Drying Laundry

[Swer987]

I live on my own in a rented one bed, first floor flat. No outdoor space. I’m wondering the best solution for drying clothes. There is no tumble dryer and no space for one.

Until now I’ve been drying it on an airer in the lounge with the window open. In the summer this worked great and was dry the next day. Now it’s getting colder this isn’t working as well. After 2 days I chuck it all on radiators to finish drying but don’t think this is particularly great. I don’t want to use the heating where possible as the bills are really high.

I was thinking of putting it on the airer in the bathroom. There is no window in there but an extractor fan. This is light activated so I’d need to keep the light on all day.

Any ideas?

Could you get a heated airer? I think Lakeland do one and Aldi too

Alternatively - if you have enough clothes to last the week- suitcase and wheel it all to the laundrette. Shove it all in one wash then all in one dry.

Yes I was thinking about the heated airer, I think I’ll look into that.

Havent got a local launderette so that’s not really an option.

I’ve got a heated airer from coopers of stortfoed it only really dries the bit in contact with the heat so you have to keep moving the washing as it dries

Get a dehumidifier. That’s how I dry my clothes in the winter. Usually they are dry overnight, with just the few things still wet in places.
Also I sometimes give the clothes an extra spin cycle before hanging up.

I do an extra spin in my machine. That makes such a difference. You can see the extra water that spins out of the clothes.

Warm air rises - where would that be in your flat?

Putting clothes on a heated airer will cause the same damp air as putting on radiator so if you do this you must open windows frequently

I think a dehumidifier is better than a warm airer as it sucks the moisture out of clothes and the air.

Dry air is cheaper to heat.

Little and often probably. It's easier to dry smaller amounts.

I second get a dehumidifier.

Spend slightly more and get one that automatically turns itself on/off depending how much moisture is in the air.

Yup dehumidifier here too. I only have a washer/dryer (dryer is shit) and we’d never get anything dry in the winter without it

Lakeland heated airer. Love mine.

Extra spin in the washer and use a dehumidifier. Those heater dryer things are useless.

I've recently bought a heated airer from
John Lewis. I throw a blanket over it and it all dries overnight. I plan to take it when I move house shortly and use it in the bathroom with a waterproof extension cable.

Oh the other thing to do is work out if you have any rooms that get solar gain...a sunny spot! Then hang clothes in the sunny spot, after a second spin and the dehumidifier next to it. Will dry very quickly.

Thank you for the suggestions.

Do you find using a dehumidifier increases electricity bills?

We had a dehumidifier and our bills rocketed.

I would get the heated rails, and stick a fitted double sheet over the top to create a cocoon.

My dehumidifier only cost something like 2pence per hour to run. I think any information about the dehumidifier you choose should give you costs to run.

I'd go for the dehumidifier route, you may find you end up with condensation and damp/mould issues drying clothes indoors in a flat.

A dehumidifier ought to use less electricity than tumble drier or heater.

choosedehumidifier.co.uk/guides/running-costs/

Heated airer from lakeland. You need the cover too but they are fabulous.

I saw a dry buddy on display and working in Lakeland, it was like a tent with warm air blowing into it which seemed like a good idea.
Extra spin on machine is a good idea or buy a separate spin dryer which gets so much more water out.
We had a delongi dehumidifier which is great

We used to live in a flat and had the same issue - to solve it we went for an extra spin and the dry buddi for 'heavy' things that would take a long time to dry (jeans, hoddies, towels) and put light clothes like t shirts, sock and underwear on an airier or over the radiators. We have always been careful to open the windows and keep the flat well ventilated to make sure the place wasn't too damp.

Now we live in a house, and we still use the dry buddi, love it.

Yes I would go with a heated clothes rail, they may be a bit expensive but I have to say it’s worth it as it dries your clothes really fast .

You can get little 3kg tumble dryers but the dry buddy was going to be my next suggestion.

Thanks all. Think I’m going to get a DriBuddi.

I had a dri buddi in my old house. It was brilliant

Lakeland Now do a product like the dri buddy and it comes with a three year guarantee it’s £59.99