OK. I have 5 kids in total, a teenage boy, a rough & tumble 9 year old lad and 3 girls. That's one heck of a lot of washing.

Now imagine being in the dead of winter and realising you tumble drier is now only doing half its job.... tumbling.... but not drying! With a minimum of 2 loads of washing a day this was my ultimate nightmare.

I sat down with my other half (who's not exactly money wise) and worked out exactly how much we could save up in a short time.

Plumping for a £300 budget, we went scouring around all the major websites for white goods comparing ratings, models & pricing. We opted for a condenser drier simply because..... the vent was letting in the cold blasts of winter!

We saw this model in Littlewoods, Additions (where we got it from) and Boots with about a £10 variation. Additions came out the cheapest at £289 + £3.50 10 days delivery.

This B rated electrical appliance has been my godsend. With its 9kg drum i can fit in 2 loads from my washer and its bone dry in half an hour!

There is a little light to tell you when the water draw is full, and if you get it just as it finishes, the water is lovely and warm and great for floor mopping (yes I fell over on the way to the sink and spilled on the floor!) The water draw itself is rather hard to spill unless turned right over to empty it into a sink/bucket. It comes with an adapter & instructions on how to bypass the water drawer and have the evaporated water go down the waste pipe, but I opted not to simply because I like to get the extra uses from the water before i tip it away.

Its not immensely huge, no bigger than my washing machine in fact. The door is rather flush to the body and very sturdy.... which is great with my lot.

I have immensely enjoyed having this machine. Its possibly good to point out that the extra warranty/guarantee from Hoover is very cheap (about £150) and definitely well worth it, Hoover have been rather good at keeping their promises.