To dry clothes without giving damages such as shrinkage as much as possible by rotationally driving a drum in a reverse rotation direction at the time of judging that a drying rate detected by a drying rate detection means reaches a preset value from the state of rotationally driving the drum in a normal rotation direction at the time of a drying operation.

The set value of the drying rate for rotationally driving the drum in the reverse rotation direction is set to 90[%], in this case, beforehand and stored in a controller 44. Based on it, in the controller 44, at the time of judging that the drying rate of the clothes reaches 90[%] by clothes drying rate detection signals Sk inputted from an electrode 48 and a detection circuit 49, energizing is performed to a motor 21 in the reverse rotation direction instead of the normal rotation direction until then. Thus, when the drum is rotationally driven in the reverse rotation direction, the clothes are made to pass through a part on the opposite side of the hot blast supply destination of the hot blast supply port of the drum and agitated, the direct contact of the clothes and host blast is eliminated and the direct influence of heat on the clothes is evaded.