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?

I've found that washing doesn't dry properly outdoors when the days are shorter. It was the same in Somerset as up north. So I don't peg out from six weeks before Christmas until six weeks after unless the weather is clear with plenty of wind. I'm lucky to have a couple of those old fashioned racks on pulley hoists for drying indoors. Much better and cheaper than a tumble drier.

I don't have a dryer but don't bother with line in winter. I have got some towels out today but that's only cos it's really bright. Won't be fully dry when I bring them in though unfortunately.

My washing has been out since 10am. It's mostly heavy cotton tops, socks and underwear. None of it is dry yet and I have just brought it in and put it in the dryer.

North facing garden in Scotland. If course I have a bloody dryer.

If I am in and it's a decent day for it, then yes, clothes will go out but as I work full time and have a moderate commute, that's unlikely to happen through the week (and by exception in the winter).

I'm also amazed at this enormous washing machine that deals with a whole week's washing in a single load, regardless of fabric etc. A friend of mine has a 'washing day' (SAHM & likes a routine) but it's still not a single load!

Unless also doing a lot of hand washing (e.g. delicates, woollens) or dry-cleaning, that would suggest to me:

• Clothes aren't being taken care of optimally (delicates washed too vigorously)

or

• Stuff that really needs a good wash (towels, dishcloths, bedding) is probably not getting a decent clean.

Actually unless a very small household, I'd frankly also wonder how often things like towels and bedlinen were changed if someone tells me that put a load on once a week, regardless of how they then choose to dry it!

I use our tumble dryer All. The. Time.

Yes, even in the summer. Tumble drying clothes means No Ironing, as I have perfected the fine art of Swift Removal, Shake, Smooth and Hang Up.

How can anyone just get away with one load of washing per week??? They just don't make washers big enough to do that. I'd need a machine the size of a family car to get all our week's washing in + bedding + towels.

My BF does 1-2 loads a week and he lives by himself and is a slack housekeeper (stereotypical turning pants inside out to get more wear, changing bedsheets about once per month).

I also do not understand how anyone can get away with one load a week.

Maybe they're not as obsessive about washing. Maybe there are fewer of them. Maybe they wash towels/bedding less often. Lots of reasons.

What do you do if you have no outside space and no space for a tumble dryer?

I hang up my washing in the large, lofty front room on a drying rack. I crack open a window if it's winter or open one fully when it's warm.

I'm not obsessive about washing, but I do always wash clothes/bedding when they're dirty/not fresh.

I prefer to line dry, but if it's chucking down outside I use the dryer.

We are a family of 4 with an 11kg machine and we do 5-9 loads a week, I reckon.

I wouldn't ever do clothes and bedding / towels together because the latter need 40/60 washes and I do all clothes on a 30

Only me and DH so no school shirts, so no need to separate whites out, I've never had colours run and my white tops I've had for years and always washed with darks are still white.

Anything that can't be tumbled (and I know what can't easily enough - I know my own clothes!) goes into a washing net and when the wash cycle is over, I just grab the nets and whack on the dry cycle. I've never had anything shrink in my dryer!

When the dryer bit of the washer dryer was on the fritz I was practically breaking out in a cold sweat until the engineer came round and said it was easily fixable. Everything was crispy and horrible from drying inside, and the house was just strewn with damp washing. I could have cried with joy when the guy fixed it. And it's only DH and I with no kids!

We don't have a car. I haven't been abroad in several years. I think those make a pretty significant impact on my carbon footprint so I'm not going to self flagellate because of the energy used by a dryer

My fantasy home has a utility room with a separate Miele washer and dryer. Lust.

My fantasy home has a utility room with a separate Miele washer and dryer. Lust.

I have this 😁
It's amazing. We built our own place and a laundry room was a must have for me. Miele washer is ace, but the dryer is no better than cheaper ones I've had.

And all the electricity comes from an eco friendly incinerator that takes the towns waste, so no landfill and no guilt using the dryer.

I'm confused OP. You say you have lots of washing to do but also that it equates to one load a week?
I do a load every other day (8kg) and I my tumble dryer mostly even if it's dry outside as I don't have time to hang it all out and get it all in before it gets damp in the evening or rained on if the weather changes. With a 4 yr old and a 6 mth old, these things aren't as easy as they might otherwise be!

The times I've been caught with wetter clothes from the rain falling while I'm out when the forecast was for a dry day is v v annoying.

Some modern day material is better after tumble drying than line drying.

I prefer to hang on the line but my garden is not situated in the best position for breeze on a cold day.

So OP YABU to be my way suits all.

I have a Miele washer and drier and fridge and freezer and dishwasher, dh is a Miele fan- washer is 15 years old and dryer is 2 as the one it replaced conked out after 12 years of using it practically every day. Dishwasher is 2 years old and it replaced one that was 3rd hand and we think was 20+ years old! They're work horses!
Don't be envious of my utility room though, it's a dumping ground for all the crap that hasn't got a proper home

I don't have a drier, clothes are just left to dry on the indoor drier in the conservatory. I love hanging out clothes but only when it's in the warmer months or sunny, as I hate the smell of 'outside' on my clothes that happens when they are out in the wind!

Yes I do 38 washer loads per week. 4 people and washing machine that supposedly holds 9kg but if i try to put a kingsize duvet and a fitted sheet in the machine it throws itself around the kitchen. Its supposed to be intergrated.

Also we have big bath towels, we have a shower each day and maybe I am making work for myself but the thought of drying yourself with a towel you rubbed yourself down with the previous day (think of all that dead skin enmeshed in the towel) is something I can't bring myself to do. So I have 28 bath towels to wash each week.

Do you wash the bed sheets every day too?

38???

Surely that's a typing mistake. My DCs dont live at home anymore so it's just the 2 of us - I do about 2 loads a week. By your reckoning I should be doing 19!

Yes we bath/showever every day, yes I change my pants. And no I don't wash towels after every use.

Really ... 38 in a week is all but six loads a day for just 4 people... so every person in your house has one and a half loads to themselves every single day of washing? I'm a bit gobsmacked here

" I have 28 bath towels to wash each week"

Thinking about dead skin (and by the way, its yours. And it's in your clothes and on your bed sheets etc too) will literally send you insane.

28 bath towels a week! Madness!

Oliversmumsarmy

It sounds like your washing machine is worn out from doing 38 loads a week. A king size bed set isn't a full load in our 6 kg machine, so I would expect to get a few of those towels in your machine as well.

Thinking about it rationally, you don't seriously think it is necessary to wash towels after each use? You must spend your entire waking life dealing with laundry that doesn't really need washing.

That's ridiculous OliversMumsArmy

Are you not clean when you get out of the shower ? Isn't that the point of having a shower? Just air the towel.
38 loads a week is just ridiculous. I've never done anywhere near that and I have 3 dc who are in to football, camping and so forth so bring home a lot of mud.

OliversMumsArmy you're either exaggerating form comedic effect or have some serious issues. There is no need for that many loads a day and 28 towels a week between four means you're washing a towel per person per day. That is quite frankly ridiculous.

I did four loads yesterday for six of us but that was an anomaly. I think we do 1-2 per day depending on whether towels and bedding is being done.

But I agree with the OP if you are genuinely doing that much washing and drying!