How do you dry washing indoors in winter without it smelling bad?

[MegumiEto]

Just moved into a flat where there is no outdoor space for drying clothes. Got a 3yr old and an 8wk old - a lot of washing! Since the weather turned, I just can't get washing dry indoors without it smelling really awful, even if I finish it off in the tumble dryer.

At the moment it's on three airers in my spare room. I've tried opening the window and that doesn't help, and it's not cold enough to have the heating on much.

Trying to be economical with the dryer if I can!

My celiing airer screwed into a large strip of wood, which is screwed into ceiling at lots of points. Is painted same colour as ceiling, so can't really see it (and is in utility, so don't much care anyway)

Thanks plum

You should never hang anything heavier than a feather from a plasterboard ceiling. The plasterboard will be nailed to the joists of the floor above, or of the loft. You can screw into these.

With steps, you can usually locate these joists by tapping on the ceiling with your knuckles. You will very often be able to see where the joists run by the dust-shading which sticks to the ceiling and leaves a faint line of grey dirt. Or you may be able to see where the nail heads are, if you look carefully, even though they have been filled and painted.

If all else fails you can drill one hole through the ceiling where you want to fix, and use a special Hand Made Ceiling Timber Detection Tool to identify where the nearest joist is. I sell these tools at £50 each, or you can make one by straightening out a wire coat-hanger and bending it into a gentle curve to poke through the hole in all directions until it meets one.. The joists are usually about 14 inches apart so there is bound to be one within a short distance of your hole. Once you have found one you can easily find the next as they are parallel. Avoid drilling close to ceiling lamps or upstairs radiators as there may be cables or pipes. If you only drill about half an inch you are unlikely to hit anything.

I dry mine in the utility room which has the boiler in it and a radiator. Things dry quite fast in there.

I hate not being able to hang stuff outside. I also use the tumble dryer for some of the washing.

Thanks PJohn. Ceiling is a new sloping one so now I am kicking myself I didn't make a note of where wooden parts of roof are

I take the thin clothes and put them straight on the airer, the rest of the load goes into the tumble drier for 20-30 mins (depending on whats in there), that gets them half dry I would say, then they go on the airer. I find that quicker than putting them on the airer first then into a drier. Although like an earlier poster said I try to get them on the line all year, so long as its not raining and then finish them on the airer.

I have a plug-in heated airer, this one airer combined with the tumbler for things that would take forever to dry in the air (and therefore get smelly).

this?

cross-posts!

Would it be financially possible to take heavy items to a laundry/laundrette ?
In winter I send all towels, bedding, jeans etc to the laundrette they was and dry a black bin bag for Euro10.

Dehumidifier all the way.

I have not very nice memories of my mother drying my clothes over the AGA and them stinking of food.

I have this 'thing' of seeing how much water the dehumidifier has sucked up. It is very satisfying.

I always double spin my washing to get it as dry as possible and then use the Lakeland heated airer which is fab. It costs less than 5p an hour to run, takes a full load if you layer the clothes on it, also warms the room it is in and I put washing on it overnight and it is dry by the morning. I now only using my tumble dryer for towels.

where does the water go to, Rachel?

Are you referring to condensation PJohn? I tend to layer the clothes and then drape something over the top so warm/damp air is semi contained. I air my house well and have not noticed any problems with damp - I think it helps that the clothing is dried over a reasonable period of time. I put it in my lounge and it is always lovely and warm in the morning and certainly not damp smelling. Probably wouldn't be such a good idea in a small room.

I love the smell of washing in my house, but I hate the smell of cooking in my clean washing!

When drying indoors, I find that is any wet item is touching any other wet item, they will both smell. Even if one item is touching itself (eg. trousers draped over 1 rung, so folded back on themselves). Most things need to be dried over 2 or more rungs so the wet fabric is held away from itself. (The exception being socks, pants and bras).

Also, if it takes more than 24 hours to dry, I find it always start to smell. About 12 hours is best. Jeans are the worst, especially the waistband. Those usually end up on the radiator.

I usually turn the clothes over after a while if I hang them double, so that the inside can dry as well.
often I hang them up in the evening and will turn them in the morning when the upside is nearly dry.

I do have a tumble dryer but use it sparingly.

Whenever I can, I put stuff on the washing line outside. Unless the temp is almost freezing, or it is actually raining, then in the UK I think this makes a difference to drying times. If I hang sheets out on a cold windy day, it starts off the drying process. Then rather than putting them in the dryer for an hour (if I hadn't hung them out first) I only need them in for half an hour.

Towels I do a big load at 60, fastest spin possible. I try not to let these dry indoors, but use the dryer for these. Jeans and towels will take ages to dry on an airer ime.

If our bedding needs washing, and it is raining, I check the weather forecast. If it looks better a day or two later, I will delay the wash by a day or two.

Agree what others have said about hanging the stuff with room for air to circulate. With shirts etc I use a slower spin, and then put them in the dryer for say 20-30 minutes. I then shake them out, hang on hangers and no need to iron.

I have 2 airers in the spare room, with the window permanently open a tiny bit (we can lock it open in that position).

OP I think 3 airers in one small room is too much. I hate laundry downstairs, but our living room is warmer so if we haven't got visitors I sometimes move an airer down here and that helps.

The only thing that works for me is getting it done quickly. I try to do one wash every day so there's never heaps of it all wet at once, it takes 2 days to dry inside for me and if it's not going well I move it into the warmest room and if all else fails I give it a brief tumble to finish it off. And iron it/put it away as soon as I can.

mine's out now but it isn't exactly red hot out there but there is some sun. I suppose it will freshen it.

I think it does it no good if it gets damp.

Thank you Sarah freck for your advice and detergent knowledge .

I sometimes hang clothes on coathangers in front of the open back door and open a good few Windows or the front door and then the wind blows through and dries the clothes. I live in a safe windy place where i can leave does open, but where i am not allowed to hang washing out.

I dont use a dryer and just use an airer.. i found on occasion my clothes were smelling like an old damp cloth, my washing machine is new so i came to the conclusion that the clothes werent drying fast enough, sometimes 2 or 3 days to dry, so in desperation i bought a large de humidifier... and leave that to run overnight in the closed room.. that did the trick.
I was worried about the cost of leaving it on and after a bit of googling it seems its cheaper to run it for 8 hours than a tumble dryer for an hour... clothes dont pong now.

Mine has never smelled bad and it dries in no time on a clothes airer - or two clothes airers.