Good Dryer
This Bosch WTVC533OUS is an excellent dryer. I live alone, so I only do about one, maybe two, loads of laundry a week. So that's pretty light use for a dryer, but, after almost two years, it seems to be holding up well. I've had absolutely no problems with it, and frankly, it all still seems like new. The dryer is attractive, and hasn't scratched, etc. (Not even the chrome parts.) But most importantly: It gets my clothes dry, no fuss, no hassle, it just works. I've been so impressed with my Bosch laundry appliances that I will definitely consider Bosch whenever I need any new appliances. I have the washer and dryer both, the dryer stacked on top of the washer. The nice thing about stacking them is that it puts the dryer up right at arm level! Easy to get stuff in and out. The capacity is plenty large enough for me. In the washer, I can fit the sheets from a full size bed, two big bath towels, 7 washcloths, two weeks worth of white clothes, and a bunch of dish rags and handtowels from the kitchen in a single load. All of that fits in the dryer just fine; more might, actually. There is a nice selection of settings. I've never wished for any that aren't there. The "air dry/no heat" setting is great if you have pillows in serious need of fluffing. The steam settings can be a helpful if you realize your shirt is wrinkled or smells funky and you have only twenty minutes before you need to walk out the door and not one of those twenty minutes to spare. It does take a full twelve minutes (or sixteen or twenty, depending on which setting), though-the steam makes the clothes a little wet, so you have to give it time to dry them, too. I figure that running the dryer for 12 minutes for one piece of clothing is a splurge electricity-bill-wise, but in an emergency...it's handy. There's also an "eco action" setting that apparently uses less energy. It seems to work by using a lower temperature for a longer time. If you choose a thirty-minute cycle and then push the eco button, the cycle runs for an hour and a half. I figured out another advantage to this setting: My dryer is not vented to the outdoors, so all the hot air blows into my house, along with every drop of the water that was in the clothes. That can make for some seriously humid conditions. The eco setting lowers the temperature of that air so it doesn't make everything so wet. (If I run the dryer without the eco setting, it's not unusual for the wood furniture in other rooms to feel a little "sticky" right after the dryer runs.) The control panel is easy to use and understand. It counts down the time remaining, so you know when it will finish. The signal is plenty loud, but not terribly obnoxious. The lint filter is right in the front when you open the door, easy to access, and easy to clean. I think mine is louder because it's not vented to the outdoors, but even with that, I don't think it's terribly loud. However, it is always very loud in my house when I run the dryer, because, since it's not vented to the outdoors, I run every vent fan in the house to get the moisture out of the house to try to stave off mold or mildew.
JustAnotherCritic
Louisville, KY