# Clothes Dryer Preference: Gas or Electric?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 10, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858 "2013-08-10T11:36:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/1 "2013-08-10T11:36:36Z")
I am moving into a new house in a few weeks. The house I am in now does not have natural gas, but the new house does have it, for the furnace. The new house currently has electric hookups for the range and the clothes dryer. I prefer cooking on a gas range so I am thinking about having that switched out. My question is whether there is any practical benefit to a gas clothes dryer over electric. I ran a quick energy tool that said the monthly cost would be comparable (gas came out cheaper by only a few dollars.)
Does anyone have any strong opinions either way?
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/2 "2013-08-10T11:59:19Z")
Anecdotally, IME gas dryers last longer than electric.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/3 "2013-08-10T16:08:57Z")
Gas dryers are a lot faster than electric in my experience, but you do need to vent the exhaust outside.
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/4 "2013-08-10T16:11:20Z")
> [@friedo](#):
>
> … but you do need to vent the exhaust outside.
Do you not, with electric? My current electric dryer vents outside.
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/5 "2013-08-10T16:25:16Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> Do you not, with electric? My current electric dryer vents outside.
My small electric dryer has an exhaust (that we vent out a window).
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/6 "2013-08-10T16:30:12Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> Do you not, with electric? My current electric dryer vents outside.
With some smaller electric models you don’t need to vent them. They take longer to work, though. Alas, with my weird apartment layout there’s really no way for me to have a vented dryer so I make do with a ventless unit.
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### Author:  [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/7 "2013-08-10T16:31:25Z")
With electric of course you have to vent the air from the drying process. With gas, you also have to vent the products of combustion.
Myself, I will not have gas in the house at all because I’m afraid of it.
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### Author:  [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/8 "2013-08-10T17:42:01Z")
Only have to vent an electric dryer in the summer- it’s nice to keep that heat in the winter.
But given a choice, I’d like a gas dryer, gas stove, and gas water heater.
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### Author:  [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/9 "2013-08-10T17:47:00Z")
I don’t know where you live, but here in Nevada, that is a no-brainer; gas costs FAR less than electricity, which is why I have gas stove, gas heater, gas dryer, gas water heater…
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/10 "2013-08-10T18:55:02Z")
> [@DMark](#):
>
> I don’t know where you live, but here in Nevada, that is a no-brainer; gas costs FAR less than electricity, which is why I have gas stove, gas heater, gas dryer, gas water heater…
I’m in Charlotte, NC. I did an online cost analysis that my energy company provides, and the difference is minimal.
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### Author:  [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/11 "2013-08-11T04:15:55Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#):
>
> Only have to vent an electric dryer in the summer- it’s nice to keep that heat in the winter.
> …
Don’t you get an awful lot of lint blown in?
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### Author:  [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/12 "2013-08-11T04:27:00Z")
You can’t trust the energy company on this that is a clear conflict of interests
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/13 "2013-08-11T11:37:26Z")
> [@MLS](#):
>
> Don’t you get an awful lot of lint blown in?
They have systems where the exhaust is blown through a water bath. The water traps the lint.
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### Author:  [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/14 "2013-08-11T11:49:22Z")
> [@PSXer](#):
>
> You can’t trust the energy company on this that is a clear conflict of interests
What? Energy utilities publish their rates accurately.
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### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/15 "2013-08-11T13:08:04Z")
> [@DMark](#):
>
> I don’t know where you live, but here in Nevada, that is a no-brainer; gas costs FAR less than electricity, which is why I have gas stove, gas heater, gas dryer, gas water heater…
QFT
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### Author:  [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothes-dryer-preference-gas-or-electric/665858/16 "2013-08-11T13:40:18Z")
As a kid we had electric. Ever since I have had gas. The gas dryers seem to last at least twice as long without needing any servicing, and it seems to me they work better.