3 Dryer Features Worth Paying For (And Those You Can Skip)

Among the many unavoidable tasks of an adult, laundry is one of those universal activities that once you start, you never really stop. In 2026, a Poplin survey of 600 Americans revealed that 39.5% of them spend two hours doing laundry a week, which is about four days every year. Not far behind, 35.67% of respondents also said that their laundry tasks take them 4 hours a week. Because of this, it is not surprising that many people are looking for the easiest ways to do it. Besides choosing a reputable washing machine brand, this also means choosing a dryer model that can hit all the right notes for their household needs.

In recent times, popular appliance manufacturers, such as Whirlpool and Samsung, have been leading the way in customer satisfaction with dryers. These days, dryers come in a variety of varieties that come with all kinds of great features. However, it does not mean that they have to pay a huge premium. In some cases, some luxury features may look good on paper, but may not suit your or your family’s current lifestyle.

If you have a large family, work a lot, or just like to entertain a lot of guests, a large capacity dryer can be a lifesaver when it comes to handling large amounts of regular laundry. By having a powerful dryer, you can enjoy several important benefits, especially when it comes to improving air circulation. As long as it is not overloaded, a large dryer is likely to have a constant drying capacity because the heat can be distributed evenly. If clothes are not packed in a full dryer, you can also expect less wrinkling, even without wrinkling control technology.

If you plan your laundry days well, you may also be able to combine multiple laundry loads together with one dryer. This can lead to both shorter wait times and less power consumption. Although, this will still depend on whether you have enough things to wash to make it worth it. Additionally, large capacity dryers set you up for the future in practical ways. Even if you are currently a family of one or two, dryers with larger drums allow you to dry larger items such as bedding, towels, and curtains. With this, you don’t need to bring it to the laundry, especially during the colder seasons when the weather is not suitable for drying outside.

While old-school dryers can only run at a set time and temperature, many modern dryers offer humidity-sensing features to help manage your loads. By detecting both humidity and temperature inside the drum, dryers with these sensors can increase the optimal time to stop the drying process. Considering dryers use more energy than most people realize, humidity sensors can be another way to help you save on your electric bill by not letting it run longer than it should.

Second, by adjusting the drying time, humidity sensors also help prevent problems related to overdrying. If you leave it to dry too much, you risk damaging the delicate fibers in your garment, which can lead to wrinkling. While it may be possible to reverse some damage, some fabrics cannot reverse from wrinkling. If you own a lot of clothes made of natural fibers, such as cotton or wool, you will be at a higher risk of them becoming conductive. Knowing this, it may be worth the extra dollars to get a dryer with humidity sensors, which may cost less than replacing your clothes.

If you’re looking for some bang-for-your-buck sensor solutions for your laundry room, there are also water leak sensors under $10 that can help alert you to leaks. Not only can this save you a ton of money on water-related damage, but it can also prevent other problems, such as potential power outages.

Unless you have unlimited time, ironing or heating clothes by hand can be incredibly time consuming. While one way to make sure you’re doing your bit is to buy clothes that don’t need ironing and to use small tricks with wet towels or wool dryer balls, having a dryer with anti-wrinkle functions can help ease the burden. For busy people, it can be a challenge to remove your clothes after drying, which can lead to wrinkles after a long time. To avoid this, some types of dryers such as Whirlpool have included anti-wrinkle cycles that add a drop from time to time after the normal cycle is done or add a steam cycle at the end. Although they both work slightly differently, they have the same goal of giving you more freedom to unload.

In some dryer models with steam features, they may also offer steam regeneration cycles that are ideal for a few, less-used pieces that need wrinkle removal. GE claims that the Steam Refresh Cycle can significantly reduce wrinkles on up to 5 garments. That said, steam drying functions do not guarantee properly dried clothes. Because of this, you can get an even more pressed look with a very limited handheld garment steamer. Although, if you have more budget, you might just want to add a Samsung AirDresser to your bedroom, which allows you to dry clean clothes from the comfort of your home.

Unless you live in a household with several people who are willing to do laundry, you won’t be able to take full advantage of many special dry settings. So, before paying extra for a dryer with multiple settings, it might be best to check your existing laundry loads and choose a dryer that has the functions to support it.

While special cycles can reduce your overall mental load, it can also take a few minutes to learn the best settings for drying your clothes. In general, you will need to consider the temperature levels (air dry, low, medium, and high), which will vary depending on the type of clothes you plan to dry. A good rule of thumb is that soft and heat-sensitive clothing, such as those that tend to shrink, should be on low heat. On the other hand, hard fabrics or those you want to disinfect, such as towels and bed sheets, benefit from higher temperatures.

Instead of special cycles, there are effective ways to make the most of your dryer. For example, if you live alone and tend to have small loads, a quick dry job may suit what you need most of the time. Previously, we mentioned how you can use your dryer intermittently to save money, if you are under a time-of-use (TOU) energy plan.

These days, there are many options to make your home smart with devices ranging from your bedroom to your kitchen. However, your laundry room doesn’t always have to be one, especially if you have to pay a premium to experience it. If you’re a single, tech savvy person, a smart dryer may be perfect to help streamline your laundry schedule. However, a smart dryer may not be convenient if many people need access to the dryer throughout the week. While some companies, like Samsung, allow you to invite members to a group to manage devices, other brands may require you to share login credentials. While this isn’t necessarily bad for families and people living in close quarters, it’s not ideal in unusual situations. In addition, this is not ideal if you have many children or elderly people in your home, who may not be able to take full advantage of the app-based functionality.

Alternatively, there are other ways you can get a smart home experience on a budget, just by getting a little creative. We’ve mentioned before how you can use an NFC tag to control dryer usage and schedules. And if you’re looking for a neat way to check how much power your device is actually using, a smart plug is a handy way to optimize it to give you more visibility into your usage. With this, you can enjoy a connected home experience while keeping your data separate.