Airing cupboards - please explain!

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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!?

@Supertollundwunderbar

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

🤣

@PeskyRooks

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

I know someone who hibernated theirs in a fridge!

I keep my towels and blankets in there on a shelf.
I also hang my towel in there.
If I’ve got clothes that are almost dry I will fold them and put them in overnight, and they will be dry in the morning.
I wouldn’t be without mine, I deliberately didn’t go for a combi boiler.

I do use mine for drying things that don't tumble dry. Also store towels & bedding. The airing cupboard is brilliant. I don't have a combi boiler. I still have a hot water tank so my airing cupboard still gets very warm ds puffa coat and trainers are in there now drying in time for school in the morning (I hope!)

Damp clothes, not wet. We have a radiator in ours.

An alternative to an airing cupboard could be a heated airier. My daughter brought hers with her when she moved back in for a while. Apart from using it to dry wet washing, also good in the summer when washing from outside isn’t quite dry enough to put away. In the winter I just hang almost dry or just ironed stuff on the hot radiators for a while. Rest of the time I also use my airing cupboard.

Those who have a hot tank or immersion in theirs, do you not have it insulated? My airing cupboard is more of a linen cupboard - dry enough to store bedding and towels but not hot enough that I’d put anything damp in.

Love my airing cupboard. It houses all of the towels, bed linen etc and I put my turban hair drying things in there to warm up when I’ve washed my hair as well.
Proves the head dough.
In the 1980’s it dried out my children’s paper mache Tracy island Blue Peter model!
If I change to a combo boiler ever I’m keeping the cupboard and putting a small radiator in it.

Bread dough not head

I love my airing cupboard! The top two-thirds has slatted shelves for storing bed linen and towels. I use the bottom third for drying washing that can’t be tumble-dried when it’s not line-drying weather. No mould so far.

Yes, our hot water tank is a modern one with rigid insulation. The pipes are where the heat comes from. It doesn't get that warm in there, just a bit warmer than room temp. I wouldn't put a machine load of damp laundry in, just the odd few items that didn't dry completely on the line.

@Knittingnanny

Bread dough not head

I thought you meant having a warmed up turban kept your brain functioning 😂

We’ve just had a new boiler and super insulated water tank. We’ve put the tank in the loft to free up more space in the airing cupboard but it’s still warm since the pipes all run through it. I’m looking forward to having the whole space as an airing cupboard. Our was always crammed with bedding and towels. Now I’ll be able to have a Pinterest style airing cupboard (for five minutes before its messy again!)

You can't hibernate a tortoise in the airing cupboard, it's much too warm! My mum used to keep her loo rolls in there too. My parents were obsessed with "airing" clothes after drying them on the line.
I sometimes dry my jeans in there, a but like having a Lakeland hot drying rack.

Modern advice is that tortoises don't need to be 'packed away' to hibernate but this is probably because the majority of houses are centrally heated. We did it in the early 80s our only heating was an open fire in the sitting room! It was the done thing at the time like I said they showed you how to do it on Blue Peter!
That being said one year we unpacked it and it was dead but that might have been because it was too skinny...

Airing cupboards date from pre-tumble dryer times in a damp climate. They make a lot of sense to me - line dry + airing cupboard is more energy efficient than a tumble dry, but takes more time than I have. Watch this space, I guess.

My mother is obsessed with airing clothes and will not allow anything that hasn’t been sufficiently aired (this is entirely subjective) to be worn.

She irons everything and then it goes in the airing cupboard at least overnight. They have a combo boiler, so their airing cupboard is a cupboard built around a small radiator which is turned on low at all times. She also keeps the bedding and towels in there.

Whatever I iron goes straight in the drawers and cupboards.

@WellTidy my late mother ( born in the 1920’s) was obsessive about clothes being aired. Nothing was allowed to be taken out of the cupboard before day 3, even tea towels. Mind you, said tea towels were also ironed so mum had some issues with “ proper” housewifery!
Apparently if our knickers hadn’t been properly aired for three days minimum we would get kidney chills.
I do love my airing cupboard but not to such an extreme extent!

I would never put anything wet in our airing cupboard as it would be a recipe for mould. We have a condensing boiler, outdoors. Frees up space inside. I put very nearly dry things in their and store towels and sheets.

We have one but our super duper new hot water tank is really well insulated so it’s not especially warm. It also doesn’t have shelves in it any more. So we just plonk the hoover in there.

We have one, it’s full of towels but also random things - spare duvets, pillows, wetsuits, and other stuff long forgotten.