You have a few choices with the Miele – you can choose to drain the water down the sink – you can choose to have it drain into a bucket – you can choose to have it collect in the water reservoir shown below. 
The water reservoir is actually quite large. Here’s a couple of pics of it pulled out and on my kitchen counter. 
Each load in the machine produces between 2-3 litres of water. If the reservoir fills up before the load is done, the machine beeps until you arrive to empty it. 
The Stacking Kit -
If you have a front load washing machine, Miele’s stacking kit will generally fit on top of most other washers. The stacking kit includes a pop out tray, to make it easier to load the dryer. 
Oh look, a kitty snuck into that pic! The pop out tray includes a waterproof space for your washer and dryer instruction manuals. How sweet is that? 
Here you can see a load of washing waiting to go into the dryer. 
Why Use A Dryer?
I think I mentioned this once before but in Australia we have some nasty creatures called spiders, who tend to like clotheslines a lot. When I first moved in with The Other Half, we had washed our quilt cover and hung it on the line.
For the next two weeks both of us would wake up with what looked like mosquito bites but we could never find any mosquitos. It was odd, because it looked like a trail of bites. I’m itching just typing about it.
A small spider, a very close cousin of the White Tail Spider, had crawled inside our quilt cover without our knowing it. One morning I saw it crawl out of the quilt cover and it just sat there looking at me, seeming quite pleased with itself.
I was looking for something to dead it with and thanking all the deities it was not a white tail because those can give some very nasty bites where your skin peels away.. Once it was squashed I swore we would never hang anything out on the clothesline again. And we never have. 
What About Energy Use?
We use Origin Energy’s 100% wind power product. That means I pay a little bit more per kilowatt of electricity. Origin then purchases the amount of kilowatt hours I use from wind power.
Why Wind?
I’ve personally seen the wind farms in action and I liked what I saw. I believe in all forms of green energy and I also like solar quite a bit. You can choose solar as an option also.
How Much To Go Green?
Depending on where you are green electricity may cost you as little as $1 extra per week – I recommend you give Origin a call, or talk to your current electricity company if you are interested in going green. The more of us who switch to green, the better.
Because I Use Green -
I don’t feel as guilty about how much power we use. Of course I do try to cut back usage everywhere we can by using power saving globes and turning things off when we’re not using them.
No Dryer Gets A Good Energy Rating
The best energy rating for a dryer that I have seen is a 3.5 star. Most people are completely baffled by the energy ratings and it is no wonder, because the way they measure them is very complicated. Dryers all use electricity. There is no getting around that. If you want to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions and use a dryer, your best choice is to choose green electricity.
Your second best choice is to choose an “auto sensing” dryer rather than a timer model, because these will stop drying once the clothes are dry. 
How Much Is A Condenser Dryer?
Are you sitting down? You might need to be. These are not cheap to buy. However, they will last 3-4 lifetimes of a normal dryer, they give us water deprived Aussies the chance to get some of the water back from our washing, and they do increase the lifespan of your clothes. Condenser dryers are generally $1500AUD or more to purchase. The Miele is available at $1799, unless you purchase it with a front load washer, in which case it is $1499.
As With All Purchases Snoskred Makes –
I’ve done my research thoroughly before I buy anything, and because I worked in this industry I know this product is worth the money. These machines are some of the last 20 year lifespan products available on the market.
Why Do We Have A Bosch Front Load Washing Machine?
The Other Half built our front loader himself on a visit to the Bosch factory in Thailand just over a year ago. It was then packed up and shipped to us here. He did quite a good job because it is still working. 
Otherwise we would have purchased ourselves a Miele.
Any Questions, Thoughts, Comments?
The comments section is open, is there anything I didn’t explain clearly, or anything you want to know more about? Let me know.. And let me know what kind of washer and dryer you have at home – are you happy with it, is it easy to use, are you using a top loader, will you switch to a front loader the next time you need to buy one?
If you do have a top load machine, do you know how much water it uses? If not, care to take a guess? Most people are surprised when they find out the answer..
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Now, see, I don’t have the brain power to wrap around the intricacies of your posts on blogging, but start talking about appliances and watch a big smile appear on my face!! I have the Bosch washer and dryer. (As you may have gathered, a lot of us in the states hadn’t heard of a condenser dryer!)
Our apartment comes with a washer and dryer, and we can’t replace it with anything. It’s a stack unit, all in one, with a top load washer and electric dryer.
Front load washers are only starting to become popular here. And I’m jealous that you have a choice as to where your electricity comes from. We can do solar and save money that way, but a lot of people still don’t do that, especially those who don’t live in bright sunny areas like I do.
Very very cool! I had never heard of one until you mentioned it. Now I wish I had heard about it when we bought ours a few years ago. Oh, I wanted to ask how big it was? Cause my 5.5kg is doing ok… but I would love something bigger – hehe.
Oh and I just checked our electricity provider, and they have a green energy option which I will ring up about as soon as my assignment is done. Yeah I know, what am I doing reading you? Who knows! Running along now….
Oh, and wouldn’t you know that as soon as I go*gled it, that condenser dryer came right up and it does exist here in these united states! 1500-1700 USD
Thank you, I read this to my husband as our washer and dryer are old and we wonder when it will be the last loads? Thanks for the information… I got it you explained very well..
Dorothy from grammology
http://grammology.com
I’ve had my front loader washer for several years now, about 10 I think, it’s an Asko. It’s moved house 4 times now and got a bit wrecked on the last move when the kids loaded it into the corner of a “cage” trailer with nothing to protect it and it got caught on the cage as they drove over bumps, but it still works and really well too. When I eventually get a condenser dryer it will be an Asko so i have a matching pair. My washer is guaranteed to survive daily use for 20 years and since I only wash twice a week it should last the rest of my life. I’m glad you are happy with your Miele. I know it’s an excellent product.
Eeeewww, I was just skimming through this post until I got to the part about the spiders. I never ever thought of spiders crawling into the quilt cover. But of course they would. I hang my quilts out in this warmer weather to air them. Now I will be paranoid about spiders.
I was sold until you got to the price! Geez, that’s like four times the price of a venting dryer.
Liv – I think you do have the brain power.. if I can do it you can!
Kirsten – Solar in Australia is fantastic because any excess energy you produce, you can sell back to the electricity companies. People who retire can install solar and actually make an income from it, and they don’t have to pay for electricity.
Companies are starting to install it as well because they are seeing the potential money savings – and selling the energy on if they don’t use it.
Kin – It’s a 6kg. I have a 7.5kg washer, most people can never fill a front load to full capacity anyway.
And I hope the green works out! 
Liv – I’m not surprised people haven’t heard about it, salespeople take the line of least resistance because they are lazy. They tend not to tell people all the options available to them. It is sad but true. ;(
Dorothy – There’s nothing less fun than appliances breaking down. It’s almost as bad as not having them when you move and need to clean everything!
River – Asko is also an excellent product, though not really pushed here in Australia. Some of these manufacturers just won’t take on the Aussie and NZ manufacturers. They should create an ad campaign and start switching people to front loads.
Jaycee – It really is the white tails which are the problem because they want to crawl inside things. If you don’t have those, it’s probably ok.
Tornwordo – Yes, but you’ll have three or four venting dryers in the time this will last, so the cost evens out.
Thanks for the comments everyone!
Cheers,
Snoskred
http://www.snoskred.org
Asko is made in Sweden and another reason I chose it is because it has a half-load option, great if you only need to wash smalls.
Small point Snoskred: the white-tail spider/necrotic bite thing is an urban myth.
Cheers
Aurelius
The white-tail spider is an urban myth? Are you sure? My daughter’s friend didn’t think so when she got bitten by one and had to have skin removed!
I’m no scientist but last I heard they had worked out that in order to cause the kind of damage Adelaide is talking about they have to have eaten a certain other kind of spider recently.
They do crawl inside things, and they are capable of causing a lot of damage, it isn’t an urban myth as far as I know.