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!?

It’s where I put wet trainers and football boots.

Bread dough.

Drying out kids craft projects

All bedding and towels.

And for those items of the line not quite ready for the wardrobe.

Also as an emergency an item needed the next day washed late at night and hung up. But do this rarely due to not wanting to make it damp.

Loving the idea of making one it we ever move to combi

Our house is about 25 years old and I'm certain the airing cupboard was designed for a bloke. It's above a stairwell and waist height level. It has a tiny radiator at the back and it's impossibly deep so the two shelves are crammed with towels, bedding and duvets.

The depth makes it impossible to keep organised and easy to use. Nothing is aired in there, just stored.

Am currently renovating a house and have managed to design a 2m x 2m airing room into the plans. I think I'm having an auxiliary water tank in there (as well as a combo radiator). The tank will hopefully store water heated up by wood burner.

I'm hoping to have floor to ceiling shelving there along one wall for my towels, sheets and duvets etc, toilet rolls, cleaning products for upstairs, bottles water bottles etc. Also hanging space for hanging damp clothes overnight to dry (when water tank is heated).

Excited much!

@MissMarplesGoddaughter

I bulk buy bars of soap and store them in my airing cupboard. The heat dries the soap out and makes it last longer.

This is a good idea! Explains why my Gran kept hers in their.

@Notcontent

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

Yes, but only half a cupboard because the bottom half has a tank in it. Just to complicate things further. I know have a combi boiler in the kitchen so now I have a larger and colder storage cupboard. I keep bedding and towels on the original shelve and store toilet paper and other non perishables on the spare floor space. I used to occasionally drape not quite dry things over the boiler, and the odd bit of underwear.

I've like ours, have always had one, growing up aswell. I put clothes in ours that aren't quite dry and just need finishing off. Like Dh's work jacket, I've washed it, it's nearly dry, but on Sunday night I'll put it on a hanger and put it in. Then when he goes to put it on, on a Monday morning, it's toastie warm.

Meanwhile in Australia we put linen and pyjamas in the freezer to cool them down for bed on hot summer nights.

Why are your hot water systems/boilers inside the house? Doesn't it get messy when they need to be drained for fixing? Here they're almost always outside the house next to an external wall. Easy to drain when they need repairing or replacing.

Ours generally has a cat sleeping in there.

I had one in family bathroom, hot water tank, it had space for airer, my dad being a builder built the house

If you put your boiler outside the house you'd need to put a foot of insulation on it or it would freeze in the winter and lose a bunch of heat.

It very rarely needs draining. When it does it's messy but manageable.

At our old house boiler was external but that is rare here but we had to be careful with pipes not freezing and also electric socket ended up with rainwater in so primarily weather reasons. We have just had new combi installed, radiators done and hot water tank out and not very messy at all but a bit of a pain as they were in every room of the house and needed 1 room completely empty to get to pipework under carpet.

@EvilRingahBitch

If you put your boiler outside the house you'd need to put a foot of insulation on it or it would freeze in the winter and lose a bunch of heat.

It very rarely needs draining. When it does it's messy but manageable.

Didn't consider that. It rarely gets below 10 C here so no risk of pipes freezing!

We dry clothes in ours on airer
But it's massive, walk in, can stand up in it, and has boiler as well as tank in it.
No mould issues

For those who don't have airing cupboards, where do you store your towels and linen etc?

This is mine, can't get any further back to get a decent picture.
Combi boiler, always-on radiator (non-thermostatic valve - need one on the system) in there so if the heating is on the airing cupboard is warm, but not in summer.
Have hanging rails for "in-use" towels, slatted shelves that have towels and bed linen on, odd socks!
Space at the front of the bottom shelf where I dump the teens clothes for them to put away.
(Plus a box of brio and another of lego that I've not got rid of!).

@Donotgogentle it was British Gas 2 years ago who told us that. Maybe it's like @Silkieschickens says - we have 3 showers so perhaps that's why.

Yes, 3 showers could be a challenge for a combi boiler.

Shame because I'd appreciate freeing up the space!

I think its to do with how much hot water is being used at once so 3 baths or showers or equivalent at once is too much for a combi. But if you dont shower or bathe at same time its OK, I think 2 at same time is OK for some of combis. We also have an electric shower so that does not count as its not heated by the combi. That is actually quite useful so if combi breaks down can still have a hot shower

I always put wet stuff in mine! I've never 'aired' dry ironed clothes.

@gofg

I'm not in the UK but do have an airing cupboard, and yes they are for putting clothes in when they come from the line, but are dry. I didn't have one in my previous house and it just felt odd, even though strictly speaking one isn't necessary, I just like the idea of having one.

If the clothes are dry….why not just put them away? Why the extra step?

@BananaBender

Meanwhile in Australia we put linen and pyjamas in the freezer to cool them down for bed on hot summer nights.

Why are your hot water systems/boilers inside the house? Doesn't it get messy when they need to be drained for fixing? Here they're almost always outside the house next to an external wall. Easy to drain when they need repairing or replacing.

Ours are inside because Canada gets cold.

@BlackAlys

For those who don't have airing cupboards, where do you store your towels and linen etc?

In the linen closets in the bathrooms.

If the clothes are dry….why not just put them away? Why the extra step?

Because in the uk, pre—central heating (or just pre effective central heating), things would go mouldy in the cupboard if not scrupulously dry before they were put away. So you air them somewhere warmer than the rest of the house before putting them away. Not strictly necessary nowadays if you have central heating.

line drying in the uk in most seasons anywhere but the south does not get things dry enough.

We used to put our tortoise in the airing cupboard in a box of straw to hibernate. They showed you how to do it on blue peter

My mum stores toilet rolls in her airing cupboard as she thinks the warmth makes them fluffier😂