When do you stop drying washing outside?

[Upupupintheair]

I realise that I should probably win an award for the most boring thread today…

For obvious reasons I’m trying to cut down the amount we use our tumble dryer this winter, we haven’t used it since April this year.. and I’ve sadly loved the ritual of pegging clothes out on the line (god I need to get a life 😆).

with autumn coming what do you normally do in the winter about drying clothes? Do you try and dry outside all year round? What about if its frosty?

i don’t really want to dry them indoors (house is susceptible to damp) but want to avoid using the tumble dryer as much as possible!

I have never had an airing cupboard....

Do you hang the clothes in there? If clothes are folded and put in slightly damp, how do they not get that musty smell? I know if I put something away not fully dried, they get a funny odour to them.

I too am rather invested in other peoples laundry routines now.....

"If the flags are drying the washing will too."

I can't remember where I heard that from, but it's true. So my washing is inside today...
I find it helps to have it in a room with an extract fan. Put the fan on for a few minutes every hour or so and it extracts the damp air and the washing dries quicker.

I know a few people like this.

One of my family members is one of them. I had some words when they stayed with me and I watched her take out the washing from the machine and straight into the dryer. The thought of putting into a basket and taking 5 steps outside didn't even cross her mind. The worst of it is, we live in a hot country, it would dry outside in the same time as in the dryer!

(Apparently pegging out and then bringing in washing takes too long......)

I despair.

(much younger family member I should probably add in there)

It's just a cupboard built around the hot water tank, usually with pine slatted shelves. I hang shirts, socks, undies over the slats if they are still slightly damp.They finish drying overnight

Damp sheets from the line are hung on a dryer in the conservatory until dry, then folded and put in the airing cupboard.

Commiserations. I lived in a new house once that had no hot press, I hated it. No soft warm towels and bed linen, no toasty underwear in the winter. It was awful. I had to drape things over radiators and it wasn't the same.

We don't put wet washing in the hot press, just put it in for a final drying off and warming before putting away. Not hung, folded. Things smell fine because they're nearly dry before they go in anyway.

It's not a boring thread OP !

I ask myself the same question when I'm hanging out washing in November .
It's true if the ground is dry your washing will dry somewhat - a breeze is what makes the difference though
I hang sheets and bedding out even when the ground is wet - just to catch the lovely fresh smell of outdoors .

This is not remotely boring!! For those of you mentioning dehumidifiers which one do you have and what capacity? I have no idea what my life has become!!! I’ve always dried everything in the tumble dryer whatever the weather but I’m now a convert to line drying and refuse to pay to use my tumble dryer if there’s an alternative.

We put it out all year round, we don't have a tumble drier in the first place. We try and sync up to better days of the week if it looks rainy but if it rains and we have wet washing it goes onto the heated drier.

Always put out all year round, even if it just "gets the thick off" as they say in Lancashire!

50% dry is still cheaper than doing it all on the dryer so if the ground is dry, the washing goes out.

I sold my Lakeland heated airer for a tumble dryer a few years back. Having pangs of regret but that said I hate how HUGE it was.

As long as it isn't raining or it would freeze solid, then you can hang washing outside all year round. You need to bring it in before dusk though, otherwise it gets damp again.

Re freezing my mother in law used to say that the snow / ice whitened whites

It's partly weather dependent, if there's a chance of rain while I'm at work then it can't go outside.
If it's dark when I leave the house and when I get home, the washing won't go out.
Other than that, if it is breezy enough to outweigh any damp, then it will go out..last year I was still hanging out the washing in November.
But I do have a Kitchen Maid hanging up on the landing, and hangers over radiators.

Normally from April to October outside then inside the rest of the year. (No tumble drier) Sometimes outside in winter if it's dry

October. We lose all sun from the garden until the end of February. If I put the washing out, it stays just as wet.

Just realised i have an airing cupboard, been here 25 years 😂

I try to dry outside as much as possible. If it’s breezy and the ground isn’t damp then out it goes (when I’m at work DH puts it out as he WFH).

I use a dehumidifier when drying indoors I don’t have a tumble dryer and returned the heated airer because it was rubbish.

I use my washing line nearly all year round as long as it isn't raining. A gusty wind even in winter can be enough to do most of the drying. I might finish them off with 10 mins in the drier if it's a bit damp.

Today is FINALLY not a drying outside day!

@SueGray I have of the day: Pro Breeze Dehumidifier 500ml Compact and Portable Mini Air Dehumidifier for Damp, Mould, Moisture in Home, Kitchen, Bedroom, Caravan, Office, Garage, Bathroom, Basement amzn.eu/blcdvga This one from Amazon, but they have some with a bigger capacity that aren’t too much more expensive. In the winter when I’m drying the washing near it I empty it once every 4-7 days. I also pop it on the landing near the bathroom if we have guests, as our bathroom doesn’t have a powered extractor and the neighbours can see in if I open the window too wide 😳

I do not have a tumble dryer so mine goes out on the line all year round if it a dry day
even in winter in gets everything a little bit drier so less wet stuff in the house I bring it in and it finishes off on the airer in the kitchen
I like this time of year cos my washing drys really quick out on the line!

When the heating goes on. Can be dry on the radiators in an hour.

I hang it out all year. Needs wind in the winter though, but it's fine

All year finished on airer