The Truth Behind the JML Dri Buddi (JML Dri Buddi)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	JML Dri Buddi
Date:	12/01/09 (4066 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect for those who stay at home all the time. Does dry some fabrics.

Disadvantages: Leaves clothing damp, or mouldy, softens plastic hangers, noisy, poor quality issues,

Replacing a tumble dryer when you've had a gas powered one for the best part of fourteen years isn't easy to replace, particularly in light of whether its cheaper to keep using gas as the means to dry clothing or to consider electricity; it may well be justifiable to hang clothing outdoors if you're down in the coast of England - or even in London if I care to remember the hot humid nights I endured in many months of Augusts in many years. Generally thanks to the almost taken as granted cold wind and rain, it's just not feasible in Scotland to put clothing out wholeheartedly - and I don't care what anyone says - I've done the outdoors fandangle to the point that socks have been frozen to the line on dry days - and if it's frozen, then it means it's wet! In lieu of the bigger and more capable tumble dryer, I have invested in a JML Dri-Buddi in the short term and since May 2008 have been using this in lieu of what we normally use.

** This is a long review! **


JML advertises the Dri Buddi quite extensively; if you missed it on their shopping channel late at night and during the weekends then there's a chance that you may hear of its selling power if you come across JML's audible video sales in branches such as Poundstretchers, Wilkinson's and even TJ Hughes had this on sale seasonally. JML state that the Dri Buddi is the only economical and convenient way to dry clothing against mains power dryers- or so they would have you believe.


Priced at a cost price of £59-99, you get the Dri Buddi machine in a flat pack design plus a very natty and handy laundry basket to put all your damp clothing into at the end of your washing machine's tasks. Carrying the box out of TJ Hughes was easy enough, even if it is the standard size of a microwave and weighs in at something around a 5kg total weight. However before you consider finding your nearest TJ Hughes stockist, there's a bit more to the Dri Buddi than meets the eye. It does however make sense to phone in advance to find out if your chosen stockist has it first of all to avoid disappointment or a long haul from where you reside! Certainly if you are a student who is fed up feeding coin operated dryers, JML's Dri Buddi could be your answer but as with everything "Just Minor Lies," JML produces, there is a catch, or quite a few of them...


The design of the Dri Buddi is like a simple vertical clothes horse, somewhat similar to a coat or hat stand with 9 or so arms that push up and lock into position creating a stand in which damp clothing has to be hung off hangers before the body of the tent cloth can be pulled on and around the clothing to be dried. If you can't envisage that, try to imagine the traditional collapsible whirly gig washing line that you usually find in most gardens. The JML copies this design making it extremely storage friendly and at 4kg is extremely lightweight.


Putting the Dri Buddi together is incredibly easy; you get four legs with plastic sturdy feet on them that have to be pushed in at the bottom of the heater base, a ring that has to be fitted over the vent of the main fan heater at the bottom and a two part pole that can be twisted and locked with the last part of the hooks and arms of the push up and lock stand to be put in place. The tent itself is a washable acrylic net that simply hooks on at the bottom of the base via an elasticated neck and at the top fits over the 8 arms creating a water boiler look when it has been completed. In all by following the useful user manual it shouldn't take anything other than 3 to 5 minutes to put everything together.


Now the heating element that is contained within the Dri Buddi measures at 900 to 1200 watts and similar to a hair dryer, the Dri Buddi has a similar sound from its fan system. Although it generates a lot of heat, there are air holes at the top of the Dri Buddi which should never be covered up as these allow the apparatus to push out the hot air at the top and dependent on how strong your washing detergent and fabric conditioners are at the time of the wash, the air holes also allow the sweet smells of clean washing to absorb the air. Sadly by JML's reckoning, the motor isn't "whisper quiet," and infact it is comparable to a hair dryer being left on continually on its highest speed. Could you sit in a room for four hours listening to that? I know I can't! One good advantage of this airer is that it will heat up a room nicely but it also accompanies damp hot air in the process; opening a window is much needed if you intend to dry big loads of clothing in one go.


Of the nonagonal (9) arms that spring up at the top and lock (but on a ill-fitting lock that doesn't feel entirely locked in), three notches on each arm allows up to three hangers of clothing to be placed which therefore accommodates a lot of clothing such as a maximum of 18 items of clothing or even more if you consider an extra sock hanger or similar for smaller items. If you do the Maths and reconsider the 9 individual arms with three points on them to rest hangers you could in theory add up to 27 items of clothing - but doing that will prevent the Dri Buddi from quicker drying times.


Once the "tent 'has been placed around the main platform of the Dri Buddi motor and protection shield, the tent's top can be pulled over the top of the nonagon hanger arms and forms the body of the Dri Buddi you see in the photo, here on Dooyoo. The whole idea of rising fan heat circling within a heat proof mesh cloth is a good idea for general drying. Make sure that it has been completely zipped upwards both horizontally and vertically as the two zips on the tent need to be zipped upwards otherwise the hot air will escape. Underneath the tent for example there is one main activation control - a 120 minute stiff to turn one way timer which mimics electric dryers at their best - a red LED light on the twist rotary control dial alerts the owner to show the machine is on - but like most things of JML quality the control dial is rather cheap feeling and a pity that its located at the bottom forcing the owner to bend down to activate the dryer. Once switched on the clothing hangs on hangers and gets circulated into the hot air that flows upwards, whilst the tent shape will automatically push itself outwards forming a tall oval shape and feels bouncy to the touch when it has completely inflated due to the hot air from the fan.


One of the early indications that I noted whilst in use however isn't the helpful inclusion of a plastic perforated washing basket that holds all the parts in place if you have to dismantle it all, but of the heat generated from the Dri Buddi itself, particularly through the drying process. Despite JML showing plastic hangers in the adverts I must point out that the heat is hot generally and clothing on plastic hangers may melt the plastic slightly - therefore using wooden hangers to get a better peace of mind whilst the machine is in use minimises the threat of melting and allows clothing to be dried without being additionally impinged and emblazoned with the imprint or body of the plastic hanger whilst in use. I had to throw away a prized Ben Sherman t-shirt because I used a plastic hanger that managed to leave its ribbed imprint on the shoulders for example. JML claims this airer doesn't damage clothing - well it does if you use plastic hangers! Later JML Dri Buddi airers no longer come with an additional laundry basket either - so you may need one!


The performance sums up my own reckoning of the acronym of JML; "Just Minor Lies," and in no way should the adverts or video adverts of the JML Dri Buddi should be taken as viewed.

120 minutes on its total time availability for example failed to dry
a whole load of 12 cotton shirts and 8 pairs of socks; the toes and ankles of the socks fairing the worst. So I increased the timer to another 30 minutes giving a total of 150 minutes; this was still not enough time to dry the clothing perfectly. Infact the shirt test proved disappointing initially; the first time I tried, I ended up putting the Dri Buddi on continually for three hours and after my return found that the arm pits of the shirts were still damp despite everything else being bone dry - but on the account that JML claim the DB uses 35% of power, compared to a much higher powered tumble dryer, I assumed that the energy used to dry the clothing would work out cheaper - as many do with this kind of gadget. It took four hours in all to get the clothing I put in to dry. Faster than a tumble dryer? Not quite! If anything the Dri Buddi is excellent at drying hand washed only articles like woollen jumpers and sweaters however.


Early reflections I had outlines that the more this dryer is used, someone has to be present when its being used and to constantly check on the state of the clothing being dried; because no matter how many times JML would have you believe that the Dri Buddi can dry different textures, leaving clothes which have a different texture to anything else you've loaded in to over dry leaves a mouldy smell. The downsides don't just stop there;


Firstly, towels do not come out warm and fluffy! They come out warm but they aren't fluffy but incredibly stiff and rough; this also applies to jeans. In fact, if you were to put all manner of Terry cotton towels and jeans on a washing line outdoors and bring then back in, you'd expect to find them stiff and tough to your fingers - expect the same from the Dri Buddi. Secondly, creasing does occur unfortunately from stuffing the Dri Buddi to the capacity that the hanger points suggest; shirts for example come out somewhat creased whilst no creasing occurs if say, you only load in three shirts at a time and forget that the JML has a capacity of 18 hung clothes. Jeans were a nightmare too - normally I hang my jeans on a hanger over a double armed hanged as I would do in my closet - so when it came to putting it into the Dri Buddi, the machine failed to dry the clothing all the way through whilst the bend of the clothing on the hanger had a thick damp strip. The jeans also came out wrinkled and stiff. Thirdly performance does improve - if you use the same type of fabric - so you can imagine the fun and joy I had separating everything out of my laundry basket when it came out of the washing machine! Time saving? Not quite! Thank god there's no filter to clean though!


Additionally, the quality on the JML Dri Buddi's exterior is disappointing; the silver painted metal pole scratches all too easily revealing cheap plastic underneath and unfortunately despite four well stubbed feet on the Dri Buddi, the machine will sit safely on a flat surface. Put it on a carpet however and the Dri Buddi starts to sit at an angle looking unbalanced whilst the weight of the clothing adds to the overall weight. Both my mum and I were shocked at how easy the Dri Buddi could be knocked over after clothing had been taken out.


Then the inevitable happened. The rotary power control dial broke after three months use, used every day and short of moaning to JML, we got a free one after much debate! Nice to know now that JML are offering an extra two year guarantee for £9-99 on their current Dri Buddi systems, then! The next one gave the same performance although we had fun and games trying to fathom how to put a double duvet cover in the Dri Buddi; final result it took 8 hours to dry out! The second JML Dri Buddi died in late December when the same-fault control knob came away in our hands revealing a nib behind which had cracked down the middle and indeed because of possible over use (when one's tumble dryer dies you forget how many days you really rely on it) reveals that the machine is not built to handle every day drying yet the adverts would have you believe otherwise. The Dri Buddi will accommodate a total 10kg weight of clothing but doesn't mean it will dry it all at the same time. This dryer lacks a sensor, so if you leave clothing to dry that is damp amongst clothing that has dried, mouldy and stale smells on the clothing appear.


When our three month electricity bill came in, there was a slight decrease to what we spent - and in that instance the JML Dri Buddi has proved to be economical - but for the fuss of constantly checking, revealing half dried clothing, creased linen, damp arm pits, plastic hanger dramas and through time and patience single reliance on a product that claims to be better than a tumble dryer through its performance and general use, the Dri Buddi hasn't been a true friend but rather a relentless pain in the rear!


The kind of consumer that could appreciate the Dri Buddi's worth could well be someone who is happy to stay at home and will be happy to separate textures and fabrics to get the best performance available or for students who like to burn the midnight oil, leaving this dryer on in another room - but may not get dry clothing by morning dependent on load and fabric mixes. However whilst it's a good invention and may well be cheap at £59-99 for short term single to three items of clothing to be dried in one go, I don't think JML have executed the design of the Dri Buddi finely enough. Our experience finds build quality to be shocking not helped by two airers with the same fault of weak control dials in less than a year malfunctioning. Sadly it adds to the general consumer opinion of JML that the company have no actual idea of what they are selling let alone consider good quality design and thinking; which, in this day and age for buyers suffering under a credit crunch environment is bad news. Would I have one again? No. So instead, I've invested some money in radiator hangers until such times an A rated energy efficient tumble dryer comes onto the market that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2009

http://www.jmldirect.com/Dri-Buddi-PD2001/

Now on sale at Tesco at £59-99 (204-0182)

Summary: Good invention but needs a lot more thought - and quality!