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?

And even 3 loads a week is only £93.60 not £156?

But don't you see that it's simply impractical for most people to hang their clothes on the line regularly.
I would have to assume that there are very few of you in your household and probably that you work part time so can be around to bring washing in if it were to rain. Imagine if you had 5 rugby playing children and worked full time. Your scheme of never using driers and never hanging washing inside would hardly work would it?

From your other posts your family is small. There's you and your youn son? That's not the same as for eg a family of 7 with 3 rugby players in it

Driers aren't 60p a load.

I had a tumble dryer for ages and used it most days there are 7 of us in woulster find it near impossible without one.

Im in temp accommodation at the moment it take approximately 2 days for things to dry on airer. If I miss even one wash it totally messes me up.

It might cost 60p an hour to run but in a good drier that's probably 2 loads.

I frequently have to wash an entire rugby team's (some weeks 2 teams) strips. Ds plays for the U18s and dh is helping while they don't have a proper coach, so that's 18 x shorts, tops and socks. Dh coaches the U16s, so that's 20 x fortunately just tops. Plus ds' own kit from multiple training sessions during the week.

Fortunately rugby kit dries really quickly and never needs to go in the dryer. If it's raining, the tops and shorts dry overnight on the clothes horse/the bannisters upstairs in the loft area (socks excepted; they tend to need to go into the room where the boiler is).

....and I live in wet West of Scotland so that's lots of muddy washing

I'm in Belfast with power Ni on a keypad meter with cheaper electric at night. I only run the drier at night and my unit price is 9.56 at night. That's 9.56 for 1kwh ? My drier is 3kw so that means running it for an hour costs me 28.68p?

Is my maths right?

Anyone mentioned hanging stuff up on the shower rail with a window open through the night? That's good for getting stuff dry.

I think so Lennox!

I've had some washing out all day and it's still not dry. So there.

I do line dry when I can, but the weather lately (rain, rain, and more rain) has meant it hasn't been possible.

So it costs me about 40p at the most for a load.

Even drying 3 loads a week that's 40x 3 is 1.20 per week so 52 weeks is £62.40 a year.

And that's all to take into account that I looked up the rainfall days here and it rains 213 days out of the year which is about 60% so 3 out of 5 Fridays the op couldn't dry her clothes outside here

I hate clothes line dried and can't stand waiting a couple days for clothes to dry on an airer and the fact my kids pull all the clothes of constantly.
Besides that I do about 5 loads a week, on a good week that would be a lot of faffing, weather checking and herding 2 under 3's out of the garden. Sorry but I'm a slave to my tumble dryer and I'm not ashamed of it. Nothing better than freshly dried still warm socks going on when it's chilly out!

In NI you need a tumble dryer.
That is all.

We have a 9kg washer and a 9kg drier. Without both we'd be scuppered; the DCs are filthy beggars and do 6 sports activities a week. Their kits wouldn't be dried on time without a tumble drier, no matter how dry the weather outside. If it's cold and dry - like today - some bits go on the line, stuff like thick judo gi's and towels for swimming won't dry no matter how long they're left, so they have to be tumble dried.

I wash more often than most people because we also have 4 cats and a dog, plus the DCs ride horses and DS2 has asthma so stuff needs to be clean.

I use 2 dryers 100% of the time I have an 11kg washing machine that goes on at least twice a day. I have a child with a bad allergy to grass and myself and most of my children have hay fever line drying is not an option. I can see your point as it does save money but there might be other reasons that people use dryers

Good for you, but honestly who cares? 🙄

Might work for you but not me. I have to do 1-2 loads a day totalling 7-10 a week. Have not got time to watch clothes line dry let alone put out & bring in.

Very often use of a drier is dictated by how busy you are, your working hours etc You can't hang it out/get it in again if you are busy outside the home.
You do what suits you.
I can't see the big deal whatever you do with your own washing

I live in a ground floor flat and although we have a balcony/ terrace type area, we're not actually allowed to have washing outside. according to the company who own the ground, it "ruins the visual environment" so I have to use the dryer.

In my next house I will have 2 washers and 2 driers, I'll be sorted then, I'll whip through the washing!

YABU. I washed some curtains yesterday. They're good quality so didn't want to risk putting them in the dryer. I put them on the line this morning (it had started spitting with rain yesterday.) As soon as I got in from work I brought them in.
They're about as wet now they were when I put them out this morning. It's been beautifully sunny but turned cold so they've got damp again.

We have a 9kg washer, we wash every day (in reality I do several loads at the weekend) if it's a lovely sunny day and I'm off I hang it out to dry but then the kids complain as the rotary line takes up a large part of the garden.

I've got fed up with putting washing in only to bring it in 20 minutes later when it's gone from glorious sunshine to rain. We live on the outskirts of Manchester at the foot of a big hill. The clouds come across the Cheshire plain, hit the hill and it rains. We have interesting, frequently changing weather which the weather forecasters don't cover.

I still think an industrial washer for so little laundry is weird. Bit like having a restaurant kitchen to make a weekly omelette.

I would never choose a tumble dryer over a fresh air dry, unless there really was no chance of clothes drying. YANBU

I wish! One fussy tween, one 6 year old who actively seeks dirt, a 18 month old who requires at least three outfits a day and a husband whos work/commite requires 3 outfits on a good day. No way could i do two loads of laundry a day plus dry it.