Clothes dryers are a huge power drain; it takes a lot of energy to fling around heavy wet stuff and heat it to a toasty glow. However, if you first put your clothes through the Spin Dryer, it removes the majority of the water in only a couple of minutes, meaning you can either air dry or toss them in the conventional dryer for about a quarter the usual time. Costing only $130 USD and running on standard mains power, it's sure to pay for itself pretty quickly if you're using anything other than a laundry line (and even then it might, since your clothes will be treated more gently and therefore last longer). Then throw in the dryer balls Sarah reviewed at Hippyshopper in November and your laundry may travel back in time from being dried so fast. [GT]
Available in the UK for around £73 here
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Ummmm..... not to burst anyone's bubble here, but virtually ALL washing machines already spin dry clothes. In fact, most new ones offer an "extended spin dry" cycle.
How does this do any more than that?
Virtually all washers have a spin cycle. However, with conventional top loading washing machines, it is normally around 450 to 500 revolutions per minute. The spin dryer has a much faster spin cycle (over 3000 rpm) so it extracts much more water from the clothes, this is very easy to verify.
I agree that even though the spin dryer is faster, for someone who doesn't want to spend the money and have another appliance wasting space (that may break, need parts, have to be disposed of at the cost of the earth), tons of home magazines and the like recommend just putting your clothing through a second spin cycle (or third of fourth if you're really deturmined).
Season, that reasoning is incorrect. This spin dryer extracts much more water than a washing machine spin cycle, whether you run it once, twice or more- it's not even close. You can pull a full quart of water out of the clothes, and cut drying times in the clothes dryer by a full 30 minutes or more. If you use a clothes dryer this machine will actually save you a lot of money, not cost you money. The home appliance magazines you talk of have for the most part never heard of spin dryers, they are only familiar with regular washers and dryers. This technology can save 5-10% of US residential household use, the main problem- as evidenced by these comments- is that many people don't see the benefits, because they don't understand how spin dryers work.