Hi Nadine, I’m in Canada and had the same dilema. After much research and feedback on automaticwasher.org I decided on a Miele heat pump dryer. The consensus was a heat pump dryer is much better than a condenser. The only heat pump dryer that I could find consistently good reviews on is Miele. There are many people on this forum that have a Miele heat pump dryer who have posted about their positive experiences, some after thousands of hours of use. Dry times are surpisingly similar to a vented dryer. This is not the case for other brands which seem to take much longer and have issues that develop over time with cleaning the heat exchanger. My dryer just arrived yesterday afternoon and is still in the garage waiting to be swapped in so I don’t have personal use feedback but will update you when I do. One thing to note is there was a supply issue when I bought mine at the end of June so it took 2 months to arrive. I got the base model. They did have some top model dryers in stock in Canada at the time but the price is quite a bit more than the base model so I decided to wait.

Thank you so much - that is helpful - we have looked at Miele ourselves - it is pricey - which is OK if it does the job and lasts. I will check out the link you sent. I appreciate this info!

Here’s the specific thread with my question. I was struggling to justify the cost of the Miele but decided you get what you pay for in the end. I also love my Miele washer so that helped convince me. https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREADM.cgi?87405

I am watching this thread with interest because laundry room remodeling is creeping closer and closer to the top of the remodeling list and I am seriously considering a ventless dryer.

The Miele heat pump dryer works very well. The clothes come out dry, but not hot and crispy like out of a vented dryer...so most people who complain need to recalibrate what they are feeling and that it is actually better for your clothes to be dried in the heat pump vs the vented dryer. The few complaints you will read of clothes coming out still wet are probably because there is a setting that needs to be made if you have soft water so that the sensor in the dryer can work properly. In general heat pump dryers are much more effective than condenser dryers. If you want full size whirlpool makes a heat pump dryer too.

I've had the Miele Heat pump dryer for a few years now and don't think I would ever go back to a condenser or vented dryer. The clothes are so well cared for now, it has extended the life of so many garments. The other thing I enjoy is no more external vent to the outside (cold in the winter, hot in the summer) and the maintenance that goes along with needing to clean/maintain an external vent.

I recently had the chance to use a LG 24" condenser dryer, it dried clothes well but was much louder, gave off plenty of heat in the room, and had a tendency to overdry some items.

I've found the trick with Miele and perfect dry is to try and take the garments out as soon as possible after the cycle ends and shake/fold. Whatever residual moisture you might think you feel, will quickly go away and the garment will feel dry. Of course there are extra settings on the Miele to realllllly extra dry your clothes if you desire that, but it defeats the purpose of caring properly for your clothes.

I never found the cycle times on the heat pump dryer to be an issue, because the wash cycle times are around the same so by the time the washer is done the dryer usually is too.

Heat pump dryers are a type of condensor dryer ... but the heat/condensation is largely kept within the confines of the machine which reduces heating of the ambient area.

Has anyone looked at the Asko Heat Pump dryer — https://www.appliancesconnection.com/asko-t411hsw.html ?

This is the HP dryer in my list of appliances for my new build to be completed Q1/2 2022. I’ve heard great things about Asko but I will re-evaluate when I get closer to ordering.