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19th century
Hanging clothes up with a line, not necessarily a machine but definitely a tool. They would use a clothes line, and would clip or hang their clothes on it for the sun and air to dry it. -
The ventilator was a machine that you hand cranked with a metal drum that rotated over a fire. This invention was created by M. Pochon, a French inventor. It was created to try and speed up the air drying process. Since it was over an open flame, it would leave clothes usually smokey, burnt, or on fire. -
George T. Sampson wanted to fix the ventilator invention. He wanted to fix it because when he was a slave he had to hang up clothes and it was hard. Sampson added a rack to go over a stove, instead of using heat from an open fire. This was important because the machine didn't smoke or burn the clothes. These dryers were used for a while into the 19th century. Sampson is credited for helping create the modern clothes dryer. -
J. Ross Moore lived on a North Dakota farm. He didn't want to hang wet clothes outside in the middle of the winter anymore. At the time he got a stove and put it in a shed, he hung his clothes there to dry. Over the next 30 years, he partnered with Hamilton Manufacturing. They created a drum-type electric heater and fan model that worked. It let you dry your clothes inside, whenever you wanted. This dryer stands out because it was the first one to become useful and convenient. -
Dryer manufacturers decided to add a lot of new controls, and moved them to the front of the dryer. They added a timer, an exhaust, temperature controls, and a cool-down cycle. They also had 30-inch-wide dryers using a pressure system, this was the first that was offered to the public and is still used till this day. -
Dryer manufacturers added dry sensors to shut off the power when the load was dry. This had also created dryers with permanent press cycles. -
2000-2025
We have both dryers and washing machines together. Different dryer companies compete with each other. All dryers have different features like keeping it in shape, wearing it over and over, making it look new, ‘fast drying’, ect. These are the most modern dryers to what we have now.