How on earth are you drying bath towels if heating not on much??

[GlomOfNit]

Just that, really. Our heating used to be on, but low, all day (I KNOW), on the basis that it was more economical to keep things at a baseline ok temp than have to reheat a cold house twice a day. So we were pretty cosy. Those days are gone now obviously and we currently have thermostat set to come on at 17 or so, twice a day. We have a horrible cold bathroom anyway (ground floor, built in what was once the house tool cupboard apparently, 1920's ex-council house dating from the days when you'd have a bath in front of kitchen range). We used to sling towels over radiator after baths to dry off. But now radiators aren't on, or not on for long enough. I sling them over bannisters to air (none of this is helping the damp in the house either ) but they don't fully dry like that.

Obviously in good weather we put them outside but it's getting cold enough that they don't really dry. They start stinking pretty quickly if they don't dry properly.

Are there any clever tips I'm missing? (no, we don't have a functioning tumbledrier any longer and I'm not looking to buy one at the moment, for obvious reasons. We do have a heated Lakeland airer thing but it's really awkward to have out all the time. I also have a decent dehumidifier.)

Airing cupboard we have hooks in it so pop towels in there to try and it's pretty hot in there as hot water tank is in there.

Blowing a gale today so have put the towels in the wash and they will dry (not completely but good enough) outside. However here it's misty a lot and has been very rainy lately, so for those days I have a heated airer, works wonders. I also open a window a little to let the moisture out. Agree though, it can be hard to dry everything. We don't bathe every day, though, so that helps with towels. If we did, they'd always be damp.

I like some of the suggestions in this thread and have ordered a couple of microfibre travel towels!

Ours is like this as well - it's like an upright radiator.

It did used to be when you asked questions like this on here you'd be airily told to line dry all year round - or told it dries on clothes airers overnight in their house.

Make sure you do extra washing machine spins - put out if dry or windy even if for a few hours- other wise put on clothes airer with de-humidifier - but the de-humidifier will cost money as well.

Ceiling racks are good if you have joints they can hand from - last two houses our kitchen ceiling haven't been suitable.

Same as everything else atm - extra spin in the washing machine, then hung on a drying wrack for about a day, then finished in the tumble dryer when almost dry

Some times when it's been wet a while and there's a lot of washing - actually it may be worth putting heating on to get through washing - make sure to air the house to get rid of excess water in air to prevent mold.

@Gwenhwyfar the mum in the other post is removing the water with a flannel, you're not. Whether you're drying yourself or just wrapping & faffing about makes no difference, your towel is absorbing the water.

@GlomOfNit I don't like big fluffy towels, I think they look nice but don't dry me well, so I have towels that were sold as beach towels. Not the ones that are 'velvety' (not sure what it's actually called) but ones that are 'proper' towel. They dry fairly quickly. The older they are, the better.

My 'friend' only ever uses a tiny travel towel. He doesn't even use my towels when he's here. But he's EXTREMELY mindful of all use of resources. ALL. Always has been. I don't discourage him because he's gorgeous & if he wants to faff about drying with a teeny tiny bit of cloth, I'm not about to stop him!! 😉 (No kids around)

Our house is rarely above 18c, and we always have the bathroom and bedroom window open unless there's a storm blowing in from that direction. I hang my towel over the bedroom door each morning. It's never failed to dry, doesn't go musty etc. Husband flings his on the bannisters or the clothes horse which is always up in the living room. All our washing dries just fine on there too?

I use the airing cupboard. A towel wrapped around the tank is dry in an hour.

I just put them on the dryer and leave for several days. Though I live on my own so it's practical.

I’ve got the same problem with towels ( and bedding as well) We have small bathroom, no heated towel rail, no tumble dryer or space for it, no heated air dryer from Lakeland and no extra space for it, no spare rooms or space in the kitchen. We are not showering too much.
I’m at home so my only approach is to catch good weather, wash, spin twice, put towels out and then check regularly in case of rain.

What is this flannel approach ? I’m not from UK originally so a bit confused. I googled flannel on John Lewis website and it showed me 5 tiny things 25cmx25 cm. How do you supposed to use it for a big body? It will be soaking wet and will need drying anyway so what the point?

"no, we don't have a functioning tumbledrier any longer and I'm not looking to buy one at the moment, for obvious reasons."

I'll assume your 'obvious reason' is the cost of running a tumble drier. I think you should consider that you might be overestimating how much they cost to run. I stuck a monitor on my dryer, and a full load of towels out of the washing machine used just under 1.5kWh, about 50p. If you were only sticking the bathtowel you've just used into the dryer it would be a lot less.

Compare how much it would cost to run a dryer to how much sorting out dampness in your house can cost. Or the ill-health that living in a damp house can bring.

You mention you have a dehumidifier. Where? Can you stick it in a small room, hang the towel nearby and close the door? For a used-once towel that should work, but obviously not for a full load of washing.

Hairy husband's towels are always much wetter than anyone elses

Dehumidifier
I am a convert!!

The flannel thing is a really good idea!

Do NOT wait until you have a full load of towels to wash. Place two towels in with your small whites such as knickers socks etc and then line dry the towels as much as you can finishing them off on a rack indoors. This is what I do.
I can't cope with a full load of towels hanging around . For one thing it is depressing.
I do have a tumbler which I do not use for everyday washing but I do use it to fluff up towels that have been dried indoors and gone like crust. I don't use it unless they have gone like card !

Im struggling to dry towels and laundry too....
I hang things on the airer to air dry throughout the day, then i tend to put stuff on my radiators before as bed and hang towels on the bathroom radiators.... currently the heating is only on for an hour or so before the kids get up in the morning... that tends to finish off the stuff thats still damp and warm the towels through.

You can wring out a flannel down the plughole

And absolutely works for a full load
and warms room

Towels are put to dry outside. We either end up with dry towels at the end if the day OR some still slightly damp that will dry quickly in the house. Either in the bathroom or in the airing cupboard (heating on once a day here).

Drying yourself with a flannel when you get out of lovely warm shower on a dark, freezing Jan morning? I’d sooner not shower!

a) sounds bloody awful
b) will undo the warmth of the shower pretty bloody quickly so a false economy
and
c) refer to (a)

You can stay in the shower and do it though?

At this rate you’ll only be in there for 3 mins or whatever anyway because of trying to save energy .
It IS all a bit depressing but what’s the alternative?

I now put the towels on an extra spin - I have two clothes racks in a spare room which I hang the towels on. I’ve not had my heating on and I’m trying not to use my tumble dryer as much but once the towels are almost dry I put them in the dryer for a few minutes to finish them off and soften up.

We havent put our heating on at all yet. Our bathtowels (and the rest of our washing) is drying as it usually does - on clothes airers with the dehumidifier nearby. It takes a couple of days but does a great job.

What about an old fashioned strip wash a few times a week for those in your household that don't have sensory issues? - flannel for (in this order, obvs) face, pits, foof, bumhole then feet, dry with a hand towel. I'll do this on the days I don't have to go out/cba.