Clothes Drying Advice please ?

I will use the "new" technology of wind and solar power to dry my washing. I am concerned about causing mould when drying clothes indoors.

Nannashilz what was your Robert Dyas airier called please ?

Hi, I use a clothes horse in the spare room, then if they are still slightly damp, put them in the airing cupboard next to the immersion heater.

I have a pulley line in back kitchen with a dehumidifier underneath. Not sure how much it costs to run so must check.

I've got the disadvantage of having two large, hairy beasties who would deposit fluff on anything that was hung on an airer. I'm considering having a canopy/carport erected so I can still dry outside on all but the worst days.
It'll take a while to recoup the cost but will have the added advantage of providing weatherproof access to the garage which is used a lot.

I've rarely not had a clothes dryer in my life. I run most loads on air only now. It sounds as if it is very difficult, complicated, and costly to dry clothes in the UK. I hadn't realized that. Your different means of drying laundry are very interesting.

I have had a, Lake land heated clothes rack for 7 years and it has been invaluable on wet, damp days. Clothes dry overnight and when I bought it there was no cover to it. But it works brilliantly. One can put a sheet or large towel over it to act like a cover, but I very rarely do so. Still dies the job well.

We have a Lakeland heated clothes dryer. It’s totally excellent. Have been using in winters for 3 years now.
They come in varying sizes to suit your space and /or washing amounts.
They are generally considered to be economical, especially compared to tumble dryers.
If you also purchase the zip up cover you can accelerate the drying time.
Bear in mind that in an unheated room or garage, they will take much longer to dry. Similarly, crowding it with lots of wet items will slow down the drying time.
Take some of the online reviews with a pinch of salt - bright sparks saying they thought it would be as effective as a tumble dry or that it took hours and hours to dry in their draughty unheated, damp basement/garage.
Mine is on wheels for easy moving and folds up for storage.

I have a DrySoon heated rack from
Lakeland - I throw a cotton sheet over the top which speeds up the drying (no need to buy a special cover for it). I couldn’t be without it in the winter . It’s cheap to run and efficient/load it up at night and it’s all dry in the morning. Three of my daughters also have one. We all love it.

I have always dried clothes outside if not raining, and if it is then inside in the spare back bedroom where I hang them on the curtain rail and a clothes horse, window is always open and the door closed. At night the clothes are brought down stairs to the sitting room and left to air overnight in the room heated by a wood burner. I haven’t had any problem with damp. I will say that this year I inherited my daughters to; of the range washer/dryer but I don’t see myself using it because of the cost

Have had the Lakeland drier for years; it suits me fine, and is very economical. Would recommend.

Even though I have a very efficient heat pump timble dryer I too am curbing it's use. I have drying screens I load up and leave in the attached garage. I don't fold the washing over the rails, I peg them on just like on the line. I also gave an aurer that fits on the bath and as the family bathroom gets lots of sun washing pegged on that dries very quickly.

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Pods are awful and make sure you read all the reviews before shelling out. The Lakeland one has good and bad reviews. I use quality air driers and that suits me fine. Only tumble towels once damp and a quick freshen programme to take stiffness out of jeans (as I don’t use conditioner on them).

I dry my sheets etc in the airing cupboard.
I have a hot water tank in there which the boiler heats mains water 1/2 hour am and 10 mins pm this tank helps keep upstairs warm too. Recently replaced the boiler considered a condenser but in the end decided the merits of having the hot tank outweigh the benefits.

I often put a big towel over my long banister on my upstairs landing and lay jumpers and sweat shirts over night. They dry really fast.

I have the large Lakeland electric airier with cover as previously mentioned and find it invaluable, drys all clothes,towels and bedding very efficiently as long as it is spread out evenly over the drying bars it does also give of some warmth.
I put mine in corner of dinning room.

My Miele Washer has a 1600 spin and then I give clothes an extra 8 minute spin. They then go into my Miele Tumble Dryer or into my airing cupboard which has a double sized hot tank in there.

My Mum used to have a Flatley.
I'm the same as Norah, airing cupboard and tumble dryer.
I do have a really good rotary clothes line but I have bad mobility problems and my garden has steps and slope to get there so I don't use it as often as I would like to.

The dry pod looks ok for clothes but useless for bedding or towels .
I either dry outside or I will do smaller clothes and put them in the conservatory overnight and some of the next day, I don't own a tumble dryer anyway and the last few years have taken my bedding & towels to the laundrette to be done if the weather is going to be wet for over a week I know you have to pay but it doesn't happen more than a dozen times during winter months. They come back folded and can be put straight away bliss.

I've never had a tumble drier either. On wet days, used to dry in the unused spare bedroom. All was well until we were getting ready to move and pulled the bed out from the wall. Eeek - black mould - but soon dealt with, just make sure you have plenty of ventilation when drying inside.

We have a spare rooom with a large window - Wet clothes go on the airers overnight, and if the weather is dry I open the windows to allow air to circulate. Usually shirts and lightweight clothing is ready to iron in the morning, and if I need socks etc. I will put them in the dryer for ten minutes to finish off. Clothes on hangers in doorways is also most effective - a tip I got from a thrifty friend; warm air circulates all around them overnight and dries quickly.

I should have added that we live in a flat and are not allowed to hang washing outside, though I do put some on a airer on the balcony, below eye level.
I have an elderly heat pump tumble dryer which is very efficient but I really want to avoid using any electricity where I can. I'm sure I'll need to use it sometimes in the winter.

Another vote for the Meaco low energy dehumidifier which dries my clothes quickly without using heat.
If you’re looking at dehumidifiers you have to be aware that there are different types, desiccant dehumidifiers are expensive to run as they have a heater in them.

I bought two Meaco dehumidifiers: one low energy one which really does help dry the washing on a large clothes horse.
The other is a dessicant one which helps keep my unheated hallway condensation free in the winter.

3dognight

Yes Fanny nobody likes washing hanging all about the house, but it’s almost unavoidable in winter isn’t it?

For us I’m going to go back to what my Nana did in her back kitchen over her range- one of the wooden pulley ones that you load up with washing then hoist up to the ceiling. This will go up above my stove.

Functional, but not pretty!

We had one of these in our old house in the basement and it was great because we could hoist it well up out of the way. Having downsized we don't have room now and there are cupboards above the cooker - however I've bought a tall wooden clothes airer from Lakeland. It's very narrow in one direction (35cm approx?) and fits in the cupboard next to the hot water tank. Even though the tank is well lagged with a foam jacket the heat in there is enough to dry thick towels within the day.
If you buy a big airer you still have to find somewhere to put it so I think it's a good idea to have one which will tuck into a small space, out of the way. I can leave mine up all the time as it's out of sight.