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" The bar has certainly been raised for dryer technology, with even the least expensive machines including what used to be considered high-end features. Even so, the primary difference in basic and more expensive models is in the array of cycles and features offered and whether or not the units have a steam cycle. This, rather than performance, is what explains the price differences between models and brands. An Inside Look at Dryer Testing  Often when doing multiple loads of laundry, the washer will wash faster than the dryer can dry, slowing down the wheels of progress on a busy laundry day. To see which dryers were speediest, we timed and compared how long each took to dry 6- and 12-lb. mixed loads of cotton clothing and linens.  One of the benefits of the newer, larger capacity dryers is their ability to dry oversized items, like comforters and sleeping bags at home without having to go to the Laundromat. To see which were up to the task, we wet and weighed full/queen size comforters and dried them according to the dryer manufacturer&amp;#039;s cycle and temperature recommendations. When done, we not only noted how long the cycle took, but also calculated what percentage of the comforter was dry and noted if we felt any damp or even wet spots remaining at the end of the cycle.  After removing moisture, a dryer&amp;#039;s next most important job is to remove wrinkles and help keep casual clothing as wrinkle-free as possible to minimize ironing. To evaluate this ability, we wet and wrinkled (in a uniform way) swatches of polyester/cotton fabrics, then added them to a 6-lb. mixed load and selected the dryer&amp;#039;s casual, permanent press, or whatever cycle the manufacturer recommended for such garments. At the cycle&amp;#039;s end, we removed the swatches and under special lighting, examined them for the amount and depth of the wrinkles they contained. We then rated each of the four swatches in every load against industry-standard wrinkle photographs.  We used the same scale to rate clothing items left in the dryer overnight and freshened with the steam cycle for those dryers that offered this feature.  Twisted bed sheets and knotted shirtsleeves all take time to untangle, no less de-wrinkle. That&amp;#039;s why as part of our review of clothes dryers we noted how tangled or tangle-free our 6-lb, 12-lb, permanent press, and steam cycle test loads emerged from the dryers.  Next:   Many dryers can get the job done, but good performance is only part of the picture. An appliance that is difficult to use is just as frustrating as one that doesn&amp;#039;t work well. If the buttons are hard to push or the lint filter doesn&amp;#039;t pull out smoothly, laundry becomes more of a chore than it already is.  To this end, we checked the features a consumer uses every time they dry a load. We turned knobs and dials, pressed buttons, and selected cycles and features all without the manual to check how intuitive the control panel is and how easy it is to decipher and read.  We measured and rated the drum openings to see how easy the dryer is to load, unload, and we reached in to see how easy it is retrieve items stuck in the back. Finally, we removed, cleaned, and replaced the lint filters to see how easy this important maintenance task was to do. When things do go wrong, it&amp;#039;s important to know how and where to get help. We reviewed each owner&amp;#039;s manual for thoroughness of the information it contained. We also called each manufacturer&amp;#039;s customer service line to see how quickly they responded and how helpful they were answering our test question.  To find out how our test dryers fared, check out the dryers we reviewed "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/appliances/dryer-reviews/a18179/how-we-tested-clothes-dryers/>