Synthetic Dry vs. Cotton Dry – What’s the Difference?

If you’ve just got a new tumble dryer with loads of fancy programmes, you may be a bit confused. But never fear. If you’re struggling to decipher your tumble dryer programmes, this article should help.

Now, we can’t cover every tumble dryer and every setting here. Instead, we’re going to focus on cotton dry and synthetic dry. It seems that these two tumble dryer settings are the most confusing to the general public.

So, what are these settings, how will they affect drying times, and when should you use them? Well, let’s find out, shall we?

 

Synthetic Dry vs Cotton Dry – What’s the Difference?

Synthetic dry

A synthetic drying programme is perfect for use with delicates and synthetic fabrics. These programmes are only capable of drying half the amount of clothing when compared to a cotton drying programme.

This means that you should only put a half load of washing in the dryer if you’re using the synthetic dry setting.

Synthetic drying programmes use gentle heat and minimal tumbling because these fabrics are so delicate. With half the load, it means that the clothes can’t hold too much heat during the drying process.

If you have a lot of synthetics to dry, do them in a few loads. The idea of this drying programme is to protect your fabrics from excessive heat. Plus, the clothes have more space to breath in the dryer, which can result in fewer creases.

 

Cotton dry

Cotton is a tougher material. This means that a cotton drying programme doesn’t need to be as gentle on the fabric.

This programme has higher heat settings and a more vigorous tumbling. You can also load the tumble dryer with a bigger load too. In this case, the clothing holding the heat in actually helps the drying process and doesn’t damage the clothing at all.

A cotton drying programme is perfect for t-shirts, cotton jumpers and things like that.

 

Which Should You Choose?

Should you choose synthetic or cotton dry? Well, it depends on the load of washing, of course.

A general rule is if you are using a synthetic washing cycle, you should be using a synthetic drying cycle. And, of course, if you’re using a cotton wash on the washing machine, a cotton drying cycle should be used too.

Choose synthetic dry for more delicate clothes and cotton dry for tougher clothes.

We hope this look at drying programmes has helped you understand your tumble dryer a little more. For even more tips on drying, washing and protecting clothes, please explore our website further.

We have loads of washing and drying articles on here that can help you keep all of your clothes in perfect condition.