Drying clothes without using the dryer

[RedRobyn2021]

Are you still going to use your dryer?

We live in quite an old property and I worry about causing damp/mould

Anyone on here with young children who don't use a dryer? How have you found it?

Before our daughter I never had a dryer, I just opened the windows every day and I was out five days a week at work.

Now between me and my partner we are home 5 days a week and will need to heat the property and I feel like it would be unfair to my daughter letting it get as cold as it did before we had her.

Really worrying, hoping for ideas, solutions and to hear what others are doing?

Don't the wet items drip all over the stairs? Don't you get wet going up and down?

How rubbish is the spin cycle on your machine if your washing is dripping when you take it out?

We are a family of 2 adults and 2 DC. We have a drier, but it’s on less than 6 times a year. Outside drying march-October and 2 fold down drying racks for the rest of the time or to finish off overnight. Not using the drier isn’t even on my list of worries for the energy price hikes.

We have a 1600 spin in the washing machine so the polyester stuff is practically dry when it comes out. Nothing drips.

Ceiling airers are way more efficient than free standing ones. Get it put in your warmest room that has a bit of ventilation/air circulation, even over the bath or in the kitchen if you can.

We've had one for years in different houses and never had any damp.

I have a dryer, but will now only use for towels and bedding due to increase in costs. I have just ordered a heated Minky airier with a cover from Argos. Apparently they cost pennies to run.

I also put the washing on an extra spin so dries quicker.

If your washing is dripping wet then your machine isn't draining properly and needs replacing or you are using the wrong cycle, a wool or delicate one that doesn't spin perhaps.

I use an airer in the bathroom in front of the big cast iron radiator that acts as a heatsink for the boiler. I also dry jeans over portable heated towel rails from Lakeland. They dry overnight.

@Cynderella I've found them to be brilliant. In fact I wish I had 3!

I hang mine over the bannister.

They can be quite heavy so that's something to consider.

5yr. I use normal clothes horse in Spare bedroom

usually dry in a day or two

I live in a flat so only have a small balcony. I use the highest spin cycle to get as much water out as possible. Then I hang the clothes outside and bring in at night. If I have a lot, I will put some on a drying rack with the dehumidifier going.

I don't have any damp issues but the place is aired out daily, year round.

I hang clothes on hangers on the curtain rail in a south facing window. The window acts like a greenhouse.

I use a clothes rack with a dehumidifier under it. Clothes dry beautifully and I use the resulting water for my plants.

Even for those of us with incontinent family members? (and I don't mean toddlers) I have about 10 loads a week of pissy and shitty bedding, adult sized clothes, extra towels and cleaning cloths to get dry before even touching the rest of the family's laundry.

I give up with hanging out towards the end of September because, even on a dry day, it comes in as wet as it went out. North east coast. The air is cold and damp, here. 4vasukt sized people in a 3 bed semi so we do not have a spare room.

I'll be using the bloody dryer, tyvm.

4 adult sized people...

I second the use of a spin dryer, I've just bought two for me and my daughter. I've been meaning to for years because they are brilliant, and the energy situation now has forced my hand.

They cost very little to run, whereas tumble dryers are going to be astronomical to run going forward. Useful article here:

www.reuk.co.uk/wordpress/energy-efficiency/save-electricity-with-a-spin-dryer/

I also do not want to contribute to the energy crisis/ demand in Europe and inadvertently help to fund Putin's war any more than I can help.

You're quite right.

If anybody's looking to buy an airer or two, I can recommend these. They are sturdy, well made, have a compact footing and not very big to store when compacted. Maybe with a bigger different one for sheets etc.

direct.asda.com/george/home/cleaning-laundry/addis-metallic-extendable-3-tier-airer/050031780,default,pd.html?utm_campaign=pla:Home-All_Ranges_BAU-_Smart_Shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&ds_rl=1238816&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-Pahpujo-QIVF4BQBh1_UgjVEAQYASABEgJVRvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

We do have a dryer but I have used it about twice in the last year since DS was born.

We also live in an older property, Victorian, but never found damp an issue.

We have a 13mo and we use reusable nappies so we do a lot of laundry.

We dry on the line or if the weather is bad we have an airer in the bathroom and in the kitchen.

DH and I both work from home and I don’t understand why the house would get cold when drying clothes. It takes longer in the winter.

A few people have recommended heated airers but I haven’t found the need.

Someone has done the maths on one of the other threads (probably the how much do things cost to run thread) and using a dehumidifier is usually more expensive than a tumble dryer, particularly a newer tumble dryer. It’s because the dehumidifier takes much longer.

We have a heat pump tumble dryer which is much much cheaper to run but we peg washing outside (under cover on days which are potentially wet). Sun not required, just breeze. I’m not sure why working full time makes any difference. Simply peg out before you leave and bring in when you’re back (unless you’re worried about it being darked on).

My heated airer cost the same to run as my dryer. But maybe I was overloading it? I had to leave it on for hours to get everything dry. And that was with a cover too.

Lakeland heated airers are 300w which will mean equate to around 15.6p per hour to run on the new tariff in October.

Once again UK housing design codes have a lot to answer for, in the pursuit of ensuite bathrooms and utility rooms they have ignored drying

-Airing cupboards are a thing of the past
-No provision for an outdoor covered space/verandah.
-No communal drying area in flats

• sometimes drying outside or on balconies banned.

-Not always even a ventilated room with space for a pull up airer or one pre fitted.

It's as if they didn't expect humans to live in them. A humidity controlled extractor fan is cheap as chips.
Despite the rules on energy efficient insulation, boilers etc they still leave few options except expensive tumble dryers.

Scotland have recently included it in building regs again but not England
interesting reading

I've been looking at heat pump tumble dryers and I think I'm going to get one to replace my vented dryer because they're significantly more energy efficient.

We used to live in a small flat with no dryer and no outside space. We would do several loads of washing, put it in a big laundry bag and walk it to the nearby laundrette to dry it. Their big dryers would take several washing machine loads easily and it didn't cost much at all. The downside was having to sit there waiting on it but we would just bring a book. No idea how much it costs these days to use a laundrette dryer but maybe worth a look?

We have a heat pump dryer these days that costs hardly anything to run.