To wonder how on earth anyone copes without a tumble dryer?

[Bumbles55]

Ours broke yesterday and I feel like I’ve lost a limb! Having to wait an entire day or more for washing to dry (and having to put the heating on full blast 24/7 in order to facilitate this) is torture. I’m so used to washing uniform etc at night and being able to quickly chuck it in the tumble dryer in the AM whilst we get ready. Washing loads take proper pre planning now! Despite it being only DD and I at home we easily get through one full wash per day so the house is already absolutely covered in clothing drying on radiators etc.

The new one won’t be delivered for 2 weeks - unsure how I’ll survive in the meantime 🤣

Unless you have a tiny machine I struggle to understand why two people would use it everyday? I’m in a two person household and use it 3-4 times a week.
Wash things less regularly is the answer. Things like towels can be washed weekly, jumpers and trousers can be worn for several days.

I put absolutely everything in the tumble drier. The only thing I’ve noticed that it shrinks are sweaters and that’s only slightly.

Yanbu. But there will be the race to the bottom, no heating until -5 brigade that will say otherwise that will be nose blind to the fusty smell of damp in their house and clothes.

I never use it, far too expensive unless it’s an emergency

Is one wash a day really that unreasonable? I live alone now, but if I look at an average week then the bed linen is one wash, as are the towels. Then one coloured and one white wash. Thats 4 washes a week, so I can see how 2 people would do 2 or 3 more. When my husband was alive I would have done an extra towel wash and an extra coloured load as a minimum.

Back to the OPs question though, when we were first married we didn’t have a tumble drier and we managed, and indeed even when older and better off we never had one in our house. Although we did have a Aga which was brilliant for drying things. But for our flat in town, where space was more limited, a tumbler drier was essential. Though I’d also add that if you don’t have a tumble dryer you definitely need a washing machine with a very high spin speed to make sure that as much moisture as possible is removed. And that it’s equally important that the machine isn’t overloaded so that the spinning (and washing…) is effective.

We got rid of ours 16 years ago because we used it so rarely. Drying outside is much nicer.

Only time with 3 dc I wished for one was if I remembered Sunday night I'd forgotten to wash the games kit. Washing and ironing it normally dried it well enough though.

I put it all out or on racks, then on radiators and when semi dry hang it in an airing cupboard. Seems allright

I thought everybody said washer dryers are crap because the drying capacity is much lower than the washing capacity so you have to take half the wet washing out before drying?

I don't understand how anyone would use one. Seems a waste of space in the kitchen. Never had one and never felt the need for one

Yes we had one years and year ago. From John Lewis. Would take half a bloody day just for the dryer part. Back when there only three of us.

I stock on many many many clothes from the cheap ranges so always have something on the go to dry and something hung and something on the chairs ready for me to use

That’s a good way to encourage mould!

They are crap. Separate is the only way to go.

Never owned one.

Washing is either line dried or on a heated clothes horse with a dehumidifier. Doesn’t ruin clothes and heats the house at the same time, lovely stuff.

It really isn’t!

Don't forget the most important part of drying your clothes is to spin at least twice in the washing machine.

I had one a few years ago but couldn't afford to replace it until recently. Oh my gosh how lovely it is having almost all our clothes clean and dry. I got a heat pump so it doesn't steam the place up. I was sick of clothes hanging on the airer, we had no room for a heated one or a dehumidifier.

Never had mould in the 40 years of drying on a radiator. Disclaimer - I now have a heat pump dryer and use it for all my washing, summer or winter

Lived for years without one until we got one when we moved to our new place and wouldn't be without it now. I can't believe we went so long without one!

It saves so much money not tumble drying. Even if it's cold if there's some sunshine or a breeze the washing will dry. I'm still drying everything out side at the moment except towels and bedding.

We have never had one so I guess that’s just my normal. I do wish we had outside space to hang clothes (live in a flat) but a dryer would be a long way down my wish list and no space here anyway. Airer in the living room and rest on radiator airers plus small over bath airer if needed. Seeing washing drying is never something I have thought about until the number of people on this thread saying they hate seeing it- it’s just normal part of life, doubt I would even notice it in someone’s house. But we never had a dryer growing up (parents still don’t even though they would have room if they wanted to) so again it’s just a normal part of life. Only thing I think a drier would be useful for is bedding and towels
However this is the hardest time of year for getting it dry- flat isn’t warm like in the summer but nor is it cold enough for the radiators to come on more than a few minutes occasionally plus thicker clothes. So it is taking a good 48hrs to dry a lot of things

I've got a washer/dryer and we never use the dryer. I just put things on the clothes horse. If it's dry outside I add pegs and stand it on the patio.
Also use the kitchen radiator.

YABU - and far too reliant on a tumble dryer...

I have never had one in 40+ years of adulthood, and having 2 children... Most stuff just dries on the line. Yeah I know we get rain sometimes, but not all the time, and I do the washing/put it on the line when a reasonable day is predicted, with little or no rain. If it does rain, I bring it in and put it on the radiators and put the heating on. 75-80% of the year, the washing dries outside.

I don't have a dishwasher either, and have never had one. Nor a slow cooker, or an air fryer.

It's almost like we're all different isn't it?

So you do need a dryer. At least on occasion.
I genuinely don't know how people manage without them!

I don't like washing hanging about the place, and a tumble dryer just saves so much time and effort.