To think I will be surrounded by wet laundry forever?

[DC1214]

Family of 6 here, 3 school age kids and a lovely late baby who thankfully is well but has reflux and several allergies and vomits throughout the day requiring frequent clothing changes. Along with uniforms, towels, bedding and sports clothes I’d say I’m putting machine on at least 4 times a day. Tumble dryer is rubbish - it’s a replacement model for previous one that kept switching off mid-cycle but it’s doing the same thing and I think it’s just not up to the job rather than faulty. I dread to think how much fuel we’re wasting trying to dry everything. Upgrading to a more efficient model isn’t an option any time soon.

Live in a particularly rainy part of the country so opportunities to dry outdoors are limited. House is a reasonable size but no spare rooms as such with open plan kitchen/diner/living area. I’m guessing laundry on radiators isn’t going to be cost-effective this winter anyway. We’re destined to be surrounded by dank smelling laundry for a long time, aren’t we?

I'd look at how much washing you're generating. How often are you washing bedding/towels/jeans? Not everything needs to be washed daily (excepting underwear/vomity clothes etc).

Do you have a nearby launderette to use their tumble dryer?

That’s a good shout, I think we do have some of those big industrial size tumble dyers near us. I’d got into habit of washing everything but might be time for a reboot and limit it to the baby stuff. Think I’ve got to point of not being able to see the wood for the trees.

True revolution laundry for a big drier. Can you fit a Sheila maid up to the ceiling at all?

I use an airer, a dehumidifier and a basic fan to dry washing. If you have a small area like a utility room the airer can be hung from the ceiling.

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*try sorry

I really recommend the jml dry buddy. Have you tried that option? It’s a big tent capsule thing that you hang stuff in on hangers , it’s economical too.
I loved mine for baby / small child stuff

It's a pain, isn't it? I've actually considered a covered area outside to help, but realistically, I think we'll invest in a dehumidifier and a heated airer this winter to try and help.

Sometimes, I go to the local launderette and use the ginormous dryers to try and get on top of it.

Reduce the amount of washing!!
OK, only 2 kids here, but as a family if 4, we wash less than once a day. 2 extra kids aren't quadrupling the amount of stuff that needs washing.
So, how often are trousers reworn before washing? How often do you wash non sicked on sheets? How often do you wash towels?

Dri buddy sorry. There are other versions, and you can pick them up second hand cheaply. But read the reviews, they are really good so long as not overfilled, and don’t leave condensation in your room.

So you're averaging 4 wash loads a week on average for each member of the family. As mentioned before, try and cut back on towels, beddings, heavy duty items by using them an extra day or two. If an item has been worn one day and it's not dirty or smelly, then I'd stretch it an extra day. Admittedly we haven't got a baby, but we're now a family of two and I do 2-3 washes a week. When DD is home it's more like 3-4 washes for the three of us.

We are renovating, so haven't had a washing machine for almost a year. I realised one hardly need to wash (apart from baby puke and poo, sorry). All school clothes are basically plastic, so even the mudd from a rugby match wipes off with a sponge or even a baby wipe. Febreeze will keep adult clothes fresh. 1 machine a week of underwear and t shirts at the laundromat is what I do currently for a family of 5, (I need to carry it there and back, and it costs a fortune at 10 quid for 1 wash and dry) and once I have my own washing machine I don't want to increase that by too much.

Oh yes, noone died of dirty sheets or towels in our household. It's getting dusty again away immediately. Hanging bedding and towels out of the window for 15 minutes on a sunny day for a refresh is as good as washing, and again, there is nothing that Febreeze can't refresh.

I really recommend getting a dehumidifier, they're not too pricey to run. And also reducing the number of loads you do.

I guess you have a heat pump dryer. If it is switching off before the clothes are dry it might be that you are drying a mix of materials. Try to separate your drying into cotton and synthetics. Any polycotton should be treated as synthetic. The dryer senses that the synthetic fibres are dry rather than the cotton. Also keep the filter beneath the door clear as a build up there stops the dryer from working effectively.

My sister has a small greenhouse that was with the house when bought, never used for growing anything. She uses it to dry clothes in Winter and on rainy days. Keeps the damp stuff out of the house too.

What I found a GODSEND when I had washing and the weather was shite, was a carport on the side of the house that the wind blew right through. Come rain or shine, sleet or snow. high winds or fog, or thunder or lightning, the washing would dry under that carport 90% of the year. (or be around 70% dry at least!) We were in this home for about a decade, and this car port was amazing for drying the washing.

We moved into a house with a garage, as we thought that would be 'better' than a car port. Didn't know how much we were gonna miss that car port for drying the washing. And the car doesn't even fit in the garage because our car is too big! So it just holds tools, and general crap, and stuff we can't fit in the house.

So that's all I can think of. Have you got a car port? Is it an option to put one up? Just throwing something else into the mix.

Otherwise, you're right, you do have MANY years of being surrounded by wet laundry most of the time, (especially if you live in a bit of a damp area - Cumbria, Lake District, Scotland...)

Good luck, but I am not sure there's a definitive answer apart from using electrical items to dry your washing - heated airers, tumble driers, radiators etc..

Once a week, bring the bedding and towels, and a bunch of laundered clothes, to the launderette or the washerias in a local shopping district (we have them in petrol stations and local shopping centres here). Put the bedding and towels on to wash, while you dry the already cleaned clothes. Have coffee 1 and a read of your book/listen to podcast, or do food shopping (if its in shopping precinct). Take out dry clothes, put wet bedding and towels into dryer, have coffee 2. Bring all dry things home. This is something you could do in the evening after dinner, in peace and calm for yourself. Or bring baby with you in daytime (doable but less relaxing).

As @tonicwaters said ^ a greenhouse is another reasonably good idea.

I agree that it sounds like you’re washing more often than you need to.

How often are you doing towels and bedding? Are you doing new uniform every day when they could last with a quick sponge? I make mine wear a shirt two days in primary too.

First of all too much laundry is being washed here.

Secondly sportswear can be draped outside and will dry almost immediately! Don't bother hanging it up indoors

Thirdly, people on marketplace will buy broken tumble dryers.

And fourthly, this could provide some cash towards a new one or using a laundrette?

Our local co op has huge dryers now. A bit weird but very useful!!

Those who do sports could do with neoprene sports towels? They fold up really small and dry very fast

Agree that you are washing way too much!

When we were a family of 4 plus 2 dogs we did about 3-4 machines a week. Washed sheets/towels once a week, plus clothes. 6 people and 28 machines per week is far too much.

Also, get a covered outside area where you can have a washing line and just let things air dry, it will save you from having a damp house too.

We have those extra thin towels that dry extea quick too. They are great. Got ours in decathlon.

Are you using plastic backed bibs on the baby all the time? Long sleeved wipeable aprons for mealtimes?

Also different machines take different loads - have you got a machine that takes quite small loads which is why you are washing so often? Mine takes 9kg but our one before was 7kg.