If you’re lucky enough to have some outside spaces which include outbuildings then this gives you some more options when it comes to installing appliances.
An outhouse or garage can be a really tempting option, because of the noise that a tumble dryer can make.
It can also seem good if you have limited space in your kitchen or laundry room.
But can you be sure that your tumble dryer will work in the garage?
You can put a tumble dryer in an outbuilding or a garage. But if it gets too cold some models don’t work properly so check your specific dryer
You can put a tumble dryer in your outhouses, but there are some things to consider when doing this, so let’s take a look!
Types of Tumble Dryer in the Garage
As you will probably know, there are a few different kinds of tumble dryers available, and each works in different ways.
There will be some kinds of dryer that are better suited to being outside.
Vented Tumble Dryers
In terms of operational stability, a vented tumble dryer is the one best suited to being used in a garage.
As there is no need to store water inside the machine, the low temperatures that can be experienced are not such an issue.
The main thing to remember about vented dryers is that they require a vent to connect the rear hose to allow the steam to be extracted from the area.
If your garage doesn’t have a suitable hole in the wall to attach the vent hose to, then this might be a no-go.
If you try to operate a vented tumble dryer without a vent to the outside, you’ll end up with a garage full of hot, damp air.
This can lead to mould and rust if you keep metal tools or bikes in there, which is pretty bad.
It is possible to install a hole for a vent in the garage yourself or to have a builder install one for you. An alternative is to simply hang the hose out a window, but this could be unsuitable when the temperatures really start to drop.
There are condenser attachments that you can get which allow you to connect the hose to a box to condense the water out of the vapour, rather than needing a vent to the outdoors.
This eliminates the need for a hole, but sometimes they don’t work particularly well and can leave you with a damp garage.
Best Vented Tumble Dryer for Garage – Hoover HLEV10LG Freestanding Vented Tumble Dryer

- 10-year parts warranty
- C Energy Rating
- Set the desired level of dryness and it automatically stops when the level is reached
Once you’ve got a hole for the vent this is a perfect choice of vented dryer. It’s freestanding and has a decibel level of 67db so you won’t hear it in the rest of the house.
All the settings are needed to dry whatever you’re tackling but what I like is that you can set the desired level of dryness and a sensor inside detects when that level is reached and switches off the cycle saving you money and helping your clothes last longer.
Plus the price is absolutely superb.
The power usage is estimated at about 697kwh per year, which is roughly £130 a year with the current electricity prices. This might seem like a lot but compared to a monthly laundry trip or trying to remove dampness from your house it is completely worth it!
Easily the best choice on the market in 2024.
Condenser Tumble Dryers
Condenser dryers have an advantage over vented dryers in that they don’t require any kind of hole in your walls to operate properly.
They work by condensing the damp air in a chamber which collects the water in a reservoir at the bottom of the dryer.
This reservoir needs to be emptied fairly regularly, but this isn’t a big deal as you can do it each time you put a load on to dry.
The main issue with using a condenser tumble dryer in your garage is the low temperature.
If the temperature is too low, then the water in the reservoir can actually freeze and this can severely impact the performance of the dryer, even leading to costly repairs in some cases.
The low temperatures will also cause the dryer to work harder in order to get the internal temperature high enough to dry the clothes and stop condensation from happening outside the chamber.
This will cause an increase in energy consumption, which will result in higher running costs for you.
If you’re confident that the temperatures don’t go too low, then a condenser dryer will actually work quite well in the garage as long as there is also good airflow.
If you live in a colder climate, however, then a condenser tumble dryer in the garage just isn’t the way to go unless you have a heated garage.
Best Condenser Tumble Dryer For Garage – Bosch Serie 4 WTW85231GB 8Kg Heat Pump Tumble Dryer

Brand: Bosch
Electricity per Year: 236KWh
Estimated Power Cost Per Year: £45
- 8kg Drum Size
- Self Cleaning
- Dryness Sensor
- Quiet Cycles
- A++ Energy Rating
The Bosch heat pump condenser dryer was an easy choice as the best for the garage because it’s my best pick of all condenser dryers. It’s energy-efficient, has the biggest load capacity on the list and it’s self-cleaning!
Self-cleaning means all the lint automatically gets flushed away making it extra safe in preventing dryer fires. So even if you forget, it’s all good!
And there’s a dryness sensor that detects when your clothes are dry. So when it’s running if your clothes are dry it will stop early saving you electricity and stopping your clothes from getting damaged.
It’s not the most energy-efficient on the list but it is in the top three of energy efficiency and the price gets a lot more as they get more efficient so this is the most cost-effective.
It’s got 14 different settings so you can keep all your clothes the size they’re meant to be and the shape they’re supposed to be. No bras will get eaten or t-shirts get shrunk. (If you put it on the wrong setting though I’m afraid I can’t help…)
Overall, hands down the best condenser dryer you’ll find for your garage, cost-effective, self-cleaning and doesn’t run too loud.
Heat Pump Tumble Dryers
Heat pump dryers are more sensitive to ambient temperatures than the other two kinds of dryer, requiring upwards of 10 oC to work properly in most cases.
This renders them unsuitable for most garages as, in Winter, the temperature is unlikely to be above this regularly.
Heat pump tumble dryers therefore can basically never be installed in garages or outbuildings.
What Temperature is Ideal?
As I mentioned earlier, most tumble dryers need to be above a certain ambient temperature in order to operate properly.
The typical limit for this temperature is about 5 oC. Condenser tumble dryers in particular are very sensitive to this factor.
In most cases, even storing your tumble dryer in a temperature lower than this will actually invalidate your warranty so make sure you know what temperatures your garage reaches.
Vented tumble dryers aren’t as susceptible to colder temperatures due to the fact that they vent out all the moisture and tend not to retain any that could pose a freezing risk.
If you have a heated outbuilding or garage, then this isn’t really an issue and you can probably keep the heating pattern you have already, though you may need to keep it on at night to prevent any damage to the dryer you choose.
A fridge or freezer in the garage will also slightly raise the ambient temperature of the garage as the heat generated out the back can sometimes be quite significant.
This is not something to rely on though because the heat will dissipate pretty quickly and the requirement for good airflow around your dryer will only make the heat vanish more quickly.
Moreover, these appliances can actually also stop working if the ambient temperature is too low!
Summary
So, overall, it is possible to install a tumble dryer in your garage or outbuilding and use it effectively.
It is definitely worth keeping a thermometer in the place you’re thinking of putting your dryer so that you know what the average ambient temperature is.
Vented tumble dryers are easily the best choice as they don’t store water inside the appliance.
If you have a way to vent the damp air out of the garage then a vented tumble dryer will be the way to go.
Having a dryer outside the house can be a huge space saver so if you’re able to do it, this will be a great improvement to your home!
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