to put the wet washing in the tumble dryer?

[PuppyMonkey]

DP thinks I am.

I do use the washing line all summer long, or if not I put it in the conservatory on an airer where it dries lovely.

But at this time of year, it just doesn't dry properly that way. So I've been putting it in the tumble dryer.

DP worries about the amount of energy it uses. Anyone know if it's lots and lots???

And I argue that I have much less ironing to do if I use dryer, as I can mostly put things straight away. So I'm saving energy on ironing aren't I?

Am I being so very unreasonable?????

I've just spent the last hour with DH working out what it would cost us.. Our tumble drier is rated at 3.84Kwh which is 3840 watts an hour.. So it sounds a lot more than just a few light bubs - more like 50 or 60 lightbulbs.. In the winter when it is damp I have the tumble drier on every day - I wash my uniform through every day as I don't want any potential germs hanging around, but having 3 kids means that it must be on 2 hours every day.. We've worked out it would be over £200 a year if we were to do that all year long...

I tend to tumble for five-ten minutes so I don't have to iron and then dry on the line. I'm in the SW and I still got stuff a lot drier on the line yesterday but today is a write off. It's not rained that much, but it was likely to rain (and did) when I was out. So I tumbled everything for a bit longer and then put on the airer.

I have asked my DH to work out what the most energy efficient way we can dry the laundry in our victorian house when it's wet and cold. I think we're probably going to go with a combination of a short tumble, a victorian airer hanging from the ceiling, and making the most of the time the heating is on. He's contemplating whether a fan or vent in an outside wall will help reduce damp. He has been contemplating this for a month or so, so maybe next winter I'll feel a bit less guilty.

I find that even at this time of year (when it's not that cold yet) the clothes don't smell fresh if they are dried from scratch on the airer.

I seem to recall that an hour's ironing uses roughly the same energy as an hour's tumble drying.

I used my tumble dryer nearly everyday and several times a day, were on a key meter and it really doesn't use a lot of leccy. Tell your DP to get a grip.

I tumble dry every load, year round. I pull out a few items that don't do well in the dryer.

I am happy to pay for the leccy.

So bite me.

We hang washing outside when we can, and I do use an airer inside for certain things that don't go in the tumble dryer.

From about now onwards though it will be the dryer for most things. We never tumble to bone dry, everything spends 24 hours in the airing cupboard before it goes into wardrobes/drawers.

We bought a new dryer last year, it's an A+ rating, uses about 2KW so not actually that bad.

£50 a year in electricity?

Sounds like a bargain! I'll keep using my tumble drier during the winter, thanks!

TOTALLY agree with vinblanc. Always use dryer except for those dodgy things that might end up on Barbie. Would hang stuff out but going on how often anyone else empties dryer, clothes would stay on line til birds nested in 'em!!

i tumble big items as they don't fit on an airer without being folded up. without being tumbled, they take 3 or 4 days to dry & start to smell a bit musty if i don't refold & move them each day.

however, i tumble them a bit dry, then hang stuff on airers, and open the outside door to that room, making sure the door into the house is shut firmly. (i have a laundry room between the kitchen & garage, but your conservatory could be used the same way?)

Treeesa, you calculation sounds more like it tbh. Although I would only tumble dry maybe three or four times a week. £200+ a year though... in the scheme of things. Not that much. Will have a few less bottles of wine a week. []grin]

Now all i need is someone to work out how much elec an iron uses in comparison......

here's where I found the £50 from. It does seem surprisingly low though...

YABU tumble dryers are the highest users of energy. Put washing on airers till nearly dry, then tumble for 10 mins to finish off.