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?

@abovedecknotbelow

I have never had a tumble drier. In winter I hang things on the shower rail, use an airer in the bath (no one baths here), and the heated towel rail. Two adults, one in clean uniform every day, one in gym stuff a lot, two kids who are filthy from the stables a lot. the bathroom window is always open.

I've never had a tumble drier either. I think they take too long to dry too little and they cost a lot to run. Many people use them all the time, even when the washing would very likely have dried outside, or on gas central heating radiators inside... (Heating is on anyway when it's cold/winter time, so just put some stuff on the radiators, with a few windows open to let the steam out.)

I actually know some people who use the tumble drier for absolutely EVERYTHING. Their electric bill must be horrific.

@NellyBarney

Oh yes, no-one 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.

Just ewwwwwwwwwwwww! That's actually fucking grim.

@organisedmother you are my new hero 🤣

Now we had a carport and it was crap. No wind at all. Things took days to dry.

Last year we bought a large dehumidifier and it is a game changer as I cannot bear wet washing indoors. Everything gets dried outside if it is not raining. If it rains then we have a clothes horse each and it is all dry in a few hours. There are four adults living here and the tumble dryer hasn't been on at all.

Large Laundry Mac

I've seen these kinds of things - though the problem I've got is often damp air and mist (Wales and bottom of some hills) so even if I put stuff out it won't dry.

Our first house had utility are accessible from kitchen at back of garage - could also step into garage section we weren't using so we put a washing line up back and forth - but when it was very damp in winter (and it wasn't as bad in that bit of UK as were we are now) clothes often didn't dry very well.

I got into the habit of using our tumble dryer for everything when we moved into this house and had space for one in the kitchen. With the rising bills we have just been looking at ways to reduce our use of it. We are not in a great place weather wise but I have bought and put up a washing line to use when I can and I’ve bought an airier.
when I’m home during the day if the weather is ok I’ve been doing the washing then and hanging out, if it’s raining I do a load in the evening and put it on the airer overnight so it’s not in the way whilst cooking tea/family time and has always been dry by morning even though we don’t have the heating on at the minute.
We are only a family of 4 but I do 1 load for kids bedding on a Friday, our bedding then 2 loads for the towels on a Monday, darks load every other day and 1 load of whites a week so around 8-9 loads a week.
As you are a larger family I would do 1 clothes load a day to stay on top of it but do it in the evening and put on a airer overnight. I bought a 3 tier one from the supermarket for £14 but you could go with a heated one if you want it dry quicker.
I have found the towels way to hard if I put them just on the line so I put them in the dryer for 10 minutes only then dry on line/airer and that keeps them nice and fluffy.
Our daily electric usage has gone down from around £7 per day to around £3 so it a huge saving keeping the dryer use to a minimum

We have a Meaco dehumidifier with a laundry setting. Best thing I ever invested in. House doesn't go mouldy from having wet washing on airers and/or radiators. So cheap to run compared to a tumble dryer. Absolute godsend in the winter. I can get loads of washing dry quickly

I feel a bit unwell at people washing school uniform once a 1/2 term, or Febreezing🤢

With man made fibres, sweat sits on top of the fibre so gets smelly really fast. And natural fibres absorb it, so also smell. My dd was very smelly age about 10, which she then grew out of.

School trousers can get wee dribbles from little kids. Or blood from periods.

Anything near the groin or armpits should be washed frequently.

Clothes were washed infrequently in the past because it was a labourious job. No other reason.

My heated airer is one of my best investments. I can do a couple of loads in the evening and put them on the heated airer overnight and they're dry in the morning (with the exception of heavier items like jeans or heavy jumpers). It really helps you be able to keep on top of the washing when you can get it dried quickly and put away.

Clothes were washed infrequently in the past because it was a labourious job

They often wore layers next to the skin and washed those very frequently - so you could have outer layers not easily washable (some Victorian skirts were stiffen with things that would go if washed) that could be brushed because there were several layers of clothing between them and the body.

dehumidifier

they're brilliant

Dehumidifier is definitely your friend. Think about it - with wet washing, the water has to go somewhere as it dries. With a tumble drier vented to outside, it's going outside. But leaving things to hang dry or drape on radiators, all the water is going into the house. Unless you can have windows open constantly, you need to do something to remove that water or you'll get damp.

Airers with dehumidifiers pointed at them mean the washing will dry faster from the warm air it blows out and the atmosphere will be drier so that speeds up drying as well.

We do about 8 loads per week for 4 adults in the house. You have 50% more people but do nearly 200% more washing. How can that be?

"We’re destined to be surrounded by dank smelling laundry for a long time, aren’t we?"

Uh yeah. But what did you expect with so many kids 🤣

There has to be a happy medium between @DC1214 's 30 loads of washing a week and @NellyBarney's one. Honestly! Neither are acceptable.

Does everyone have a full set of clean clothes every day? Apart from the baby that isn't necessary. School skirts and jumpers get 2 or 3 days wear in our house.

4 washes a day is an insane amount. Obviously you can't help the sick but absolutely try to limit things like bedding, towels etc. If there's a stain on a polo shirt that will be covered by a jumper anyway does it matter?

Also a good shout by pp to look for the large laundrette/drying type facilities and stick a big load in there e.g. all the bedding at once. They are in completely random places by me, are open 24/7 and think it's currently 2 quid for 18kg to dry. The closest to me is by a b and m so can have a wander while it's drying or just sit in the car!

google revolution laundry, there may be others too.

Don't use a dehumidifier- most use between 0.5 kwh to 1 kwh, so from this winter that's over 20 pounds to run per 24 hours, you could end up with a bill of 600 pounds/month! Use a tumble dryer at a laundrette as suggested by pp if you are not keen on my spartan ways 😅but given the price increases and possible power outages, we are unlikely to sweat much during the winter, so hopefully less need to wash😀

@confusedlots which airer do you recommended please, and whether from

We’ve got a vented tumble dryer, Lakeland airer and also a pulley maid at the top of the stairs. Luckily also a south-facing windy garden. Between those we rarely have wet washing hanging around. Probably average 15 loads a week.

Mines a private garden and it's still banned
Yet next door is a house so they can dry clothes
I literally lift my airer over the fence 6 inches into their garden and that's fine

I have the Lakeland one. Think it's called DrySoon. You definitely need the cover with it. Don't know how I ever managed without one before!

Is there any way you could put a permanent shelter up in your garden? My in laws have a wooden lean to on the side of the house, it's open on each end and they use it for drying clothes year round,keeps the rain off and let's a breeze through to get the clothes dry.

best bit of advice I can give you is when the load of washing has finished, put it on again for a second spin the highest spin the machine will go (mine does a 1600 spin) you will be amazed how much extra water comes out. Also use you BBC weather app , and only wash towels bedding jeans when you know it’s going to be dry, even in the winter if it’s dry and windy your washing will dry, I often leave washing out all night especially if it’s windy and dry , and it can be dry in the morning (no I don’t worry about spiders willies or the night getting on it) prioritise school uniform, baby cloths and underwear, other stuff does not really need to be washed as much as you think. I bought teddy bear fleece bedding last winter and it did not seem to need to be washed as much as my summer bedding which gets done every week, also bottom sheet and pillow case’s need to be washed more then the duvet cover if the weather is really bad. Also give each person there own towel and only change them once a week. Get all dressing gowns, oncies , fleeces, winter jackets/coats, bath mats, cushion covers throws done now before the weather get bad.

I don’t know where you’re getting those figures from. The current models on sale are quoting 165 watts to 220 watts. My ancient one (about 15 years old) still doesn’t use anything like 0.5-1kW.