Drying washing

[lalala1234]

Sorry for the worlds most boring post.

I have a partner and 2 kids. I have SO much washing. It's absolutely piled high and I just can't get through it.

We have 2 clothes horses in the house & a washing line that can probably fit 2 loads of washing on. The clothes in the house take 2 days to dry and obviously can only put washing on the line when it isn't hammering down with rain.

How the hell does everyone manage to get on top of their washing??

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At risk of starting a fight…

-wear clothes more often, especially for kids if they’re not grubby they can wear them a few times before washing
-don’t wash towels and bedding as frequently
-stick laundry outside whenever possible then bring in when heating is on, run dehumidifier at the same time
-know when to crack and put stuff in the tumble drier! We are air drying stuff to 80% then putting it in the tumble drier for final blast to get it thoroughly dry otherwise thicker sweatshirts, towelling robes etc aren’t getting dry

One load of washing every day
then it gets spun again on the rinse and spin program

then onto clothes horse outside

then inside at night

tben next load the next day and repeat

if your family are producing more than one load of washing per day, look at why

reducing the laundry, wear clothing twice, bedding every other week on rota system and towels one each one week

Tumble dryer.

@ivykaty44 why do you rinse and spin it again instead of just spinning?

I do an extra spin cycle, hang things in the airing cupboard and hang large items over the bannister. I only put thin things on the clothes horse. Most things dry in a day.

Bedding and towels in tumble dryer as it’s the same cost as using a dehumidifier. I set the dryer to 40 mins and then 10 mins each after that to ensure it’s not going round dry! Also double spin. .
Rest wash when it can go on the line for a bit or round log burner.

For crying out loud, I get so bored with saying this over and over.

1. Dig out your summer fan and point it at the clothes horse.
2. Either open a window, or, if you can afford it, get and run a dehumidifier.

A load of washing takes 4 hours to dry in my utility by this method. Before I had a utility, it would take about 6 hours in an unheated garage with a window open......

There are four of us too.

I don't have a dryer but did just get a heated clothes airer which dries a load over the course of a day mostly. Not a miracle worker though.

We do one load a day. I've got a load of cheap flannels to use for hand drying, face drying etc rather than towels as they just don't dry. That was they are quick and easy to bung in the wash once it's evening and don't take up loads of space/drying time.

We are trying really hard to wear clothes for longer and bedding etc isn't washed as often too. Also if there's just a mark on something (as long as it doesn't smell!) I'm spot cleaning. Sometimes things just need airing if they look clean anyway. So bung them outside for some fresh air and don't wash.

We don't smell or anything! (I think!)

I'm about to buy a new tumble dryer. My shifts vary each Week and my teenage despite nagging her constantly will still not clear her floor of her washing so by the weekend I'm stuck with huge piles I literally cannot get through that I have to achieve washing in one day because I work Sundays.

By the time the airer clothes dry I'm ridiculously backed up again I cannot keep on top of it.

I've tried fir months but either om.backed up or my lounge is unusable thanks to clothes airers ( it's cold and damp right now amd I have no covered area to put an airer)

Big sturdy airers that hang over a big radiator in my utility room. I am unusual on MN apparently in that I have my radiators set to come on sometimes so I put one load of washing on the airers in the morning and it all dries on one day. Take dry washing off and replace with the next load the next morning. My heating comes on anyway so not costing any extra.

*disclaimer - repeat, the above method only works for frivolous people like me who put their heating on sometimes in winter.

Depends where you live, and your type of house. I'm in a valley, if I put clothes outside on a clothes horse on a non sunny non blowy day they come back in as wet as when they went out. It's just too damp. I'm in an old house, things don't dry unless there's heating and lots of it.

To answer your question, a tumble drier.

Four adults and 4-6 loads a week.

• The other three adults in the house are men who do not need to be encouraged to change clothes less frequently. I get through fewer clothes now I WFH.
• Only wash full loads. Apart from woollens, most of our washing is whites or dark, All towels are white - they get washed when they need it - all in a load with other whites. Sheets and pillowcases also white. Bedlinen gets changed every other week, but sometimes more frequently when it's really hot or someone's ill.
• Tea towels, dish cloths etc all white too. Most of the other laundry is dark. What I'd call 'lights' make up a load with some bed linen.
• Washing machine is on a timer, so it finishes about 8am, and washing goes out on the line. So far, I've been able to juggle loads with drying days.
• Lately, a lot comes off the line damp, so goes over airer in dining room where I work. Dehumidifier goes on for two hours. All dry by morning. If not, dehumidifier back on for an hour. Have had a couple of days where washing has not made it to the line - dehumidifier on for a couple of hours two or three times then.
• Heating not on this evening, but will be tomorrow because I know I will need to dry off some jeans and towels.

Basically wash less. Check weather and time loads to get on line so there's less time on airer. Use dehumidifier if you have one. Ventilate if you don't. Fans good when it's raining all day - keeps air moving. Keep humidity levels in check.

We have a utility room and shuffled it round so now have a hanging rail above the machines (previously they were stacked). On days you can’t dry outdoors I hang as much as I can in there and the rest goes in the drier. I can’t have wet washing hanging around the house (2 of us with dodgy chests, and a lunatic dog that sees everything as a target).

Does an extra spin make a difference? I've never done this.
I put bedding and towels in the dryer and everything else on a clothes horse with dehumidifier on.

Sorry old thread I know but it's got to that time of year now. We ended up rigging up a washing line in our orchard over the summer so that the house and garden weren't so clogged with drying sheets etc.
This autumn I've been sending the washing out using an online service - it's so good. Everything comes back so clean and smells really nice and fresh - far nicer than when I used to do it all myself.