Electricity expert says simple tumble dryer hack 'can save 20%' on energy costs

An electricity expert has taken to TikTok to share his tips on reducing energy bills.

Colm Griffin from purchase.ie shared with his followers how the new Energy Price Guarantee will affect the cost per hour of each household appliance.

And he offered his top tips for families to help them cope with energy providers hiking up their prices.

The hack involves placing dryer balls in your tumble dryer to stop your laundry from sticking together mid-wash.

Keeping your clothes separated means they’ll dry faster, so your tumble dryer won’t have to work as hard.

Sharing the tip with over 100,000 viewers, Colm said: "Tumble dryers typically use about a euro an hour when they're on.

Dryer balls keep laundry separated mid-wash (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"But these are dryer balls, and you put them in with your laundry.

“Instead of the clothes getting stuck together, this helps to separate the clothes and distribute them around the tumble dryer better.

"This means the clothes are able to dry faster. They can reduce drying time by up to 20%. So for every hour you use your tumble dryer, you could be saving up to 20c an hour."

Tumble dryers are known to be big electricity users - but many people can’t go without them.

Depending on your tumble dryer, the average yearly cost of running your appliance can range from around £66 to £201.

Using the dyer ball technique could reduce these costs to roughly £13 to £39, claimed Colm. This means you’ll be making a saving of up to 20%.

The average yearly cost of running the appliance can cost up to £201 (Getty Images)

In his short TikTok clip, Colm added: "Tumble dryers, I'm assuming [use] about 5kW per hour, so that would add up to €1.50 per hour."

The electricity expert told viewers to look out for dryer ball products to benefit from lower running costs.

Millions of households across the UK will be on the hunt for tips and tricks to cut costs and help them save some money.

The hack means your tumble dryer doesn't have to work as hard (Getty Images)

For tumble dryer users, dryer balls can provide a number of benefits - making the process of drying your laundry much more cost-effective, energy-efficient and eco-friendly.

These benefits include:

• Less time needed to dry clothes
• Less drying time saves energy, making laundry cheaper
• Eco-friendly due to lower energy use
• Less static and lint build up, as well as a reduction in creases and wrinkles
• No need for artificial chemicals
• Dryer balls are re-usable, which will save you money on fabric softeners