drying clothes indoors how to prevent them smelling musty

[Whatalife58]

I live in a flat with a 5 year old. I don't have a back garden or a dryer. I normally dry clothes on the heater during the winter months. I have radiators so it is safe. If I use a clothes horse drying takes days.
Anyway sometimes when the clothes are dry they have a horrible smeall. Any ideas on how to prevent this?

Dehumidifier so they dry faster (and so you don't create an unnecessary damp problem).

dettol laundry cleanser

Use a smelly fabric conditioner and ask father christmas for a Lakeland heated airer.

I dry indoors through the winter using radiators and a drying rack. I don't have a musty smell. Is the room you're using kept warm so things dry quickly?

anything warm and moist will encourage mould and bacteria growth. There are constantly spores in the environment, waiting for a chance to multiply. If the room is warm and humid that will do it. I expect you are reluctant to open the windows when the heating is on.

If you have an effective extractor fan in the bathroom, turn on the fan, shut the doors and windows, and hang wet washing over the bath. The extractor will suck out the water vapour without it drifting around your home causing condensation, damp and mould, and the evaporation will cool the damp clothes, which will slow the growth of bacteria and mould. A typical extractor uses 13p worth of electricity in 50 hours running.

A hot wash 60C (not a cool one) will also kill a proportion of the mould spores and bacteria which will be in the clothes from last time.

I am in a flat and use a dehumidifier and Lakeland heated dryer

The smell can be from them drying too slowly - if this happens, I re-wash on a hot wash and then ensure I do the following:

• spread them out on the rads/dryer, nothing overlapping or folded.
• if they are on a clothes airer, put it next to a hot radiator.
• take them out of the washer the minute it's done, and hang them up immediately.
• if I'm in a hurry for something (if I want to wear it in the morning) I iron it while wet so the hot iron starts it drying. I have, on occasion, managed to dry a shirt almost completely this way

I agree with making sure clothes are spread out well on the airer, no overlapping. I usually have each item over two bars to increase air circulation. I dry some things in the bathroom and make use of the towel radiator (although we don't have any other radiators as we're electric). I organise the washing when it comes out of the machine so I can hang it efficiently - eg largest items get placed first on outer bars, smaller items can go lower down. I also do relatively small loads - our machine only does about 5kg anyway, I wash smaller loads more regularly so that I don't have to load the airer with lots of stuff. Also I try not to put too many heavy items (jeans, jumpers) in one wash as these need more space and time to dry compared with a shirt or baby grow.

I agree with making sure clothes are spread out well on the airer, no overlapping. I usually have each item over two bars to increase air circulation. I dry some things in the bathroom and make use of the towel radiator (although we don't have any other radiators as we're electric). I organise the washing when it comes out of the machine so I can hang it efficiently - eg largest items get placed first on outer bars, smaller items can go lower down. I also do relatively small loads - our machine only does about 5kg anyway, I wash smaller loads more regularly so that I don't have to load the airer with lots of stuff. Also I try not to put too many heavy items (jeans, jumpers) in one wash as these need more space and time to dry compared with a shirt or baby grow.

Oops

I have taken to standing my airer right next to the radiator and then hanging a towel over the back of the radiator and then over the top of the airer. This seems to force all the hot air through the airer and dry things more quickly.

Omg. I have turned into my mother! I am starting up late to post things about how i do my laundry..... what have I turned into? Where did my life go?

Lakeland heated airer. Magnificent, honestly.