Which is more efficient - starting washing off in the dryer, or finishing it off in there?

[AngelDog]

I'm struggling to get the washing dry without using the dryer but I can't afford (& don't like) to use it to dry things completely.

Does anyone know whether there's a difference in how fast things dry if I do 15 mins to start off the drying process, or 15 mins to finish it off?

I don't, but I did read that it's good to put something dry in the tumble dryer with your wet clothes (like a towel) it speeds up the drying of the other stuff then you can just put the towel on the radiator.

I tend to tumble things for the last 15-20 mins just to soften up the clothes and towels. no idea if it is quicker this way or not. but i also try to take things out hot and fold to save ironing it aswell.

I struggle to get things properly dry at this time of year so I tend to hang things outside - or on the maiden inside if the weather's bad then put them in the dryer when they're well on the way to being dry.

If I did it the other way round, they would never actually finish off the drying process and would hang around the house slightly moist for days - they'd just be warmer for the first half hour or so

Interesting question :) I think it is better to put it out onto the line first because:

1)if you put it into the drier first you have a large body of water to raise to an efficient evaporating temperature, and obviously if it is drier you have less water to raise to an temperature where it evaporates quickly.

2)If you hang the washing out first it is much more humid than the atmosphere so the rate at which it evaporates is faster than at the end when the ratio is not so great Tumble driers because they remove the air, don't have that issue.

Thanks for the replies.

OhYou, that sounds impressively scientific so I'll go with that.

We try to have the heating on as little as possible so radiator drying isn't really an option for us.

I always finish stuff off in the dryer - if you're quick to get them out at the end of the time then quickly smooth and fold you save yourself a lot of ironing.

It was very badly written

But I only skim read so didn't notice.