How do you dry your clothes? (Split from energy saving ideas thread)

This is a bit of a weird one but I have a washing line in the garage!

When it’s raining, I hang my washing out there, with both the doors open and especially if it’s breezy, it dries quite well

Saves on the tumble drier or having the radiators on

The old man gets really ratty if he comes home and he can’t get the car in though :rofl:

“Jeez woman, it looks like someone’s living in here!”

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A bathroom ceiling airer works just as well. I’ve noticed that washing dries faster on airers sited upstairs. There must be more humidity closer to ground level.

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That made me :043:

I must admit I love my washing machine with built in tumble dryer - it’s so easy, you just put your washing in there and set the wash and tumble dryer cycle and then just leave it. It even has a crease-decrease mode that continues going if you forget about it (which I often do!)

I love it because the clothes come out dry, lovely and soft and without creases - so I guess at least it saves on ironing :lol:

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I don’t have a tumbler driver through choice .
They are energy eaters .
I don’t iron anything .

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A John Lewis salesman told me years ago that those washer/drier machine are most efficient when removing half the clothes after the wash and drying in two separate lots.

A full load of washing washes better. Two half loads in the drier dries quicker than one full load.

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same here

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I didn’t mind having a tumble dryer when energy was cheaper.

I had my first one 50 years ago when my son was born in November. It did a good job of drying his nappies through the winter.

Never been without one since…

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Have a washer dryer here but do not use it at all. Mind you prefer drying on the line, now the prices are through the roof for power cannot see me using it.

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Our drier broke down about 10 months ago. I explained to my wife that we could afford to buy a new one,or run one, but not both.

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I have a washer-drier but I have only used the tumble dryer function on it a couple of times in the last 12 years - it takes forever to dry things then they always come out too creased.
I kept my old tumble dryer in the garage, which is probably even less energy efficient but it’s useful for occasional use.
I haven’t used it much in the last couple of years - since I retired, it’s easier to take advantage of the patches of fine weather to peg stuff out on the line during the day - though I like to have my tumble dryer as a back-up, if I should need it.

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We don’t have a tumble dryer. We use a drying rack.

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I’m so fortunate I have a South facing small conservatory freezing in the winter hot in the autumn spring and summer I can dry clothes easily . In the winter I’ll dry in the hallway and next morning may give a 15 min boost in the small tumble dryer .

Today is so warm the conservatory is heating my lounge , my washing on the line . But like us all I’m dreading the winter

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Is it a heated one Besoeker?

I’ve been looking into those.

They had them in Aldi but sold out at the moment

https://www.aldi.co.uk/easy-home-heated-airer/p/713313545173201

Lakeland sell them, but obviously for a huge price. People we know who have them swear by them. Deffo keeping out eyes open for getting one at a reasonable price.

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If Aldi get them back in online I’ll put a post up here

I looked at this one on Amazon

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@Maree , the size of that is probably tiny. Hanging some young child dresses at one end and kitchen towels at the other is a bit of a give away!! :joy::joy::wink:

Edit - My MIL bought a small Xmas tree for her flat a couple of years ago. It was about 1 foot tall, which the picture didn’t make obvious!!

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I’ve been looking at these today but they all have mixed reviews. According to reviews having a cover is meant to be advisable to dry clothes quickly.

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It isn’t heated. It sits there nicely at the end of the bath tub.

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My question about those heated electric clothes driers is about where the moisture goes as the clothes are drying.
Wouldn’t you need to open a window or have good ventilation to get rid of the moist air?

I am wondering if the energy usage of that 240Watt Electric airer would be less cost effective than just hanging your clothes on airer and using a de-humidifier to remove the moist air?
How long would you need to have that electric airer on to dry the clothes?

I have a de-humidifier with a 180 Watt power input. I sometimes have to use it in the Winter to reduce the moisture levels in some rooms of my house. I have noticed that if I hang wet laundry on an airer in my small porch and put the de-humidier on for a couple of hours, the laundry dries very well and there is no lingering moisture - plus as the humid air is drawn into the machine, the air coming out of the machine is slightly warm, so it helps to warm the room while it removes the moisture.

I have read before that using a de-humidifier uses a lot less energy than a tumble dryer but I don’t know how it compares to one of those electric airers.

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I’ve recently found that if I hang my washing indoors at room temperature overnight, they’re well on the way to being dry & only take half the time in the tumble dryer.

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