Help me make use of my airing cupboard! Do clothes dry better in there?

[Tinkjon]

I've just sorted out my airing cupboard and have a few shelves free. Do clothes dry a lot quicker in an airing cupboard (there's a hot water tank in there)? I assume they would but there isn't really much space to hang clothes up, as I really want to keep my bedlinen in there. I could fold clothes and dry them on the shelves but then (a) they will need more ironing and (b) they won't dry as quickly. I could take out the shelves and hang clothes up then, but then I'd have to find another space for all my bedlinen.

I have a utility room and the boiler is in there so that may be warmish in the winter but I doubt it'll be as warm as the airing cupboard. Do you think they'd dry pretty well in the utlity room too, so that I can leave the bedlinen where it is? I do feel like I'm constantly doing washing and having it hanging all over the house so I want it dried as quickly as possible.

I'm not really sure what I'm asking here I suppose I'm asking if clothes dry so much better in an airing cupboard that it's worth the inconvenience taking the bedlinen out and finding another home for it.

Very grateful for any thoughts/ideas!

[SlartyBartFast]

i am not sure if you shoudl dry clothes in there as such, just if they are not fully dry it is quite good. i keep towels in the top and bedlinen in boxes under our bed. clothes go in the airing cupboard off the line, unless they are too wet, and they hang on an airer.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

They are great for making wine/home brew.

[Tinkjon]

Thgat's interesting, that they're only meant for airing. I'm not bothered about that, I can shove them in teh tumble-dryer for 5 mins to do that. It was only the drying I wanted to do. Good tip, thanks! The bedlinen can stay where it is then, phew

[jeminthepantry]

Yep, they are good for airing, hence the name, not for drying clothes. As far as I know they are generally used for bedding and towel or other clothes storage.

[nbee84]

I dry all the childrens clothes in the airing cupboard. I put them on hangers as they come out of the washing machine and hang them straight up. Minimizes the ironing too.

Is there a reason why you shouldn't hang wet clothes in an airing cupboard?

[SlartyBartFast]

condensation was the reason i heard

[NinjaRain]

Mold.

Was going to sugested use it to make bread from the title

[nbee84]

But surely the heat from the tank just dries up any moisture, so there wouldn't be a chance for the mould to form?

[NinjaRain]

Actually the heat just causes the water to evapourate (turn into water vapour) which without good ventilation cools falls out of the air making everything damp thus allowing mold to grow. if that makes sense.

[littlerach]

I hang stuff on hangers in our airing cupbaord.
I leave the door slightly open if there is a lot in there, but it's usually just dh's shirts and dds' school tops.

[justwantedtoshare]

I've got shelves in mine. always assumed I was supposed to put towels in?

[Amapoleon]

I never thought I would go on a thread about an airing cupboard, how times have changed!

I've just moved into a house with a huge one and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Will watch this thread with interest.

[Tinkjon]

Oooh, I hadn't even thoguht about the condensation and mold - yuk! So glad I asked this question, you find out something new every day on MN, don't you?! Thanks everybody, much appreciated.

[CultureMix]

I've always used my airing cupboard for drying clothes straight out of the washer (wet), it works fine although typically requires at least an overnight session. I complement this with a concertina rack for large/bulky items eg. sheets & jeans. Never had any problems with condensation or mold, if there are lots of heavy wet items it'll just take longer to dry. I do find items dry faster within the cupboard, esp. in winter when the heating is turned on. That said things can come out a bit stiff but we're used to that and it's not so bad, besides once clothes are on the body they loosen up -- see recent thread on softening towels (basically need to go through tumble drier if only a few minutes if you really want fluffy).

My MIL has a huge airing cupboard which she really needed as she had 4 kids. Nowadays it also serves as a hideaway for the cats, they love it in there as it's warm, we are under instructions to leave the door slightly open so they don't get trapped which of course means the drying takes rather longer .

Of course in summer I hang everything out on the line as much as possible, not only is it faster but there's nothing like the smell of outdoor-dried clothes, as autumn is drawing in I'll have to stop soon.

[muddleduck]

I have a rail near the top of our that I hang the dcs clothes on to dry. never had a problem with mold etc, but I do leave it ajar to dry out if I've used it a lot.

[NervousNutty]

I have one of those round things with all the pegs on in mine. I hang all of the underwear/socks on that and within a few hours they are all dry.

I also hang anything in there that I need to dry overnight, like jeans, school jumpers etc.

[NervousNutty]

Never had a problem with mould or condensation in my airing cupboard either.

[NinjaRain]

I think its about the airing of the airing cupboard that prevents the mold tbh. personally i dream of a laundry room old schoolstyle like my nan had. it was an airing room with a drip proof floor. Like drying ouside inside.

[MadBadandDangerousToKnow]

I store towels and sheets in my airing cupboard, too, although I read that one shouldn't as the warmth will make whites go yellow. Ho hum.

[mathanxiety]

You can also use the airing cupboard for making yeast dough rise.

[thumbwitch]

I used to have a lovely airing cupboard but then moved.
It had shelves on one side above the boiler, where I put clothes when they had dried; and a lovely hanging space on the other side, where I hung clothes to dry and also had an old A-frame airer in there for hanging smaller things on to dry. I used to leave the hanging space door open so there were never mould issues. And over the whole thing was the top linen/towel airing cupboard area...

How sad is it to miss your airing cupboard?