We LOVE the convenience of tumble dryers and the lovely fluffy clothes they give us, but there are some things you just need to take a little more time and effort over.

Avoid the stress and cost of ruined clothes or – worse – an expensive dryer repair by keeping these things out of your dryer:

Fiddly bras
When you look at all the little bits your bra is made of – lace, clasps, straps, padding, underwiring – you can see it’s just a disaster waiting to happen. At best your bra will be ruined, at worst it will cause your dryer to break as well. Good bras don’t come cheap, so show them a bit of TLC by air-drying them.

Shapely swimsuits
Swimsuits are made from special material that’s designed to stay figure-hugging in water but doesn’t like being exposed to heat for long periods of time. Hanging your swimwear out to dry instead of tumble drying will significantly extend its life.

Delicate tights
Tights can pick up a ladder just from looking at something sharp. The dryer is full of zips, buttons and clasps churning around. You can see how this might end. Plus, if the heat gets too high your tights will probably shrink. If you want to make them last longer, hand-washing is best.

Sparkly sequins
(and any other beautiful but fragile embellishments). If you want to keep your clothes looking glamorous, a few sequins dangling on loose threads is not the way to go. Just hang these delicate creations up to dry to avoid risk of dryer damage.

Stinky trainers
They definitely deserve a decent wash now and again, but the heat of the drier won’t do your trainers any good. Not to mention how irritating you’ll find the noise of the rubber soles bouncing around inside. The best way to get your shoes dry is to stuff them with newspaper and pop them in an airing cupboard or next to a radiator.

Robust rubber
If you’re washing a rug with a non-slip backing (or any other rubber-based products you may happen to own), the last thing you should do is expose them to the heat of the dryer as they can catch fire. Instead, just hang them up to dry in their own sweet time.