Had a Bosch Axxis condenser dryer for about a year and a half in our apartment. It did a very good job but did make things like towels very hot. We had it in a closet and while it was running the closet door had to remain open due to heat build up. The units were stacked with the dryer on top -- very handy. We have a king size bed and use bath sheets and it handled those well. Though like most of the Euro size dryers it balled up the sheets quite a bit. Two things I didn't like about it was having to clean the filter which absolutely does require regular maintenance and collects a great deal of lint. Also, the dryer does not totally turn itself off when the cycle is finished -- that needs to be done manually.

I have a free-standing (i.e. non-combo) Asko condensation dryer. I've had it about 15 years and it is my only dryer. However, I do not dry my laundry in a dryer, I hang it out, so my dryer gets very little use compared to what most people would need. I mostly use the dryer for an initial 5-15 min tumble prior to hanging out and and on rare occasions when weather foils my need to get a particular load dry. This is more frequently in the summer, oddly enough, even though I live in a very cold northern area. Condensation dryers do work as claimed, but I would never choose one if direct venting was possible because I think they are less efficient than conventional models. Since you can't direct vent, that's a moot point. When I use the machine in the winter time (in a generally cooler than normal, woodheated - and therefore very dry farmhouse in northern NY) I don't see much degradation of efficiency because the ambient air is dry and cool, which improves the effectiveness of the condensation function. My machine also raises (by a modest, but measurable amount) the indoor relative humidity, and to some degree the indoor air temp during operation. But that's just fine in the winter, and I really appreciate not blowing my heated air out of the house as I would with a conventional dryer. However, that's not germane to your situation, of course. In the summer when I use the dryer (and that's usually on hot, rainy days when something I need to wear won't dry outdoors), the dryer is more problematical. Condenser dryers work by having double air paths. They have a "normal one" that enters the machine, is heated and then passes through the drum with the clothes, collecting moisture and carrying it off, just like a standard dryer. When that air is drawn out of the chamber, however, it passes across the plates of the condenser where the moist, heated air is cooled and relieved of most (but obviously not all to a perfect scientific degree) of the moisture it's carrying as it condenses on the metal plates in the condenser. The air then is discharged into the room and the resulting condensed water is pumped to a reservoir. The condenser itself has room air drawn through it in a sealed, separate, path which keeps the condenser surfaces cooler so that when the warm, moist air passes over it the water vapor it is carrying is released. (Think of how your glass of ice-cold soda -the condensation plane- gathers so much moisture on a hot day.) That's the theory, anyway. Where I can get into problems is when the ambient room temperature rises high enough, say 80+F, (whether due just a hot day, or continual drying if I accidentally leave the door to the laundry room closed) so that the temperature differential between the heated air path through the drum and the natural air temp through the condenser gets too close. Then little condensation occurs, even though the machine is running correctly. Also in a closed space such as closet, you might run into problems if the machine caused a small but steady rise in humidity. You would in effect be constantly re-condensing the same moisture out. I think the ideal situation for a condenser dryer would be in cool, and very dry climate. Then they would work like demons. If you air condition your home (and remove humidity that way) you will have less functional problems with a condenser dryer than I do on a hot, humid, but un-air conditioned day in Aug. in NY. However, you will put a small, but probably measurable increased load on your A/C to remove the fugitive humidity from the machine and any increase in room temp. The only other thing to report is that you must periodically remove and clean off the condenser unit to remove any fugitive lint or pet fur that has evaded the lint filters. My machine's manual says once every six months, but I've found that it's more like once every 10 loads, alas. This is by far the nastiest, slimy, gross job in my household and I simply hate it! However, other users of condenser machines on this forum report much less cleaning is needed and when necessary it's nowhere near as onerous. So, this may be a peculiarity of my particular machine, or model, or even my usage patterns. I hope I haven't discouraged you, too much. In a situation like yours you may have no choice if you can't dry clothes any other way. And a condenser dryer is definitely much better than collecting the moisture in a free-standing bucket. It will have drawer in the front which will make removing the condensate very easy. (Some con. dryers will also allow direct draining through the washing machine stand pipe. Don't know about that for Axxis.) Axxis machines are very nice, but IIRC they need 220V power. That's not a bad thing in my mind, as that gives them really good cleaning power from powerful internal heaters. My own washing machines are all 220V models and I would never have anything less. I would ask the dealer if he can give you the names of other users in your area that you could call and ask about how the machines work in your climate. I would be glad to come on an all-expenses paid trip to assess the location for you. How does January sound; it's really grim here in January and Mauai would be much better! Heck, I'd even ship my own machine out with me for a few tests runs. (LOL - I always get a little panic-y the first morning I wake up and see frost outside like this morning; I grew up in South America and Asia.) I hope this helps you make your decision. I suppose there's no way you can line dry? I found one of the best things about living in the tropics was great drying weather year-round except, of course, in the rainy season! No place is perfect, I guess. Molly~ PS: In evaluating condenser dryers keep in mind that "combo units" i.e. ones with a single drum where both washing, and then, drying takes place are very different things from free-standing (or stackable) units. Having a single drum makes things very complicated, and usually you can wash twice much as you can dry in a combo unit making for some awkwardness in load planning. A free-standing/stackable set like the Axxis will wash and dry the same sized loads, and work simultaneously, so your second load is in the wash while the first is drying. PS 2: You also might want to look at Asko brand machines if they are available to you, though the Bosch machines are nice, too.

Just dried a fairly large load of 4 cotton hoodies and 2 big towels. I washed them using Cottons Universal 120F, 3 Rinses and 1400rpm spin. I used about 2 TBS. of classic Original Scent Tide powder, 1/2 cap Bounce Bursts and a FULL cap of Spring Bloom softener. Before putting in the dryer, the load smelled absolutely amazing. Clean, fresh, soft and wonderful. Dried them using Minimum Iron Normal+. Took about 50/55 mins including an Extended Cooling Down. Open the dryer door....and there is that strange, herbal, old fashioned detergent scent with the faintest, slightest hint of something chemical (chemical scent always goes away with a min or less). I get a whiff of the Bounce Bursts, but absolutely NO Tide powder or Spring Bloom softener (a FULL caps worth). Crazy, right? What does the Condenser dryer do to scent? I can use Tide powder, Bubble Bandit powder, Tide TotalCare liquid, an all Stainlifter pod, Tide Free & Gentle pod, fabric softener, no fabric softener...EVERY load smells the same. It is "clean" and "fresh"...but why are none of my fav scents there?? Any Condenser dryer owners know? Thanks. I must say though with the Condenser dryer....EVERYTHING is soft, more fluffed than ever before, wrinkle free, smooth and looks and feels absolutely amazing!!! Wonderful actually!!

I'm curious if anyone else has had the issue I'm having with my Blomberg ventless dryer. For some reason, lint gets past both filters and gathers on the evaporator. It's impossible to clean, because the link is wet and sticks to the evaporator. I bought a special tool to clean it, but the fins are easily damaged, and it only cleans so much of the lint. (I have photos, but for some reason am unable to post.) Blomberg has done pretty much nothing for me, telling me they've never heard of the problem and that my dryer is out of warranty (this was 2.5 years ago). They did finally send a repair person at their cost, who could find no reason this was happening. I talked to the rep while the repair person was at my house; we spent about 20 minutes on the phone going over every possibility. He ended up sending me a new filter (the one that goes in front of the drum) and after that refused to answer my texts. The result of all of this is that there is wet lint inside my evaporator and it stinks in a way similar to cat pee. I have to run the dryer empty for an hour after every load to sort of dry it out or my entire laundry room will smell. Bath towels dried in the dryer also smell reminiscent of cat pee when they're wet. Blomberg has done nothing for me beyond this, and if I want a decent (not cat pee smelling) dryer, I will have to buy an entire new set because I only have room for stacking. Hugely disappointed in Blomberg service. You'd think they'd want to know why I had this issue, and even take back the somehow bizarrely defective dryer and give me one that works.