Editing Laundry (section)

== Laundry drying ==
A clothes dryer (tumble dryer, drying machine or simply dryer) is an electric household appliance used to remove moisture from loaded clothes, linens and other textiles,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clothes dryer|url=http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/equipment/documents/various_equipment/wikipedia/Clothes%20dryer.pdf|access-date=2025-05-19|work=www.frankshospitalworkshop.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The clothes dryer: many technologies at our service|url=https://mastella.it/en/inspiration/the-clothes-dryer-many-technologies-at-our-service/|access-date=2025-05-19|work=mastella.it}}</ref> usually after washing them in a washing machine. In the United States and Canada, more than 80% of all homes have clothes dryers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clothes Dryers|url=https://www.energystar.gov/products/clothes_dryers|access-date=2025-05-19|work=www.energystar.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Why drying clothes in the sun has sparked an online culture war between the US and Europe|url=https://english.elpais.com/society/2022-08-08/why-drying-clothes-in-the-sun-has-sparked-an-online-culture-war-between-the-us-and-europe.html|access-date=2025-05-19|work=english.elpais.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=ENERGY STAR Market & Industry Scoping Report|url=https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/asset/document/ENERGY_STAR_Scoping_Report_Residential_Clothes_Dryers.pdf|access-date=2025-05-19|work=energystar.gov}}</ref>

The manual clothes dryer was created in 1800 by M. Pochon from France.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who invented the clothes dryer|url=https://www3.iwmi.cgiar.org/article-id/12066564|access-date=2025-05-19|work=www3.iwmi.cgiar.org}}</ref> Henry W. Altorfer invented and patented the electric clothes dryer in 1937. J. Ross Moore, a North Dakota inventor, designed automatic clothes dryers and published his electric dryer design in 1938. Industrial designer Brooks Stevens designed an electric dryer with a glass window in the early 1940s.

Sometimes dryers are integrated with the washing machine in the form of washer-dryer combos,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Are washer dryer combos worth it?|url=https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/laundry-and-cleaning/washing-machines/articles/washer-dryer-combos|access-date=2025-05-19|work=www.choice.com.au}}</ref> which are essentially a front-loading washing machine with a built-in dryer or (in the U.S.) a laundry center, which mounts a dryer on top of the washing machine and combines the controls for both machines into one control panel. Often the washer and dryer functions have different capacities, with the dryer usually having a lower capacity than the washer. Laundry dryers can also be top-loading, in which the drum is loaded from the top of the machine and the drum end supports are on the left and right sides, rather than the more traditional front and back sides of the machine. They can be up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) wide and can include removable stationary shelves for drying things like stuffed toys and shoes.

Drying at a temperature of at least 60 °C (140 °F) for thirty minutes kills many parasites, including house dust mites,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Household irritants factsheet|url=https://eczema.org/wp-content/uploads/Household-irritants-Oct-21-1.pdf|access-date=2025-05-19|work=eczema.org}}</ref> bed bugs, and scabies mites and their eggs; just over ten minutes kills mites. Simple washing kills dust mites, and exposure to direct sunlight for three hours kills their eggs.