Boring Alert: Drying Laundry Outside in British Winter

[Honestlyy]

Does anyone?

It's been so rainy this month I've used the clothes horse which is fine in summer but it's made me think of winter.I'm not sure we'll be able to run the tumble dryer this winter.

Every year I say to myself I will try to use the line but it always end up in the tumble dryer. I would say I use the tumble dryer from Oct- March.

Often it looks so damp outside I wonder if there would be much point but I'll try if anyone says it makes a difference.

I think clothes horses and radiators, then sparing amounts of the tumble dryer are the only way to go op. I once stood in on a conversation where a group of mothers said they barely used their tumble dryers for environmental reasons but couldn’t tell me how they didn’t in the winter! If your children come home mucky from school a few days in a row, how do you not use a tumble drier for at least half an hour (with clothes all over your house?) Sorry, amn’t very helpful. Although while tumble driers are seen as expensive to run, I’m fairly sure I heard they’re not as expensive as we all think?

I've never had a tumble dryer, just use maiden's and put stuff that needs to dry quick closer to radiators. I did by a de humidifier last year that made drying things quicker too.

My flat gets very humid, so I bought a de-humidifier - changed my life! and saves money vs tumble dryer. about £200

It also depends on your location. If you can find a place that’s very windy in your garden then things will dry fairly quickly and you can dry between the rain showers. If (like us) the entire garden is protected by the house then not a chance.

I've never had a drier, no space in my ridiculously small kitchen.

I use a heated towel rail floor to ceiling with lots of bars so can get a lot on it and a couple of airers in the spare room.

Movable Clothes rack helps. We have a tumble dryer I use for bedding and towels in winter, but usually just put clothes on rack. I put rack outside if dry and then can easily bring in if raining or evening for clothes to finish drying indoors. It still drys 80% outside in winter.
We also have area outside that has large roof overhang, so clothes don’t actually get wet if it’s a quick shower rain.

The Lakeland Heated Airer plus a dehumidifier dries things in 4-6 hours. I've hot it on now-bloody unbelievable in July!

I do actually have a dehumidifier which I used to dry the washing yesterday.

I'm in windy Scotland. My garden gets a good breeze. I will try on a windy day.

OK I'm thinking a brief spell in the tumble dryer to take a bit of the dampness out then hung up on clothes horse with dehumidifier running.

we line dry and then finish off in the tumble dryer or on the heated airer with a dehumidifier.

Do you have a launderette near you? If we have had lots of guests then I take all the bedding down and get it done in one go, but nothing to stop you washing at home and taking damp sheets in just to tumble! I reckon it would cost about £1 to get a set of bedding and some towels dry at ours.

I've never had a tumble dryer or a garden! Always been fine drying on racks, positioned in sunniest rooms.

I've been thinking about this. We have the lakeland heated drier but it still takes at least 12 hours when fully loaded. Which dehumidifiers do people have and are they expensive to run?

Also OP - we recently got a rotary drier (well not rotary as it's attached to the wall) and I've noticed that big things dry a lot more quickly even on a non-sunny day, because the wind can get in between things better (hope that makes sense). A line would be even better.

Watching with interest. I currently have two full clothes horses and another load in the washing machine ready to go on one when the clothes are dry. Also have towels over the landing bannister. My heating isn’t on unless it’s really cold and damp, so at the moment it’s taking a couple of days to dry the thicker jeans etc. I’m so fed up of looking at laundry at various stages in the drying cycle.

Lakeland heated airer plus a small dehumidifier

The last load I managed to line dry was last Wednesday. I'm guessing it's not been sunny where you are either!

No, definitely not @Honestlyy! I suspect I’ll have to give in and start using the tumble dryer again otherwise we’re going to drown in wet washing.

We are in a very rainy part of the country, with no tumble drier. Tall tower airers and a dehumidifier here. The tower airers were a game changer.

It's winter where I am. I use the line any day I can, then move things onto an airer near the heater if they're not dry come nightfall. Stuff goes straight into the airer if it wasn't good weather to hang outside.

Things only get finished off in the drier if I need room on the airer for another load.

A good fan (Not a desk fan) pointing at clothes rail things over the bath. Door closed and window open. Works fairly well.
Am hoping for some sunshine in August though to get some serious washing done.

Clothes racks and a heated airer.

I try and get the laundry outside whenever it’s dry, even in winter. It might not dry off completely but it does accelerate the indoor drying time afterwards

Nightmare here in the North West. It's all on a massive rack, shut in a room with the dehumidifier running on top whack 24hr a day. There's a ceiling mounted airer in there too which is also full 🙄

I've been washing bedding fortnightly instead of weekly because there's five beds plus towels plus sofa blankets etc (dog) and I cannot keep up with drying it.

My tumble dryer has been moved into my garage because we just can't afford to run it anymore. I bought a huge clothes airer from Amazon that we load up in the kitchen before bed and the clothes are generally dry by morning. I like it because we always have the window open in there after cooking no matter the temperature outside so it doesn't get damp at all. We're lucky the way our stairs are means we have a long bannister rail at the top which means I can dry sheets and towels easily.

I'm saying all this like I'm a domestic goddess that doesn't have clothes on the washing line in the rain for the third shower of the day 🤣🤣 it's all DPs football kit and I just can't be arsed bringing it in until it dries again 😄

I lived for over a decade with no tumble drier and no washing line. It is perfectly manageable all year round to dry your washing indoors, you might want to get a dehumidifier for winter though.

I give my washing an extra spin at the end of the cycle then hang it out. Give stuff as much space as possible, if you can put a rack in a sunny or breezy spot that helps no end. You can put things on hangers and hang them in doorways or windows for extra space too.

Turn things if you want to speed up drying.

You just need to remember things take a bit longer and plan your washing accordingly. So you will probably need a spare duvet cover as it might not dry in time for bed, and you can't wash stuff that you want for next morning unless it is very quick drying.

Another here who has never had a tumble dryer. I just dry clothes on airers if wet outside.