To stick the kids clothes in the f***king dryer??

[Jazzybeats]

We have 2 kids, 1 and 3, who generate a lot of washing. We also have a washer dryer.

DP infuriatingly insists on taking out the kids clothes from the wash and hanging them up to dry. Every. Single. Day.

Believes that the washer dryer will shrink the clothes.

Creates a ton of extra work for us that I reckon is not needed.

I don’t have the energy to argue about it but DP constantly moans about the never ending washloads and yet doesn’t see the martyrdom!

AIBU to stick the bastard clothes in the dry cycle or will they really all shrink to nothing???

Tumble drying on low heat prevents shrinkage and you can tumble pretty much anything (apart from woollens) on low heat without shrinking or damage

Not being allowed to use your own dryer in your own house is awful. Is he generally controlling? I can't imagine not being able to do something just because DH does it differently.

They shrink very little, usually just once. Separate wools, socks, the rest is fine in the dryer, My last one broke just out of warranty, everything went on hold until I could buy another, it is as important to me as the kettle, two life line applicances.
Once he starts using it he'll be hooked.

I have three children 12,10 and 7. I tumble dry all their clothes and have never had any shrink. (unless you count the dry clean only 0-3 month cardigan that some muppet bought DS1!).

I tumble all mine. They grow so quickly at that age that it doesn't really matter if the clothes shrink - they'd need the next size up within a month or two regardless.

Can I ask something daft? If I hang clothes up and leave them to dry without warmth or heat to assist they would have a damp stink... Doesn't that bother anyone who 'hangs to dry'? Or are we talking about putting them out on the line in which case it's Wales and spring is only now here, it would take three days of solid sun and even then it would feel slightly damp!

I tumble dry most things, have done the last two years and out bills haven't changed at all since we used it. I just hate clothes hanging around the house.

I line dry as much as possible even in winter, I do sometimes finish towels off in the dryer after hanging to make them Fluffy

My DH hangs out the washing if it’s fine weather and puts them in the airing cupboard on a dryer rack, if it’s not. They’re dry by the next morning.
He sorts it all and folds and puts it away afterwards. He also irons DS’s clothes for school.
He hangs the sheets in a weird way to my mind, but who cares? It gets the job done.

It’s one less task for me to be doing so I’m happy that he just gets on with it.

I really don’t understand why you’re complaining, to be honest? Surely, it’s just about sharing the load?

My washer drier was useless. May as well just hang them up.

I hang up everything. Drier cost money to run. They are hard on the clothes. Be kind to the environment.

Line drying = crunchy clothes and more ironing.

My fantasy was always to have room for a drier. Now I have one I’m never going back

I've always wondered why people in the USA always have a tumble dryer? Even when they have the drying weather and space for a clothes line? I love when we visit my mum's house in Spain as you can have clothes bone dry outside in a hour!!

He’s right, they do shrink. I buy 1 or 2 sizes bigger than necessary to account for shrinkage and it works out perfectly. Tumble dry away!!

Hollyhobbi

I've always wondered why people in the USA always have a tumble dryer? Even when they have the drying weather and space for a clothes line?

^^I'm one of the those folk and I love the tumble dryer. It makes my life easier.

Am I the only one who doesn't understand why 'taking clothes out of the washing machine and hanging them up, then later putting them away' is so much more work than, 'taking clothes out of the washing machine, putting them into the dryer, then taking them out of the dryer (remembering to de-fluff the filter, of course) and putting them away'?

IRL people dry most things in a tumble dryer. In MN world dryers must only be used once in a flood, and only if there's an avalanche happening outside (even then there's wiggle room) and everything will disintegrate if you do

Clothes shrunk if you put too many or a mixed load in the tumble dryer.
It keeps drying till the wettest item is dry.

They will shrink. But I allow for this when choosing sizes. You can dry on a lower setting so it happens less.

I have never ever had clothes shrink in the dryer!
I use mine a lot because I loathe ironing and my clothes come out of the dryer needing minimum ironing at most. If everything is folded while it's still warm they don't even need that.
My dryer also has a 'smoothing' setting if anything needs a final few minutes or if clothes have been left in the dryer after it has finished.
I wouldn't be without it, although DH puts most of his stuff on the line. But even then it often needs to be finished off in the dryer for most of the year!

I love my washer dryer but won’t use it for socks, wool, or anything remotely delicate. It’s much better at keeping towels fluffy but overall it is harder on clothes than line drying. Some things do shrink (especially 100% cotton) but, in the case of children, they will grow out of their clothes before the clothes get too awful.

My brother & sister in law have one of those heated dryers mentioned by a poster. It’s very good, although I don’t know how it compares cost wise with tumble drying. It also takes up more space than a traditional concertina dryer.

We tumble dry most clothes, the only ones we’ve had shrinkage with have been woollen clothes.

I have a cheap tumble drier and would not be without it. I set the timer so that clothes are still damp when I remove them. Then I hang the clothes on hangers to finish drying - they don't shrink and don't need ironing - best of both worlds.

I don't think it's wasteful to use a tumble drier, because it saves the use of an iron. In any case, our garden is part shaded by trees, which drop leaves in winter and pollen/seed pods in spring, so drying stuff outside is not very practical most of the year. To those who think that driers are not environmentally friendly, I would say there are many things going on in modern society that are equally as "bad" for our planet, if not worse. For instance, many people chauffeur drive their kids to school, even when it is just a short journey, and people regularly consume food that has many food miles attached to it, because they like to enjoy tropical fruit or things that are out of season. Other people talk about the need for saving the planet, then fly off on holiday, several times a year. There is a lot of hypocrisy around, when it comes to being environmentally friendly.

That said, tumble driers do cost money to run, so if you're on a tight budget that's always a consideration.

I hang everything out to dry as I don't own a dryer. But I live in a very hot country. When I lived in the UK I found it a right PITA trying to line dry anything if it wasn't one of the few nice days a year. If it will make your life that much easier then just do it.

I bloody love my tumble dryer. We live in Australia so didn't bother buying one as you can hang stuff out for about ten months of the year. Then I won one in a competition! Its a stupidly expensive top of the range Miele which dries everything from cashmere to duvets, it even resurrected my ancient scratchy cardboard towels! It isn't hard on clothes and it has never shrunk anything, oh and it has a 7 star energy efficiency rating (yes I know that sounds silly) so costs peanuts to run. Anyway, to prove some kind of point my husband hung out the washing last week, and everything came in scratchy and stiff compared with my lovely dryer, so you can prise it from my cold dead hands!