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 🤣

When I got a smart meter I tested how much the tumble dryer costs to run.

1p per minute.

Yes, it's that unpleasant musty smell.

I’ve never had an issue with this at all in the 14 years I’ve had one. And I probably over load it too. I just cannot see any downside.

I hang washing outside whenever I can but living in the rainy northwest it's a game changer having a tumble dryer xx

If you can't live without a tumble dryer for 2 weeks you could either-

• take it to launderette, service wash if you don't have time to sit and wait. Yes it's expensive, but it's only for 2 weeks
• ask neighbours if they would kindly let you use theirs on a short term basis.
• cut your laundry down to the minimum. You can catch up once you have your new tumble dryer installed

15 degrees early today in Essex.

We’ve never had one even when our 3 kids were small and in cloth nappies. Rotary line does most of the job for most of the year and finish on airers inside. Don’t quite see how an adult and a child merit a washload daily tbh.

A lot of UK houses don't have space for dryers which is a pain because both the climate (six months of dark and damp) and the majority of urban housing stock (single brick Victorian, poorly insulated, shallow/no foundations on a rising water table) mean that drying clothes without one is a multi staged faff that further downgrades the already damp prone properties.

Well my gym gear does smell! So that gets washed everyday. That’s 5x t shirts, 5x leggings a week. Then five shirts a week, because I sweat a lot and they don’t smell fresh. Five jumpers, three trousers, three sets of pyjamas and then all my underwear and that’s two loads a week, plus bedding and towels. I don’t think it’s bad to want to wear fresh clothes.

don't have one.
have a line in the attic and a heated airer up there as well (rarely switched on though)
family of 5, washer runs 3-4 times a week.

As several PPs have mentioned, a dehumidifier (in a dedicated drying space) is the answer. However, you need to be washing 24 hours ahead. By which I mean, the wash goes on overnight to be ready to hang on drying racks in the morning. The next morning, everything is dry and ready to wear.
Laundry is a serious business for me - can you tell?

I have one but only use it to dry duvets really. Washing goes on the line in the summer and either in front of the log burner or on the radiators. The radiators are on 24/7 as they are heated by a solid fuel Rayburn and it’s either on doing everything or off. We are often quite grateful for the damp washing putting a bit of moisture back in the air.
the washing dries in a couple of hours.
I can see how people not on solid fuel would find it harder to dry the laundry.

If you have lots of space or time, it's fine. If you work and have a small house, kids/people you care for, then unless you're ok with looking at washing everywhere, it's good to have a dryer, in my opinion.
My gran always wanted one because she hated clothes being outside where bugs got on them. And the birds seemed to think her line was their toilet. Not to mention the times her washing got nicked, that she'd tell me about. It's not surprising, really, that my parents always had a tumble dryer.

I’m in a very damp NI, and DO have a tumble drier. I really restrict what I use it for though as it costs a lot to run. I tend to dry clothes indoors (we have a wood burning stove and tend to use the residual heat from that) and finish off anything damp in the tumble drier to prevent anything hanging up indoors getting that stale smell. I’m afraid towels go straight in from wet and I feel bad about it. Tight spins and not washing after every wear are the bare minimum, but does help.

Dehumidifier for the win. Will dry your clothes within the day

How can you possibly get through so much washing with only two of you? I do at most two washes a week just for me.

I also don't see why you're so desperate for things to dry quickly. At this time of year, when the weather is too unreliable to dry washing outside but it's not cold enough to put on the heating, I just put washing on a drying rack and let it take as long as it takes.

Dehumidifier for the win. Will dry your clothes within the day

We haven’t had a TD for ten+ years and never miss it. We have a dehumidifier instead. And patience to wait……omg…. Two days for our washing to dry. Shocker. We don’t have the heating on much hence it takes two days. Would be quicker if we kept the house warmer. Cheaper to run and keeps our clothes looking nicer for far longer than a TD would.

I don't know how people manage to dry it on the line, today there were at least 4 heavy downpours while I was at work and every day this weeks been similar, it would be wetter when I took it in that when I put it out that morning

Never had one. Nor did our parents. Two dc, dh and I. Dc are now grown up and have their own homes. They don’t have a tumble dryer either.

I lived without a dryer and without heating for more than thirty years! Deprivation and poverty are not fun but I’m still here.

We have one but only use it about once a week for bedding and towels. If it broke we could easily manage without it. It's only DH and me, and luckily we have space to hang things on clothes horses.

It rarely rains where we are so we hang things out in the garden after washing. If they don't dry completely then we put them in airers indoors.

@Ratafia I do at least one wash every day for just me and my husband. I like to keep on top of it or else the ironing mounts up really quickly.

i live alone - every week I do:

1x towel wash
1x bedding wash
1x dark clothing wash
1x mixed colour wash
1x white wash.

we are all different 😊

we use a heated airer and dehumidifier- it also has the added bonus that if we set it up in DH’s office when he’s wfh we don’t need to have the heating on all day and his office is all cosy.