Issue with drying clothes... random.

[owltrousers]

Hello!

We currently have a standard washing machine, we then dry our clothes outside when possible or on a small clothes stand. We have a small 2 bed place so use the box room to dry clothes.

I'm currently pregnant so when the baby comes we'll lose that space to a nursery. We currently struggle with washing and are always bogged down, knowing the need to wash things is only going to increase these worries me, so I'm considering either -

• Replacing washing machine with a washer dryer (hassle swapping)
• Buying a 2nd hand tumble dryer (storage would be a pain)
• Buying a heated clothes dryer (anyone use these?)

What do you think would be the easiest / more economical option?

When we moved house we bought a washer dryer, we didn't have room for one of each and frankly at the moment we only use the dryer for towels and bed sheets. When baby arrives in October we'll probably use it more to have quicker rotations of baby grows but still.

AO were amazing for all that, if its the hassle of changing it over that's stopping you. I think you can pay a little extra for them to take away and recycle your old machine, and they are super affordable as well.

I had a look into heated dryers but they are so expensive, really not worth it. You're better off having a couple of radiator racks (even though they'll only be more useful when you have the heating on obv).

Thanks @Bobbiepin. It is the hassle of the change over thats stopping me really, and the fact that the washer is fairly new so I feel I could get more for it if I sold it rather than recycle it.

The heated dryer things are expensive I know. I've been looking into reusable cloth nappies and I think I want to go down that route so being able to dry things in time feels important more so than ever.

Condenser dryer - can be put almost anywhere

AO are very good and hassle free.

Stick the current washing machine on Gumtree with the stipulation the buyer must unplumb and remove? Then get AO to install?

We have a washer dryer. It's not as quick at drying as a stand alone tumbler dryer but it's space saving, very handy and I would be without it

Ah we miss our tumble drier, though DH was always putting clothes in that were no tumble and shrinking! Ours broke and we were in a similar situation to you.

We now have a heated airer with a cover (one of the dry soon ones from lakeland) alongside a regular airer which caters for me, DH and DD. The heated airer is pretty good and lakeland do very good guarantees with all their products so returns are easy if you're unhappy. To save money you can use a sheet instead of buying the cover (if you go without it sometimes takes a while to dry the bits of the clothes not touching the heated bits).

We use cloth nappies and the heated airer is amazing for these (we leave overnight and they are dry by morning) and it means they get less worn out than they would if we tumbled every time. BUT it does mean there's almost constantly washing out so you do need space for it. Plus, if you're in a hard water area you will never have those soft fluffy towels and nappies you would get if you had a tumble drier.

If you want to sell it, squirt some washing up liquid on the kitchen floor and it'll slide right out. No heavy lifting or scratching the floor.

@Bobbiepin - amazing tip, thank you!

I love my heated airer. I can dry a full load in 12 hours or quicker if it is just thin things.

Hi owltrousers I hope you don't mind me joining your thread, but I'm in a similar position. We are currently living in a one bedroom flat and our baby is due in November. I'm considering a heated airer, Appeleandpears can you put the heated airer anywhere?

Bump

If you have the space for an airer, you have the space for a tumble dryer! Ours used to be in our bedroom in the cupboard over the stairs. When we were in a flat it was in my son's room and now it's in the cupboard under the stairs.

A baby multiplies your laundry 10 fold. I'd go for the tumble dryer (separate if at all possible). Once the baby has puked on both your dressing gown in one day you won't want to wait 12 hours to get it clean and dry again.

I have a similar set up to you. I had a washer dryer til recently, but it broke so now using a spare (don't ask) washing machine we had.
It's not much hassle, just put the clothes stand anywhere and things can dry. If we have heating on, we leave it in front of a radiator and they're all dry very very quickly, if we have doors open, we put it near a door. It doesn't need a designated space really, and while your baby isn't moving around alone yet, it really can just go anywhere.

JML dri-buddi from Argos is a lot cheaper than Lakeland. It blows warm air so might be quicker too. Easily taken apart and shoved in a corner. Drawback it's not really a good shape for towels and bedding, much better for clothes.

We don't have a tumble drier any more, mostly use ceiling mounted pulley. Most stuff dries in 24 hours at the most. Dri-buddi is for emergencies.