Rock & roll - getting laundry dry!

beakysian

beakysian

New Member
Mar 26, 2008
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Durham, UK
I know it's not a hip 'n' happenin' topic but it's currently driving me batty so if anyone has any advice please do share! :timebomb:

OH has decreed that our heating shall not go on until we are both blue :cold: The problem this presents, since the weather here has been so sh*tty all summer and continues to be so, is that for months I haven't been able to get the washing dry before it starts to smell moudly. I've cleaned the washer etc to make sure it isn't the machine, but as clothes are taking 4 - 5 days to dry hanging in a cold house, everything pongs. I've just been reminded of this because as I sit here, the smell of damp is rising off me :poop: I read somewhere that you can add lemon juice to your ironing water to freshen laundry but I've just had 2 irons blow up on me so I'm unwilling to tamper with the latest one...:rolleyes:

No-one else seems to be having this problem so I'm starting to think either I'm cracked or just a bit of a tramp! :help:
 
managed to get the odd load dried outside but anything that hangs in the house just smells foosty!
I hang stuff in the spare room and leave the window open. We have put our heating on now. Freezing up here :cold:
 
We used to have this problem - we are in an old house and it was already damp to start with, as we have made changes to the windows and cavity wall etc it has meant the house has warmed up, dried out and the washing dries faster. I also "borrowed" my mums dehumidifier because we had so much damp in the air and that helped. Also breaking the old washing machine and getting a new one that virtually takes off when it spins helped as things came out soo much drier!

Even though the washing dries pretty quickly I still try and leave it in the warmest sunniest place so this morning when I left for work I moved the airier into the porch! I have a silly small kitchen so I don't have room for a tumble drier but at one point did contemplate getting one of those spin drier things?

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/frigidaire-sfd28-spin-dryer-00777760-pdt.html

I know that not everything can go in them but it might reduce the amount of washing around?
 
Probably won`t help but we have small condenser dryer (doesn`t need a pipe out of the back) ... it`s a White Knight, and i use that. Most electric suppliers have a cheaper night rate option, and we have that tarrif, so it`s cheaper that way.

Fleeces and quicker drying clothes go on a clothes horse and get put out in the garden for a few hours, then in the hallway over night. They`re normally dry in a couple of days, we don`t have the heating on yet, it`ll go on probably at the end of Oct/beginning of November.
 
The radiators are on in my house after 8pm as it is now getting cold enough. We have a condensing tumble drier that is now in the kitchen but we used to keep in a bedroom cupboard. I was not sure about it at first but the thing is a lifesaver when it comes to drying washing in bad weather.

Another thing we used when we wanted to heat only one room was an electric oil filled radiator. Seemed to tick along all day without using too much juice.
 
We do have a condenser dryer but I'm reluctant to use it for anything not towels/bedding/definitely indestructible as I've had to return many things to shops that said they could be tumbled and then fell apart or shrank. The thing with no-one being home between 7am-6pm is that the sun might shine until 4pm but a late downpour means it was a waste of time hanging out the washing in the first place :cry:

Our house catches no direct sun (North-facing mid-terrace) so that really makes it cold and there are no sunny patches to leave clothes in. Will think this out more carefully next time we move (renting currently).
 
Unfortunately i can't help as we use a dryer in the garage, hang on the line or the radiators.

The only thing i can suggest is hang in the sunniest room near the window with the little window open.
 
What about buying a halogen heater and blasting the airer with that for an hour or so.... they are really cheap to run?
 
I feel your pain, my dad is adamant that the heating doesn't go on unless necessary - I think given the choice he'd never have it on. We do have a wood burning stove but it only heats the room it's in. We have a french airer which is better than clothes horses IMO. We do have a tumble drier for "emergencies".
 
We have one of these:

http://www.tornadodry.com/

It is cheap to run, dries the laundry a treat, blows out the creases the way hanging on a line does, and warms whichever room it is in as a bonus!!!

We love ours. Much better than a tumble dryer, way more economical.
 
I can do without the heating but could NEVER manage without my tumble drier:biggrin:

Tip for when you are ironing your clothes WHEN they dry so they don't smell mouldy............dilute some Comfort or Lenor or whatever you use and put in a Spray Bottle, spray the clothes and then Iron.........they smell LUSH and iron much easier:wink:
 
Just make sure there is ventilation in the room. Don't close the door on the room you are drying the washing and have a window open. I know it seems mad if it's cold. Also make sure there is more room than usual between each item of clothing.

I often dry things on hangars hung on a curtain track in our spare room which is south facing. That way the sun still creates a bit of warmth on the wet laundry even if it isn't a warm day.

Ventilation is the key!

Sometimes I will put the the machine on an extra spin cycle just to get a bit more water out after the wash has finished.

I know what you mean about this time of year. Not cold enough for heating to be on and not warm or dry enough for the line! It is annoying!
 
Drying clothes on cold radiators doesn't work very well as the clothes need air from both sides to dry effectively. I tend to bung tops and shirts on hangers and hang them off open door frames. The rest of it has to go on radiators though as I don't have a frame for them.

One more thing I'll mention is that I will bung the heating on for an hour and then let that and the residual heat dry the clothes although I make sure I turn them.

Lastly I don't use the quick wash cycle on my washing machine as the spin on it isn't effective. I now use the proper wash cycle so it's spun out properly and makes drying so much quicker.
 
A friend of mine runs a dehumidifyer in her utility with the wet washing on the clothes horse, Says it dries really quickly like that.
 
volcy said:
I just remembered this that my mum suggested.. we never tried it as we seemed to sort out the problem in the end but might be worth a try?

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/21736/Dry...ssionid=F188261D6097B8AFB31575F828311307.app1
Click to expand...

I love the look of this but I'm obviously not the only one with this problem at the moment - it's sold out! :eek:

Thanks everyone, I will persevere with the window open. I never put clothes on the radiators, I read somewhere it's very expensive...OH will be going to work naked at this rate as my jods have been hanging since Monday and are still damp. No clothes for him until mine are dry! :devil:
 
Lol, so rock-n-roll isn't it?!!! hehehe, I have the same prob. We have no central heating as such, just an open fire in the bedroom and lounge - so not that practical in summer! OH and I spend very little time in the house so are loathe to put the storage heaters on - they aren't very good anyways. So, I have the lovely job of trying to get stuff dry, it hangs on the maiden for days on end - I feel your pain!
I do confess though to using the tumbler a LOT it lives in the out-house and I do shove a lot into it. Mind you, there are such a lot of things you can't put in like jods that only just fit......these seem to take forever to dry......
I saw that Lakeland thingy too and wondered........
 
I live alone in a tiny one bedroom cupboard, I have five radiators and no space to have things hanging up on a clothes horse any time. When I do my washing, spring summer autumn winter, the heating goes on for two hours and I get up from whatever I'm doing every half hour and turn my clothes so they try quickly. Works a treat.
 
Flipo's Mum said:
I live alone in a tiny one bedroom cupboard, I have five radiators and no space to have things hanging up on a clothes horse any time. When I do my washing, spring summer autumn winter, the heating goes on for two hours and I get up from whatever I'm doing every half hour and turn my clothes so they try quickly. Works a treat.
Click to expand...

I used to do this as a student FM when my total living space consisted of an 8x8' box with a tiny radiator. These days I am only in the house for 2hrs together if I'm asleep and I don't intend setting my alarm to turn the washing :giggle:
 
newrider.com
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