Thursday 16 January 2014

Drying Clothes In The Winter....

I hate the winter.....Not just because it's cold and gloomy because I struggle to ever get anywhere near the bottom of the washing basket....We do have a tumble dryer but I hate using it....It's far too expensive! I do put stuff on the radiators to dry but I'm all for putting an extra jumper on instead of the heating....

I was searching the internet for ways to dry the laundry in the winter and this is what I came up with...

Use a high spin setting on your washing machine so that as much water as possible is removed from your clothes before they’re even ready to dry. According to the Energy Saving Trust, the increased energy used to do this is nothing compared to the energy needed to run a tumble dryer.

Do one load of laundry a day!! It's almost impossible to get a load dry in less than 24 hours....Multiple loads of washing hanging around will take longer to dry or won't dry at all. 

Use your washing machine timer!! If the weather is going to be dry, load machine the night before & put it on timer to be washed when you get up so you can put it straight out.

Watch the weather forecast Whenever you can, wash the items which are hardest to get dry e.g. towels & sheets on windy days.

Maximize the exposure to the air!! Take care to avoid folding things over which slows down the drying time.

Rotate half way through!! If possible, flip the clothes half way through the drying time so that the back side has a chance to dry too. 

Invest in a clothes airer! Which can be placed inside if the weather is just too bad!

Hang items on Coat hangers!! You can double maybe even triple the amount of clothing you can fit on one clothesline. Plus all of your shirts are already on hangers when you're ready to take them off the line! 

Peg your clothes so that the openings face the wind and leave the front side of the fabric unpinned. It will blow in the breeze & fill with air like a windsock, drying all of the surface areas at once instead of just drying from the outside in.
  
Bring in before nightfall. No matter if it's hot outside or cold, clothes left on the line after dark will absorb moisture in the air and become damp.

5 comments :

  1. I have got permanent piles of washing to be done in the winter, its a nightmare! We invested in a heated airer from Lakeland as we don't have and don't want a tumble drier and it is fab! Without it my piles of washing would be even higher! x

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  2. I am very naughty and juts blast everything in the tumble dryer! Much to husband's dismay when he comes to iron his shirts... apparently it's almost divorce grounds! lol x

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  3. This time of year is such a nightmare isn't it! I find it hard to keep on top of the washing too. I invested in a clothes dryer and dry my laundry around the wood burner. Ir usually dries there overnight. Thans for the tips, Kim xx

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  4. When it's this cold I just blast them in the drier....very ungreen I know. However, when it is less chilly, I use a brilliant heated clothes horse I got from Lakeland, just enough to dry the clothes...swear by it from the times we were renting and didn't have a drier. Roll on the better weather when I can get outside again!

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  5. I have sooo much washing to do! It's all my partners, and both my daughters clothes they wear daily! We have to use the tumble but i would love to start using my horse thing again!

    Beth
    www.life-as-mum.co.uk

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