To think putting clothes in a dryer is a complete waste of money unless it's raining outside

[emmeline25]

I have a lot of laundry to do each week. I bought a large washing machine and dryer so that I could do one load of washing a week. I do my laundry every Friday morning.

Friday morning, as I was putting my laundry on the line, my new neighbour mentioned that it was only 10degrees celsius today. I explained that as long as it's not raining, my laundry goes out on the line. When I got back from work my clothes were completely dry. It was only 10 degrees but the wind had dried them.

If I know it's going to be raining on Friday I put the wash on, on a different day. If the forecast is for rain all week I use the dryer. The dryer has been used about 10 times in the two years I've lived in this house.

Even in very cold weather , clothes will dry. It doesn't have to be a hot sunny day for them to dry. Yet among my friends and neighbours the dryer is used weekly and clothes only put out in the summer. Some of my friends use the dry on very hot days!!!

I lived in a flat for two years and had no choice but to use a dryer then. I hated it and ended up putting a communal washing line in the grounds.

I find when I do use a dryer, even on the lowest setting it can shrink and damage clothes. Clothes definitely don't last as long as when line dried. Driers also cost money. Okay it's only 30p-50p per load but still, if you can line dry I just wouldn't bother. I also absolutely love the smell of line dried clothes. I have always been brought up with line drying though.

So, AIBU to think if it's not raining and you have a garden with space for a clothes line, putting clothes in the dryer is a waste of money?

BTW I'm also in the "couldn't give a flying fuck" camp re climate change. People can piss off berating me for using a tumble dryer when Las Vegas is lit up like a giant Christmas tree, factories all over the globe are pumping out dangerous chemicals into the air, and food manufacturers choose to put cellophane on everything going, including food that has a skin on it. Nope, sod them, it's me and my poxy A-rated tumble dryer that's the problem. Clearly being a virtue signaller wielding my superiority about the environment will stem the blow of putting my children in damp clothes that dont dry on a line in mid-winter, or living in a house with mould spores with a DD and DH who suffer from asthma which is flared up by damp and bacteria. As we squelch in our seats with our damp pants and have asthma attacks all over the place, it's ok because we're safe in the knowledge that we're doing the right thing for the planet

How do you have lots of laundry and still manage to do only one load per week? I don't understand this at all. A lot of laundry can't be done in one load per week.

Also, does it never rain when you are at work?

I agree with using a washing line in decent weather or if you are at home and can run out if it starts to rain but your washing scheme wouldn't work for most people with families and jobs.

On another note, is "I can do a family weeks washing in one load and it's dry on the line in winter within an hour" the new MN "I can make 20 meals out of a roast chicken"

I'm also baffled by the I do one load thing. Does everyone wear only one colour? Don't you wash towels/ bedding/ underwear on a slightly higher temperature?
Are all of you goths that wear only black and have only black stuff? Not judging, that would be me if I lived alone.

I can make a chicken last for weeks, but even I cannot do a whole family worth of washing in one load, and my machine takes masses!

FYI....dont do what I did which is buy a 9kg washer and a 7kg dryer...it doesnt work out! :o

I want OP's magic washing machine which will allow me to do only one wash a week.... Currently do a basket full of each - whites, colours, towels/sheets, darks (& some hand wash.)!

I call bullshit on 1 load a week.

Unless the op mixes lights, darks, towel and bedding. In which case the clothes will be ruined

Unless the op mixes lights, darks, towel and bedding. In which case the clothes will be ruined

Agreed and having to replace clothes prematurely because they are not laundered properly costs more money and more pollution than a dryer ever will.

It sounded to me like the OP wanted a pat on the back for her martyr act in not using a drier/her mad pegging out skillz.

I work six days a week. I can't hang clothes out at night as they'd never dry. A tumble dryer means I can get stuff dry overnight which is vital.

YANBU I always line dry if I can.

I also use a clothes horse inside with a dehumidifier on.

Drier is for very rainy days, or when you need stuff in a hurry.

It sounded to me like the OP wanted a pat on the back

I'll give her a pat on the back for not using the tumble dryer. Obviously not everyone can peg out and you can't peg out in all weathers but generally reducing your electricity use is a good thing.

have to admit that one load a week doesn't sound like enough. And I have a 11kg machine

My drier is used everyday, in my house it's a necessity! My garden is north facing and surrounded by trees and completely shaded. Nothing gets dried out there. Besides it's my teenagers job after school to empty the washing machine and dryer and put the clothes in the right persons bedroom.

I have no desire at all to peg out in the cold and damp when I have a business to run, two kids to taxi about and a dog to walk twice a day.

how did I miss the 'one load' bit?

just the bedding for 4 people is a full load in a giant washer.
I can only assume bedding is not included in that one load.

I have a 11kg washer and between 4 of us we still produce enough washing for a load nearly every day!
Dryers do shrink clothes. But I can't be bothered having to go outside to hang it all up, only to have to bring it back in 10 mins later when it rains. I also HATE having clothes horses around the house with damp clothes draped over them.
I know dryers cost to use but I think it's worth it for the time/effort saving properties!

What a strange thread

Oh, well, looks like we'll never find out where she is.
Probably a south facing slope in Jersey.

I think the OP must be a Borrower. I'm not sure how else you could get loads of washing done in one load a week even in a 15kg washer unless you were teeny tiny

Even then you would need to wash whites and deals seperate, bedsheets on a higher temp etc.

How is it possible just to have one laundry day? We have at least one load per day. What about bedlinen? Or is it laundry day from dawn to dusk come Friday? Fuck that, Friday is for

Don't get this thread. And the climate change zealots are fucking mental. For the record I have also have a dishwasher, a steam iron and a steam mop. And an open fire. Great with marshmallows.

I do recycle; I'm a good girl I am

I leave the house at 7.15 and don't get back until 6pm. It's pretty much dark at both times now and I don't know when it's going to rain. Nice that you like to see clothes drying in the garden-I'm not there to see them!

I have a dishwasher too, indo so few dishes by hand the same Fairy liquid bottle has been in my cupboard for a year.

Do I get a pass though because I also have a food waste digester so throw no food out?

Yes unless it's raining your stuff will still dry in this weather. If it's sunny or windy. But you might need to start turn your washing on the line and re peg it to get it to dry all over.

But your naieve When it gets really cold and it steams as you peg it out, It doesn't dry, it will get drier but not dry! I live in a damp house so the last thing I want to do is add more water.
So I bring it in at about 3 (it gets damp again if you leave it out) and shut it in the bathroom with a dehumidifier.

IBelieve I once got told on MN when I said my recycling bags were always brimming that that is still a Really Bad Thing as I should be looking at ways to reduce or reuse first (hence recycle being the third word apparently). Followed by tips on making toys with egg boxes and backpacks with laundry detergent boxes

We live in a flat with no communal garden. In W. Scotland where it rains a lot. I'd gladly forgo food to keep the condenser drier going.

bonfires my frustration on this issue is huge!!! any dry day we have this time of year and one of my neighbours has a sodding bonfire. Honestly it's reduced me to tears some days as I then have to take it to the launderette and spend a fiver I haven't got getting it dry!