A recent test of clothes dryers available in the South Korean market revealed that some small models have subpar drying functions. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent test of clothes dryers available in the South Korean market revealed that some small models have subpar drying functions. The drying time for clothes varied by up to one hour, and the disparity in annual power rates reached up to 25,000 won.
On Tuesday, the Korea Consumer Agency unveiled the results of its testing and evaluation of small clothes dryers from eight brands. The tested small clothing dryers include eight products: Minix (MNMD-110G), Shinil (SCD-TO3CP), OA (OET-001WH), Winia (WWR03SGDV(A)), Winix (HS2E400-MEK), Chungho Nice (CH-03ESB), Hanssem (HAF-DR420WH), and Hanil (HLD-5100W).
In the evaluation of the drying function by inserting cotton clothes equivalent to 80 percent of the maximum capacity, the Winia model demonstrated excellent performance. Models from Minix, Shinil, Chungho Nice, Hanssem, and Hanil performed well, while OA and Winix models lagged in drying performance.
These models exhibited a gap of up to 1 hour and 23 minutes in the time required to dry clothing. When operating on a standard cycle, the Hanil model took one hour and 43 minutes, the shortest among the eight models, followed by Winia with 1 hour and 53 minutes. The OA model took the longest time, at three hours and six minutes.
Models from OA, Winia, Winix, and Hanil are equipped with an automatic time adjustment function based on the volume of laundry or the degree of drying, thus reducing power consumption when drying a small volume of laundry.
For 160 uses per year, the Hanssem model offered the lowest expected cost of electricity consumption at 40,000 won, followed by Minix, Shinil, and Chungho Nice at 41,000 won. At the other end of the spectrum, the Winia dryer was expected to use 44,000 won of electricity, followed by Winix at 47,000 won, OA at 53,000 won, and Hanil at 65,000 won.
In terms of cost effectiveness considering product price, drying performance, and drying time, the Winia model came out on top. The Hanil model features a short drying time and is capable of drying a relatively large volume of laundry.
The average operating noise of the small clothes dryers measured 63dB, higher than a microwave oven (57dB) but lower than a drum washing machine (69dB).
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
