How are poor people getting their clothes dry this winter?

[9thFloorNightmare]

I don't have a tumble drier. I hang the clothes on airers and leave it by the radiators.

Past winters, I would live the heating on most of the time and the clothes dried quickly but now that I am living in a place with a pre-pay meter and with the energy prices the way they are, I am leaning to 'heat the human, not the home' and the heating goes on for a few minutes a twice or 3x a day just enough to take the edge off / come out of bed / out of showers etc.

Up until December the heating was on more often and for longer and as long as I kept checking the clothes (changing position, creating room between them, removing the ones already dry etc) it was fine, but now in January, I noticed that I'm having to top up my pre-pay meter more often so I decided to be more careful and the result is the clothes are not drying quickly enough and I'm running out of things to wear, especially my go-to's.

I'm planning to get a new washer/drier for next winter (I don't have space to have it separately) but meanwhile, what can I do? What do people do??

Sometimes I find myself longing for the heatwave when everything got dry in 10 minutes or less (joking!)

I’ve been looking for one of those for ages, do you know if it id still sold and where?

if the footpath is dry after rain the washing will dry if the damp has not gone from pavements the air outside is too humid to dry clothes , if dry clothes will dry outside even if temperature is 0C
if you hang clothes up to air after wearing they will be able to be worn again without washing, I agree with many posters lots of stuff doesn't need to be washed as often, wear an apron when cooking or cleaning so no dirt on main clothes, skirts in particular can be worn multiple times, underwear and school shirts to need washing daily

She is not a cyclist per se, she goes out cycling or walking, she wears many layers and a big coat so I think she swears a lot, I also buy her expensive deodorants, and teach her how to use them properly, one is creamy applied with fingers and then an spray. Tell her to always have a wash or wash the armpits after applying and change the top in contact with the skin often. I think she just don’t do it properly though. And sometimes forgets to apply the deodorants. Must be the age and hormones as well.

*sweats

not swears

Please link if you can, I’m very interested in those towels

Towel link here. I just used Amazon but they're widely available.
www.amazon.co.uk/Pestemal-Turkish-Absorbent-Compact-Travelling/dp/B0881ZRGN6/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=Towel+Hammam&qid=1674902354&sr=8-4

Sage advice here. What a good tip!

I'd also say invest in under garments - long sleeve thermals, t-shirts etc. That way you can cut down on the frequency of washing jeans and jumpers.

Sports wear - tends to be quick drying (as it wicks away sweat) and a low temperature only wash.

My DH lives in sports wear, his t-shirts are dry within a couple of hours.

You don't have to spend big money either - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Primark - all do sports wear - long sleeve and short sleeve tops and they are quick drying in the same way all the high end brands are.

Thank you all, very good tips and I am taking a lot on board

Just some pointers, really don't mean to sound negative

• My flat is tiny - I am really impressed with people who can dry their clothes in the kitchen or bathroom! I have just about enough space for kitchen stuff and bathroom stuff in the kitchen and in the bathroom (and two people in either of those rooms make it crowded) never mind drying clothes there
• I have three clothes horses and a few airers that I am using constantly as well as hangers that will now also go on curtain poles, but because of the size of my flat, the clothes horses have to go to very specific spots, I can't move them around - but I can put them in the balcony which is a good thing and will start doing again
• Also I don't have enough sockets, even to use the basic appliances such as TV, my work computer etc, I have to use extensions, so to add a dehumidifier or heated airer means extension connected to extension (iykwim), we really have zero space to change the layout of the rooms
• A tumble drier would have to go in my bedroom or in the living room somewhere but then I would have to put stuff on top of it and apparently it is a big no-no
• I miss my local laundrette so much! I will research again and see if there is another one near enough
• I remember years ago when I was married to my 1st (ex)husband, I tried to dry towels on the doors and he told me off saying I was making the house look like a slum and that was so shocking (huge back story of narcissistic abuse), even though it was years and years ago, I never did it again! But I will start doing it now. Thanks!
• We really have very few items so even if we wear the same many times we need things dry asap otherwise we have no clothes.
• And also i don't drive so we are always in public transport, especially buses and it feels vey icky when there is people very close to us, specially if they are smelly / dirty or when you don't know who sat on the seat before you

My dream is to have a dedicated laundry room or better yet, send everything to the dry cleaners every week - I will keep on dreaming!

Oh - forgot to add that DD has sensory issues with fabric (ASD) and favours cotton

what about viscose?
that is quick drying

you could get cotton rich

I've got 3 airers in the conservatory. These take a week's worth of washing and is taking a week to dry at the moment. We have 2 weeks worth of clothes/linens so works fairly well in rotation. Wouldn't work for more people though, there's only 2 of us.

This. Has made a huge difference for us. But you have to cover it completely - I sometimes see people complaining that they don't work and suspect this is why. Ours dries a full load of washing overnight. Some items (hoodie hoods I'm looking at you) might not be bone dry but almost.

Extra spin in the machine Hang tops on airer
I do have a dehumidifier which I use overnight to help dry Jeans etc which costs pennies to run and makes a difference
However, I live alone and wait until machine is full

My family mock me for turning the drying washing over and moving it round. I will be brandishing your post under their noses @BlackeyedSusan

Yay.

Twas worth my last one percent of battery life....

Vindicated !

Totally worth it @BlackeyedSusan

You’d be amazed how quickly clothes will dry with a dehumidifier on with the door closed - you could unplug something eg your work laptop and work off the battery for a couple of hours

Nobody has ever said anything to me at the laundrette.