Best way to dry tons of washing in the Winter?

[peachcake]

I have stacks of washing with 2 adults and 4 children in a reasonably small house and have 2/3 loads of washing to do everyday, that's fine but drying it is a huge messy problem!!

I use all available rads and tumble all our smalls but the tumble shrinks stuff (gets too hot) and I still end up with piles of washing waiting for rads! i have airers/clothes dryers but the clothes don't dry thoroughly and sometimes get that damp smell which means I have to start again arghhh!

Anyone have any clever ideas, I don't have an airing cupboard & my drying outside is hit and miss at this time of year, help needed please!!

Aslo meant to add that we have small airers from Ikea that are easy to carry (but large enought to hold everything except bedding). Then they're easier to put out on the patio when its not actually raining and bringing them in is hardly any extra work so putting washing inside/outside isn't a problem.

Buy an extra Spin Drier (one of the cylinder types that your mum or gran probably had) They are a bit of work as they only take small loads but they spin at 28000 rpm and clothes come out only slightly damp.It will pay for itself.The clothes need much less time in the tumbler(tumble driers use massive amounts of electricity) or if you are putting them on radiators etc they'll produce much less damp.Also,I wash mine on lowest spin then put them through the Sin Drier,this saves massively on wear and tear on the wasing machine motor so you get a double saving.I get mine second hand but would pay full price if I had to.Ceda and Zannussi both make current models.

This encourages me to get on Dragon's Den with my solar powered gazebo/rotary dryer combo. I know it's genius, but where to start with my master plan? What did Richard Branson do? (Apart from just buying a bailed out bank for half-price)

Sorry,Freudian typo!

Jeez,my speed typing is rubbish! Should say 2800rpm,Creda and Spin Drier.Also hadn't noticed that Moonbells had already posted re old fasioned spin driers.

I've got some of these...
www.amazon.co.uk/PACK-IRONING-HOOKS-HOLDS-HANGERS/dp/B0041TGO4C/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1322391425&sr=8-10
A friend gave them to me after seeing my chinese laundry style house! There's me, a 5 year old and a 7 month old sicky baby in a very small 2 bedroomed house... I wash most days and have a washer dryer. I don't use an airer at all, just tumble dry for 40 mins and hang everything in doorways. I hardly ever iron my own stuff but I do some of the boys stuff. Never things like pyjamas! I dry sheets and towels til almost dry and then they go over chairs overnight. I hate having washing hanging about downstairs.
Everything goes on the line in summer!

Before we had a tumble drier, I used to put an electric fan on and face it at the clothes airer, it really cut down on drying time.

I find my drier takes most things without shrinking though, anything which can't be tumbled I hang in the sunniest window on coathangers or on the bannister at night.

Really interesting reading about spin dryers, hadn't seen them about for years! Do they still get a lot more water out even if you have a good spin on your washing machine?

Could be a solution for us to dry clothes faster when baby arrives and we no longer have a spare room to dry them in. White Knight do one for £98 Inc delivery.

What about buying a dehumidifier? Look for an energy efficient one and put it in the room with the airing frames. It'll help with the drying time.

Wrigglebum,
Top spin on most Washing machines is 1600rpm.Spin driers spin at 2800rpm.As I said your washing machine will live longer as well,but there is extra work involved.

Trouble with high spins and spin dryers is that your clothes may wear out more quickly.

Best solution I've found is a ceiling pulley airer combined with a dehumidifier. We dry using this combo in the unheated utility room, put the DH on overnight and washing is almost bone dry by morning.

Yes,good point,Daisy.I wouldn't overspin very delicate clothing but fine for work clothes,towels and bedding etc.

We bought a dehumidifier in desperation last winter and I've never before been so ecstatic about a household appliance! Sucks up pints of water from the air, no more damp smell and the clothes dry really quickly. Could only afford a cheap value one from Argos but it is on it's second winter and does a grand job. Highly recommend it.

If your house is really small, why don't you go to the launderette once a week to wash sheets and towels, and dry them at the same time, using several machines simultaneously? I send out sheets/towels or use the launderette when I have a backlog and it really helps.

laundrette will cost you more a week than your own tumble drier.

Put your clothes airer next to the biggest rad and when it is full put a sheet over the rad and the airer - it traps all the heat in and the clothes dry much quicker.

for bedwetters i recommend these liegelied incontinence sheets they have a bit of plastic in the middle surrounded by cotton on either side, as lights as a normal bedsheet, can be washed at 60 degrees and are COMPLETELY water tight si if they wet the bed you just fold it over and then child can carry on sleeping, they dry really fast too and just means dont have to change bedsheets all the time
www.amazon.co.uk/0101-Betteinlage-50x70cm-Liegelind/dp/B000WIK4VK/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1322408806&sr=1-1

5 of us in a small flat, no airing cupboard, no tumble drier. Line dry when I can, use the rads but the best thing has actually been to wash less. No toddlers or wet beds which helps, but I was doing loads of washing that actually didn't need it. Clothes which have been worn for a few hours don't need to be washed, towels which dry clean bodies can be used more than once etc. Not saying you should go down the manky route but bet you can reduce significantly.

I give my washing an extra spin or two which makes quite a difference. we air the whole flat mornings and evenings (all windows and doors open for 5 min) and just before going to bed. the dryer lives in the draftiest part of the living room. one load dries in about 24 hours and I do about a load a day.

lakeland do a heated airer which is quite big and cheap to run. I have mine on all the time and use it for drying everything. Just use the tumble drier for fluffing up towels.

I don't see why drying stuff in the house should be bad for you....don't you keep windows open?!

We always keep a couple of small windows open even in the winter. And in the morning I open the main windows for half an hour or so to air the house. Can't bear stuffiness.

Not much tumble drying here either - I only dry towels. I have a ceiling airer in the utility room plus a couple of airers.

Dancergirl Sun "We always keep a couple of small windows open even in the winter. And in the morning I open the main windows for half an hour or so to air the house

very wise. this is a good precaution against humidity and condensation. Though wet washing will always add to the moisture in the air.

I've heard that if you put a dry towel in the tuble drier with a load this reduces the drying time.

Even on a cold day if its a bit windy this helps was also thinking of putting clothes airer in garage/ outside building so that samp was kept to a minium in the house.