How to dry clothes in the winter

[ladyluck1234]

We live in an Edwardian house and already have small damp patches in certain rooms. I assumed we could hang the laundry in the sitting room where the log burner is and have clothes dry that way but husband is saying the house will be damp. Our utility room is freezing, it will take an age for clothes to dry.

We have 3 children under 4 so we tend to have to do 4 washes a week. Minimum. Sometimes 5.

Any energy efficient suggestions welcome.

You might want to rummage here as this has come up several times:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/cost_of_living

We dry clothes outside all year, Scotland and north east England. Even if you can only hang out for a few hours it'll make a difference to the moisture if you have to finish them off in the house.

We also have a spin drier - it gets a couple of pints extra water out of a large load even if they've been spun at high speed in the washing machine. This cuts down on drying time too.

We dry outside all year too (NW coast). Just getting some of the moisture out on the line vastly speeds up any drying needed indoors (which would be overnight, so no heating involved).

I read an article last notice that suggested a dehumidifier as it takes all the wet out the air. Thought it sounded like a good idea.

If you have the space and the clothes won't smell smoky, then you should get a dehumidifier to remove the created moisture from the air. If the house already gets damp and you can't resolve the cause, you should consider one anyway.

As long as the pavement is dry it will dry outside on a line.

We use a ceiling mounted airer above the stairs - the warmest place in the house, shame we can't sit up there in the evenings!

Dehumidifier on the landing to help avoid damp.

I can't be faffed with hanging washing twice - if I hang it in the garden it's still damp when I bring it in and I have to hang it up indoors to finish off anyway.

I think that sadly in winter there aren’t many options that don’t involve using at least a bit of energy.

This summer I have been drying all my clothes outside (my London neighbours probably think I am a bit mad).

But when it’s damp and cold in winter this is often not an option. I don’t have a dryer (and don’t want to have one) so in winter hang my clothes on drying racks inside - but I do use a dehumidifier. Without a dehumidifier all that laundry will cause damp and mould - particularly in period houses.

in an ideal word I would have a good sized utility room with hanging drying racks and some sort of energy efficient ventilation system.

They'll dry in no time with a log burner. I'd peg out then bring it all in to finish off in front of the fire.

I've just bought this Op. www.lakeland.co.uk/53211/dry-soon-drying-pod

so far so good added bonus it's cut my ironing pile in half! Worth it (for me) just for that Not sure how much moisture it releases but Im planning to buy a dehumidifier next week to use alongside it

My 18 year old self would be horrified to see me now, in my 50s, checking the weather forecast for the next few days, in order to make the best of any drying days.

Make use of a greenhouse if you have a one, vents open to circulate air

You can hang in the garage too.

Wash less - I know you have young children but you can often get more wears out of things if you take the time to think about it. In winter mine sometimes have a vest that is washed daily, with a cotton t-shirt or top that is worn for a few days and a jumper on top that gets stains sponged off (handknit acrylic jumpers are good for this, they also dry superfast!) Trousers and skirts can be worn a few days. And try to teach them to avoid getting messy where possible, roll sleeves up to eat etc.

I live in a Victorian terrace that can be mouldy and cold. In winter, mid morning I open all the windows for a bit to let the air blow through, leave it 20 mins or so - it helps to prevent damp. Sometimes I dry clothes on the line or use a drying rack just outside the back door that can be whipped back in if it rains or needs to be finished off indoors.

If it's rainy, we have a covered heated airer and run a dehumidifier in that room when it's on. DH and I work from home, we don't have heating on but use a dehumidifier in the room where we work which creates a little bit of heat and removes moisture (which makes you feel colder). Then lots of blankets on laps etc.

If you have damp in the house, you need to find out why and remedy it. Meanwhile, a dehumidifier will help. I had one when we had damp in our bathroom. We now have an extractor fan.

Since we still have the dehumidifier, I'm going to run it for 3-4 hours on a timer overnight to dry washing. They're relatively cheap to run, but if you need them on for hours every day, it'll mount up.

If you're going to light your log burner and dry clothes in the same room, damp is less likely to be a problem.

cleanhousefast.co.uk/minimum-temperature-for-drying-clothes-outside/

Ha!
This is also me!
Love good drying weather!