Airing cupboards - please explain!

[Notcontent]

I should preface this by saying I am not British but have lived in the U.K. for many years. But I am still a bit mystified when people talk about putting their clean/wet clothes in their airing cupboard !

As I understand it, it’s a large cupboard which is warm because it has a hot water tank in it. But don’t most people have combi boilers now? And also, the cupboard would need to be pretty huge to hang wet clothes in it? And would it not get all damp and mouldy from the condensation!?

We had one in my childhood home. It was never to put wet stuff in only mildly damp - if that. I seem to remember jumpers and towels being folded then placed on the shelves in there.
Yes, houses with combi boilers wouldn't have an airing cupboard unless they had a tank for something else.

I have an airing cupboard. I keep the towels and bed linen in it. I never put wet clothes in there. It’s for airing not drying.

Typically they used to have the boiler at the bottom and storage space above. I still have one but it now has a radiator and storage space.

I wouldn’t ever put wet things in there. But may put things that aren’t quite 100% dry. If that makes sense? Mostly, it’s the cupboard where my towels and bedding live. I tend not to put clothes in there at all.

True that most airing cupboards now have a combi boiler in them, but people still use them for storage.

Also historically it wasn't damp or wet clothes you put in them just folded towels or bed linen that had been on the line all day, were touch dry but could do with a airing. (I know, I can't explain the tactile touch of a item of clothing that needs airing 🤣 it's not damp or wet but its not bone dry, somewhere in between)

You don't put wet clothes in! Clue: airing cupboard. Or in Ireland: hot press

It's where you put your clothes after ironing (controversial on MN!) to well, air...

I used to have a large airing cupboard that was fantastic for drying damp washing. You can't put piles of wet stuff in there for the reasons you identified. But you can iron or fold damp bed linen and spread out on slatted shelves overnight. Or hang damp jumpers, shirts etc if you have a rail for hangers. Also good for making yogurt and rising bread dough!

Don't have one now because we have a combi boiler.

In Ireland it’s called the hot press.

We still have one, we kept it when we changed our boiler rather than go for a combi. We don't put properly wet clothes in there, its mainly full of bedding and towels, but we do put them in slightly damp off the line sometimes. It has louvred doors so no build up of condensation. It's great for things like soft toys when they've been washed.

Its not wet clothes. It's never been for wet stuff!!

Most people in more recent times would store bed linen and spare towels in them. My Gran would do the ironing and then put them all in the airing cupboard for the night before putting them away in the drawers the next day.

Ah ok - so it’s really a warm linen cupboard. That makes more sense. Thank you.

I lived abroad for a time with no airing cupboard and my mother couldn't cope with the idea that my washing was going straight from the washing line to our wardrobes. Without being aired!

YY to making yoghurt in there, and also great for starting off home made fruit wines like elderberry or plum.

@Notcontent

Ah ok - so it’s really a warm linen cupboard. That makes more sense. Thank you.

We-ll not quite.

That sounds like things are stored there till needed. But they go into the hot press until they get put away in people's presses. Except for towels / sheets maybe.

Our previous house had an airing cupboard- where we live now does not. I still talk longingly about that airing cupboard, My childhood home has one and my mum still puts my & the grand kids PJs in their before bed to warm. I feel they are essential for family homes (tongue in cheek) . DH just rolls his eyes at me.

I have one with a hot water tank in it. I dry underwear in there rather than on the washing line, I have hangers with little pegs on them. It's also great for drying damp bags and coats when it's been raining. I keep towels in there too. Everything dries fine and there's definitely no damp.

I had one built with a little low wattage heater in it, so it mimics the heat of an old fashioned boiler (or immersion, if you’re in Ireland)

@Rainallnight

I had one built with a little low wattage heater in it, so it mimics the heat of an old fashioned boiler (or immersion, if you’re in Ireland)

That's one reason we kept ours instead of changing to a combi, it has an immersion heater in the tank so if the boiler plays up we've still got hot water.

I use my airing cupboard to dry herbs and prove bread dough in the winter (I use the greenhouse in the summer) and take the damp chill off clothes.

I had a large airing cupboard with two hanging rails and shelves. I knocked it down to make the bathroom bigger as it just seemed like wasted space.

I am still intrigued by the idea of putting ironed things in there, before putting them away somewhere else. I wonder if this dates back to days when old fashioned irons used a lot more steam and made things a bit hot and damp during the ironing process….

Needless to say I don’t have one, and no room for one in my small London house.

Old irons didnt have steam. They were heavy, metal things which you hated on the fire.

But I cant explain it either. And I never asked my gran. Might ask my mum if she knows!

I had a small radiator fitted in mine when we changed to a combi boiler, I couldn't bear the thought of not having an airing cupboard.
It's what I've been used to all my life.

I live in an all electric house with storage heaters and an immersion heater which heats the hot water overnight in a huge tank in a roomy cupboard in the bathroom. This is our airing cupboard and I genuinely don’t know how people manage without one. It has shelves above the tank which are used the store towels that aren’t in use, smaller shelves at the side and hanging space for clothes to air when they come off the washing line or out of the tumble.dryer. Even though the tank is well lagged to keep the water hot you can feel the heat when you open the door.

@Bamaluz

I had a small radiator fitted in mine when we changed to a combi boiler, I couldn't bear the thought of not having an airing cupboard. It's what I've been used to all my life.

Yup. I really missed the airing cupboard when we moved to this house, and so we managed to create one with a little heater in the bottom. It was invaluable when we had the whole family here.

I love my airing cupboard! It's warm from the hot water storage tank. I store bed linen, towels and out-of-season duvets in there. I also put butter in to soften for an hour if I'm planning to do some baking; bread dough to rise; and if there's the odd item of school uniform that has been washed in the evening, I can hang it in the airing cupboard and it'll be dry in the morning. I leave the door slightly ajar and haven't had any mould yet. Its really useful and I'd not be without it.