Written by Angela Reviewed by Daniel

Synthetic Dry Vs Cotton Dry – What’s The Difference?

If you’ve noticed that your tumble dryer has synthetic dry and cotton dry and you’ve wondered what the difference is, you’re in the right place. Modern tumble dryers have multiple programmes for many different fabrics.

Go back a few years and tumble dryers had two settings, low heat and high heat. But as washing machines started to include cycles for various fabrics, tumble dryers have followed suit.

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What’s The Difference Between Cotton Dry & Synthetic Dry On A Tumble Dryer?

Before we can understand the difference between these two programmes, we need to understand what each one does. Let’s start by looking at the synthetic dry programme.

What Is The Synthetic Dry Programme?

The synthetic dry programme on a tumble dryer is for use with delicate or synthetic fabrics. The synthetic dry programme can only dry half as many clothes as the cotton dry programme.

It uses a reduced tumbling action and a low heat setting to protect the synthetic fabrics from damage. As the synthetic dry programme can only do half the amount as a cotton dry programme, you will need to dry your synthetic clothes in stages.

This half load allows the clothes to dry without being exposed to the ferocious heat that is often experienced when tumble drying full loads. Especially full loads of synthetics which produce heat through friction.

Also the clothes are less likely to get creased if there are less items in the drum.

Synthetic clothes are made from plastic based fabrics which can melt or get damaged if exposed to too much heat.

What Is The Cotton Dry Programme?

As cotton is a more robust material, the cotton dry programme can be more powerful. It has a higher heat setting and a faster, more vigorous tumbling action.

Because cotton clothes absorb more heat, the cotton dry programme allows for a full load. The fuller load and the fact that cotton clothes hold onto heat, helps the clothes to dry without causing them any damage.

The cotton dry programme should be used for:

Jeans
Cotton Bedding
Towels
Cotton Underwear
Cotton Socks
Cotton Shirts

Which Drying Programme Should You Choose?

The drying programme you should choose is dependent on the wash programme you used to wash the clothes in the first place.

If you used a cotton wash programme, you should use a cotton drying programme.

If you used a synthetic wash programme, you should use a synthetic drying programme.

Which Is Hotter; Synthetic Dry Or Cotton Dry?

The cotton dry programme is the hotter of the two because cotton is a more durable fabric and can withstand more heat than synthetic clothes.

The synthetic dry programme uses lower temperatures and smaller loads to reduce the heat and prevent the plastic fibres from getting damaged or melting.

Why don’t mild-mannered people like to change their laundry detergent?
Because it’s too much of a Bold move! 😂

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between cotton dry and synthetic dry?

The difference between cotton dry and synthetic dry is that cotton dry is a hotter, more vigorous programme designed to dry cotton garments. Whereas the synthetic dry programme is designed specifically for synthetic materials that cannot withstand such high temperatures or such rough treatment.

Which is hotter cotton dry or synthetic dry?

Cotton dry is a hotter programme than synthetic dry. This is because cotton dry is designed for cotton which is far more robust than synthetic plastic based fabrics.

Which dries faster: cotton or synthetic?

Synthetic materials dry faster than cotton because synthetic materials do not absorb as much water.