To dry my clothes on the radiator

[whenskiesaregrey]

Never thought this was an issue. Just mentioned to my landlady that the radiators are working fine as they dry the washing, and apparently this is a very bad thing to do.

Is it?

Yes, drying clothes on radiatorswill create condensation and that can make you unwell. But it will pull the temperature down as well.

We don't rent but have a dehumidifier which we use in a room we are not in (they're not great for you but great for drying clothes). Also have a tumble dryer but only ever use it when we are in because of worry about fire risk.

@purpleme12 yes, some insurance doesn't cover but for my property I let which had damp/ condensation we could claim for it :-) but I think we were lucky to have that company for insurance.

In your situation I would get a heated airer and a dehumidifier.

An electric dehumidifier will suck moisture out efficiently, so your jeans and hoodies will dry perfectly well.

Okay, so I'll bear this in mind, but still not sure how to dry thick heavy clothes!

There is no mould or damp by the way. Not even in the bathroom as the window is open so often. So, landlady does not need to worry.

I always have done and my radiators aren't rusty!! You shouldn't have told her. Psst.... don't tell her Anything from now on....

Buy a condenser dryer and don’t tell her , I’m sure you’re the one paying the electric bill

@Blamangeme very much going to adopt that approach! Almost every conversation ends up with a telling off of some sort!

I think damp can take a while to build up or be noticeable. If you get a dehumidifier, it will tell you what the levels are.

We had a particular house and it seemed fine to us, but clothes never dried. It was and did have damp but we just didn't know until we tried to dry stuff like we always had done. That's when we got a dehumidifier and started noticing. But had we not had that experience, we'd never really have paid much attention, I don't think!

I have dried clothes on the radiators for over 30 years and never had a problem with rust. I do have the windows open all year round throughout the day. I would just agree not to do it then continue doing it. Jeans are a nightmare to get dry during the winter so not other choice.

She's unreasonable. Ask her to contribute towards taking the clothes to a launderette if she doesn't want a drier or let you dry indoors. You can't dictate everything as a landlord and I say that as one myself

Been drying on our radiators whenever it’s not sunny for 20 years and they aren’t rusty. Nor do we have damp or mould.

Guess it depends on the building maybe?

No clue how I’d dry jeans and hoodies etc in winter without a radiator or tumble dryer tbh. They would dry so slowly that they would smell horrid.

get an airer. you can even get a heated airer which is basically a HUGE radiator but you own it usually very cheap to buy too. Ive always used these as i live in a rented property and my DD would rag the clothes off the radiotors

OP this popped up in the ads while I was reading your thread, Aldi special buy heated clothes airer!

www.aldi.co.uk/heated-clothes-airer/p/018734287269500?gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn_LrBRD4ARIsAFEQFKvMcks8IhWMQ6AuHTpmAIvEqWrLxXmcKTVdKXeF8WDZirldLaTu0qEaArbHEALw_wcB

I have always dried clothes near a radiator, although not on it. In my old house there was nowhere for a tumble drier and I had no garden or outdoor space, so not much choice. Always had windows open though. Only one house I have ever had damp issues in and that was in the kitchen as the window was impossible to reach to open and there was no fan. The landlord tried to say it was caused by washing drying in the house, but again, no garden or outdoor space to dry it.

@06whenskiesaregrey dehumidifier and clothes horse. You can put the dehumidifier in the middle and get this tent style thing that goes over the whole lot. Dries clothes really quickly, as the dehumidifier blows out slightly warm air. I have no condensation problems since drying clothes this way, it's great.

@butterandbread please rethink putting clothes on a storage heater - that's a fire risk.
I will put stuff on a radiator, but prefer airers. And try to get stuff outside for an hour or 2, even in winter before finishing off inside. They dry much faster, (so long as it isnt raining!).

@ambereeree it is interesting you say that. I have wondered over the last few years as a tennant why you would rent a property when you have very specific ways you'd like a house to be run. I don't mean this issue particularly, but coupled with the thickness of the curtains, the length of the grass, the amount of pictures on the walls, the colour of the walls, etc etc. Surely there has to be an element of allowing tennants to 'live' in the house (obviously not referring to irreparable damage)?

A heated rail dryer, Lakeland or Aldi will dry thick clothing easily.

I always dry clothes on the radiator. My radiators get so hot the clothes are bone dry in about an hour.

Agree with the opened windows, even if only a crack. I find that the specific radiator dryer/hanger thing (dont know if it has a specific name but it's like a tiny airer with hooks to attach to the radiator) works better than just putting clothed straight on the radiator. Something to do with the air circulation. I did an experiment with jeans once and the ones on the airer dried faster.

Lakeland sell heated airers, been using it for a couple of years with no problems,

This is what I mean.

I dry socks and some smalls on my radiators. I leave dds trousers and shirts on them in the winter for them to wake up to toasty warm school clothes.

Well I've dried my clothes on radiators in my house for the last 19 years and have no rust or damp yet.