How do condensing dryers work?
Conventional dryers heat and circulate air throughout the clothes, picking up lint and moisture, then passing it out of the residence. All that air and energy is then thrown out of the residence along with the energy it took to cool/heat that air in the residence. Then the residence has to reheat/cool that air again. Water based condensers are popular in combination washer/dryer units. The air inside the machine is heated and circulated through the clothes, then passed through a chamber where the contact with a fine mist of cold water causes the moisture to condense. The condensate collects in the bottom of the chamber and is pumped down the same drain as was the wash water. The dry air is then re-circulated through the clothes to begin the process again. This is a sealed system with no discharge of heat, lint, or humidity. The following is a more detailed description of this same process: The condensing tumble dryer has two air circulation systems: one for the drying air and one for t
