Garden sail for drying washing outside in winter

[OhHeySis]

Like everyone else I’m trying to work out how to cut the electricity bill without hanging damp washing all over the inside of the house. I’d like to keep hanging the washing outside but obviously it’s the UK and, well, weather.

Has anyone tried those garden sails to keep the rain off their washing? We’ve got a sheltered corner of the garden and I’m thinking one of the sails at an angle to allow water runoff and a tall airer underneath, weighted to prevent it blowing over.

Madness? Worth a go? I’d like to know if other people do this before I make the investment in buying a £50 sail!

Trouble with that is that rain can fall different ways depending on the wind. Have you got a garage you could hang it in ?

I don't think it would work unfortunately.

Slightly different but we have a covered balcony. We sometimes put ours outside during the day on an airer depending on how cold it is then back inside with a dehumidifier running at night. If it was just left outside all the time, it wouldn’t dry, I find the dehumidifier the most efficient for getting clothes dry.

Will it dry if theres moisture in the air from the rain?

No, no garage unfortunately. I remember my parents having one of those amazing ceiling racks for drying clothes in their garage on a pulley. It was brilliant!

The section of garden I’m thinking of putting it is enclosed on two sides, more like a wide alley way, so I would hope that would reduce sideways rain being blown in.

They are common here in Aus for shade. I doubt that the rain would stay off your clothes as the wind would blow it about. What you could do is get some tarps and hang them over a higher line like a tent and put the clothes underneath on a lower line. It would definitely take longer to dry, and would have to be hung when the grass underneath isn’t wet.

I’m hoping that even if it gets 90% dry we can then carry the airer inside for the last bit, reducing how wet the clothes are.

We do an extra spin already which does a good job of getting excess water out.

I think this is sort of how I was hoping it would work. I had the washing out yesterday on a damp day and it got mostly there, and I brought it in overnight for the last little bit.

My old neighbours were renters and they secured a gazebo to the back door so they could hang their washing outside.

Looked ugly but worked well.

I think you would need something more fixed. In a past house we had a pergola with corrugated plastic roof which worked well to dry off washing year round.

I would made something more solid like this

I've seen all sorts of posts on Facebook from people planning to put washing outside in the rain - in sheds and pop up greenhouses etc.

I just don't think it will work or be effective at all - I think, at the tail end of summer, people still haven't yet remembered how cold and awful the winter weather can be.

Even an unheated house will be several degrees warmer than outside with much lower humidity. With general damp in the air and cold temperatures, plus having to possibly run inside/outside in the rain, relying on drying outside in any way sounds like a nightmare to me.

Don’t think I could persuade DP to go for this 😂 Also we like the neighbours and I couldn’t inflict that sort of eyesore on them; the area I’m thinking of doing this in is at least out of sight to everyone else! Just too small for a gazebo. Hmm.

I used to dry mine under a car port in all weathers, so in principle yes but I am not sure how effective a sail would be in comparison to a more solid roof.

YES! This was sort of what I’d like, but with the ability to take it down in nice weather so with the sail.

I wonder if we could do something retractable instead.

Outside is often less humid and outhouses are draughty unlike houses with good windows so there is less of a mould problem.

I used to dry mine quite happily under a car port in almost all weathers - except freezing of course.

It would work on breezy, showery days, but on stormy days or in the dank mid-winter the air is too wet for washing to dry outside. Generally if the ground is wet the washing won't dry.

We have a wind- out awning at the back of the house, bought to keep the sun off the kitchen. However, it's great for putting the washing out! I put it on an airer, weigh the bottom bits down with bricks, goes out every day- rain, snow, frost etc. It's surprising what a bit of air through the washing does.

Nah, it gets to a point in winter where your washing will never dry outside, it’s too cold and wet or snowing of frosty and it will either stay damp or go hard.

We’ve fashioned some airers double tiered over the big radiator in our utility room, the washing dries on there out of sight of most of our house. Put it on one day, take it off the next.

Faffing about getting washing “90 per cent” dry and then “finishing it off” in the house - too much hassle for me.

Maybe UK houses should be built with indoor "drying cupboards" that are sealed off so the moisture doesn't affect the fabric of the house, and people could hang up clothes to dry. Larger than an airing cupboard, smaller than a room.

I dry mines in the greenhouse there are doors are either end and so you get a decent through draft. All clothes on hangers. When it’s properly miserable it won’t dry completely but finish it off on kitchen pulley or in the drier if desperate. You need to be organised and launder things two days before needed but it does work.

I dry all my washing outside, have done for years.
You won’t need a sail to protect your washing. It actually dried very quickly, even in winter as soon as there is a bit of breeze.

I wanted to buy a sail this summer, but was put off by the cost of the poles, base anchors and fixings. All together it would cost closer to £200. Obviously depends if you have a wall you could attach one or two sides to, but worth bearing in mind.
I wouldn't want to attach it to a fence as if the wind caught it it could pull the fence down

@FruitPastilleNut , I’d say you haven’t tried to dry your washing outside and you are working with preconceived ideas not matching to reality.

Clothes dry outside in winter - yes even it’s frosty - Wo any problem.
They dry still pretty well when it’s cold and damp. What you need is a bit of breeze.
Im in the North too so I’m pretty confident it’s possible more or less everywhere in England (I appreciate it might be a different story in Scotland).

Seriously, I have less than 10 loads drying inside over one year period.

The things your parents had on a pulley is called a creel. You can still buy them