Why Are Clothes Dryers So Uncommon In European Countries?

While each European country is certainly unique, in general, the continent’s wealth of history, food, and culture all combine to entice visitors from the U.S. However, as much as American travelers and expatriates might appreciate Europe’s distinct vibe, they might also struggle with a little culture shock. Sometimes, this comes in the form of realizing that Europeans may go about certain daily tasks differently than their American counterparts. Consider the example of clothes-drying. Everything from TikTok reaction videos to official statistics indicate Europeans own and use clothes dryers at much lower rates when compared to folks from the U.S. Although there’s no universally-accepted reason for this, there are some good theories.

First, it’s important to understand that dryers aren’t unheard of in Europe. Per the European Commission, in 2020, there were about 50 million laundry dryers in use across EU homes. This roughly translates to about one dryer in every four households. However, according to the EPA, about 79% of U.S. households have clothes dryers. Clearly, Americans are much more likely to own clothes dryers than Europeans are. Research also confirms that drying clothes by hanging them on a clothesline is, in general, considerably more common in Europe than the U.S. For example, line drying outdoors is almost twice as common in Germany as it is here. Once more, there may be a few explanations for this disparity.

It can’t be reiterated enough: This topic is a little more complex than TikTok might make it seem. As a whole, Europeans use clothes dryers to a lesser degree than Americans do. Still, clothes dryers are more common in some parts of Europe than others.

That said, academics and others have proposed a few theories for why clothes dryers aren’t as abundant in the EU and other countries. One explanation is that houses in Europe are often built in ways that make it difficult to accommodate clothes dryers, particularly vented ones. Surveys also indicate that Europeans may have different attitudes about the effectiveness of various clothes drying methods. In one survey, UK participants indicated a preference for line-dried towels, while American respondents preferred using towels that had been dried in clothes dryers.

Essentially, researchers say this all might come down to a matter of tradition. Due to their history of not relying on clothes dryers, European households might be more comfortable with line drying or other options.

Of course, if you do use a clothes dryer, and you’re in the market for a new one, you want to be confident you’re investing in a unit that will live up to your expectations. Thus, you might want to research the top dryer brand, or you may want to learn about the clothes dryer features most worth paying for. Learning about the average lifespan of a dryer can also help you get a better sense of whether it’s time to replace yours.