Entire room taken up with clothes drying racks

[butterplates]

AIBU to seek another way?

We have a second room off our main living room and adjacent to our kitchen. It looks out via double doors to the garden and is a pleasant room though a bit cold in winter. We have a sofa in there and a small table and chairs. I had envisaged it being used as a den by teen DC for when their friends are over but for now they tend to congregate in bedrooms. The small table is occasionally used for homework.

But- I usually have 3 drying racks of clothes on the go in there at any one time. Between work clothes for two adults, school uniforms for teenagers, endless sports and swimming gear, I do a load of laundry every second day. I have a tumble dryer that I mainly use for towels and bed linen. My reasons for not using it more for clothes are partly cost when electricity prices went up and partly because I find the dryer always shrinks things a bit. But I feel we are basically wasting an entire room on clothes drying. I would be so keen to hear what other people do and how you manage this? DH and I have talked about putting some gym equipment in there such as a rower and exercise bike but he actually asked me, what about the drying racks and it seems ridiculous that this is coming before something we could do to be more healthy.

If you have space for a separate vertical spin dryer they have a much faster spin and are more effective at drying than a spin from most washing machines.

I agree - I calculated it was cheaper to run than the dehumidifier. I sometimes just do items on a low heat or short cycle and then air them to dry. I find also then a quick shake and a hang up reduces ironing.

Normal changing. It is mainly me who is peri menopausal and sweats a lot at night, so many tshirts and sheets , washed daily . I wash towels , two of them every day also

Do a load a day out on airer outside move into utility downstairs loo at night or raining finish in dryer if a bit damp

😂 if we are getting competitive here..

We are a family of four including two sporty teenagers, the washing machine is on most days. We have no garden / outside line, no tumble drier and only a corner of the hall where we have an upright (unheated) drying rack. But somehow I manage to get everything dried 🤷‍♀️. The drying rack is four racks high. I tend to put all tops on coat hangers (which also means they rarely need ironed). Sheets and towels can go outside on a small rack attached to the window sill, but only one set at a time.

so I’m not sure why you need to dedicate an entire room to drying clothes 🤷‍♀️

Ceiling mounted airers?

We have such a room I heat it separately with an oil heater. I’m guessing as it fits much more than a dryer it’s cheaper that way too.

Just bite the bullet and use the dryer. If used correctly it shouldnt shrink anything.

This is what I have, but bought on Amazon. It's great.

I definitely wouldn't go putting extension leads into a bathroom. The laws are there for a reason, and if something goes wrong it's not going to be a minor incident.

However could you partition the bathroom so you have a separate area for drying clothes?

OP, regarding the dehumidifier and extension lead, you don’t have to have the dehumidifier inside the room for it to work well, it can stand in the doorway and do its job.

Or presumably for a better solution still you could shut the door but have the lead to the dehumidifier going outside the bathroom - so you are only dehumidifying the bathroom but the electrical sockets stay outside the bathroom? Because you're never going to dehumidify the whole world so the smaller the volume of air you try and dehumidify the better, I would think?

Not everyone has the space in their kitchen to have a heat pump dryer. I don't the only space I can put my condenser dryer is a small space in the lobby under where I hang the coats. Which backs onto the neighbours wall so no I can't have a heat pump put into the wall. I have it plugged into an extension lead because there's no socket there.

For those of you with ceiling laundry maid style racks, how many clothes can you hang on them? They look like a fairly small hanging area compared to my faithful but loathed floor racks. I have found some online I’m thinking of ordering but wonder how people find them in terms of what size you use and how much you can get on them?

My teens do their own laundry and have a drying rack in their rooms. This doesn't always work especially when they wash too much at once and it makes the room smell musty and everything needs rewashing! But it's good for them to learn how to manage washing and drying their laundry, planning ahead, etc.

We are lucky enough to have a big family bathroom, so clothes can dry in there also.

I prefer them to line dry their clothes where possible, but obviously not always realistic.

Same, stuff everywhere and I can't dry outside
A dehumidifier does help and I have a heated airer too

I have a biggish kitchen with a high ceiling so I have a four bar 8 foot long ceiling pulley (not over the cooker!) which can hang sheets and quilt covers as well as clothes and towels. I put tops on hangers and peg socks to a hanger rather then drape them directly over the bars because that fits a lot more. Bras and pants hook over the ends. It can take a couple of machine loads at a time. If I had a separate spin dryer (or the one on my washing machine was more effective!) I probably wouldn't use the tumble dryer at all, as it is I need to tumble sheets and towels then finish them off on the airer. I do have a floor airer (not heated) which I don't use much, indoors laundry hung up high dries faster than laundry hung near ground level. You might not have as much ceiling space/height but a smaller pulley could still take a reasonable share of the load.

We have a 'foxydry' on our utility ceiling which is remote controlled operated. Holds masses.

amzn.eu/d/6UnYD6F

This is the one we have but there are a few different options.

Washing line in summer, heated towel rails in winter. Do you do an extra spin cycle afterwards for everything?

Snap. Absolutely will not have damp clothes all round my little house!

I would LOVE to have a separate room to drying clothes on airing racks / clothes horse. Ours are just cluttering up our bedroom!

Make sure you always do an extra spin once your machine has finished the washing load before you go to hang it, dries So much quicker.

It's just so messy and depressing, isn't it? Also it takes too much time and effort. I like to wash things, put them in the dryer then put them away. Minimal amount of stuff hanging around.

Double spin the washing (so when the normal cycle ends, put it on a new spin cycle, about 12 mins) and this will take a lot less time to dry.

Also, a heated airer will mean it dries a lot faster too. You could put really wet items on hangers inside the door of the airing cupboard if you have one / it’s warm. Or use your heated towel rails in the bathroom when on

I bought a heat pump dryer in the hope that my washing wouldn't shrink but my t-shirts and pyjamas are now a size smaller! It doesn't get particularly hot so I'm puzzled. Please tell me the secret 🙏

@Ilovetuesdays i really don't know! I do mostly wear cotton as other fabrics irritate me. I really can't think of any item that has shrunk. The only time anything has, was years ago and that was in the wash. My DH decided to be helpful and boiled my jumpers!