Method for controlling drying processes in household washer-dryers

A method for controlling drying processes in household washer-dryers, including a laundry drum being rotatable about an at least horizontal axis and having an incoming air inlet and a waste air outlet, an air conduit leading to the incoming air inlet, a blower in the air conduit, a heating device upstream of the incoming air inlet, temperature and moisture sensors, a memory for measured values and process sequence variants and an electronic program control unit, which comprises:

• measuring a waste air temperature at the waste air outlet at a starting point of a drying process;
• periodically turning at least part of the heating device on and off during at least one time segment at a beginning of the drying process;
• taking air temperature measurements at an inlet of the heating device, upstream of the incoming air inlet and immediately downstream of the waste air outlet, after an expiration of a starting phase having a duration being dimensioned in terms of a length of one to three given heating periods, and forming and storing in memory differences from the measured values in the waste air, at the inlet to the heating device, and in the incoming air;
• and
• measuring process variables at least periodically at frequencies of several times per second, and calling up a plurality of memorized process sequences to the memory each time for output to and processing in the program control unit, upon attainment of predetermined threshold values as a function of entered program parameters pertaining to at least one of type, amount and initial residual moisture of laundry.