Rotary drying

Suggest you rig up lines or clothes horses inside your Laundry area if that's too small an area inside your house and hang there. No rain problems, dry washing, job done. I have no outside space, I use a clothes horse, you can buy collapsible air dryers for pennies, otherwise buy a heated clothes horse with cover, that works but uses electricity, just a clothes horse\collapsible air dryer, it works! Go to work with peace of mind!

Most of the time my washing is hung up on a couple of airers in the spare bedroom or kitchen. The weather hasn't been good enough to hang outside.
But that said I put the washing machine usually when the sun is shining to make the most of free electric from solar panels and if there is enough of whatever piles I have sorted it into eg dark, light, wool etc otherwise it waits. There is only the two of us plus odd bits from looking after GCs so I'm not too bothered. No one told me that retirement could be so laid back compared to work!! Loving it!!

After using an improvised drying rack comprising a dog gate suspended between a bannister and an exposed beam plus the rest of the bannister bordering the mezzanine gallery initially I discovered that I was best hanging stuff out for a good blow even in rain and then hanging it indoors on an indoor hi-dry in front of a large radiator. You can buy covers and a cheap to run heater for the hi-dry from Lakeland but I have never needed it. Clothes get another spin off they come in sodden but still smell much fresher than when hung from the dog gate!! The puzzling thing is that we seem to have mountains of washing despite being retired now and wearing the same outfit - clean undies of course - for days at a time...

I dry outdoors on a 4 arm rotary as much as possible. Before all the instant online weather info it was a good look at the sky, a listen to the radio forecast that I used. Washing out before I left for work and taken in on return. Never left out overnight. Look at the weather forecast, very detailed nowadays,

As I am trying not to use the tumble dryer I discovered an old drying rack in the house. I holds a full load and I put it at the top of the stairs on the landing. Clothes dry very quickly.

If it is good weather I use my rotary line and hang things on it on alternate lines so that the air gets between them.
I never put washing out when the pavements are wet and not drying and I take them in at least an hour before the sun sets otherwise they get damp.

NotSpaghetti

I don't like rotary lines. I like my washing in a line, on the line.

Me too..🤓

Spin as dry as possibel.
Hang Shirts, blouses, jumpers, etc. on wide shouldered hangers.
Cosider the humidity on the local weather forcast. Any number below 70% will enable washing to dry at any time of year. In winter it will need iron ing / warming up before folding & putting away.

I dry all my washing outdoors all year round successfully.

Enjoy saving on your fuel bill!

I have always dried outdoors. Apart from cost saving, laundry benefits from a good blow and solar rays sterilise any bugs/mites. I used to have a set of parallel clothes lines and could get a lot on by using both lines for one item. I now have a rotary. In worst months of year with poor light and high humidity, I make sure to hang in sunniest part. I also make good use of those mini sets of peg hangers with 15 pegs for 'smalls'. These can be taken indoors where they hang from ceiling of utility room. I have a tumbler but rarely use. I am very conscious of damp/mould issues in house.

For someone who is still working full time, I would recommend "little and often".

The advantages are:

* Washing is not all squashed together in the machine and will not be too creased

* Fewer items hanging on the dryer means that the air can circulate better between them and they dry quicker and stay fresher

* Doing a daily wash will help it to become a habit - part of your daily routine and not having to hang out so much on any given day will mean that you don't get overwhelmed by the thought of "all that washing to do"

I dry stuff on a large wheeled airer in the laundry room. A dehumidifier run on laundry mode gets it all dry in a couple of hours.

If the weather's breezy and dry I just leave the window open instead. In summer, the airer goes outside - where I can wheel it under the pergola if there's a chance of rain.

I never dry things in the house, though - as I've seen just how much water the dehumidifier collects.

AreWeThereYet

You can buy waterproof covers for rotary driers like this

www.chimneysheep.co.uk/product/laundry-mac-outdoor-laundry-protector/

Don't know how well they work, probably not well in a heavy downpoor but may be good enough for a brief unexpected shower.

I've got one. It works, sort of, but not when it's windy ☹️. And I live in the West Country.

Might have been better made of strong clear plastic.

You can buy waterproof covers for rotary driers like this

www.chimneysheep.co.uk/product/laundry-mac-outdoor-laundry-protector/

Don't know how well they work, probably not well in a heavy downpoor but may be good enough for a brief unexpected shower.

I don't have a dryer. They eat energy. There are three of us living in my house, one a toddler who is constantly mucking up clothes needing a change.

Keep a gimlet eye on the weather forecast. Do as much as you can at the weekend when you can dash in and out if it rains.

During the week, wash the bigger things, so you don't have to work out where to hang hundreds of socks and knickers if it gets wet again outside.

Make the most of dry or windy patches to get all laundry done then if you do hit a rainy patch of weather, you can go a few days without doing laundry.

Take laundry in at night. Put it on a clothes horse indoors to finish off if it still feels a little damp.

It can be done but you have to be organised.

My son fixed a dryer to the wall at the side of our house. I use it on dry days the only problem is it's a stretch up to peg the washing on. My son is 6ft 6 and overlooked his mum is over a foot shorter! We have a large landing so sheets etc go there. I have clothes airers in the conservatory and spare bedroom. I do have a tumble driver its not often in use but handy to have.

I have a four arm rotary dryer which I use if the weather forecast is good whilst I’m at work. Otherwise I use a clothes airier with wings and also hang laundry on upstairs doorframes. DD recommends an heated airer. She says it’s cheap to run and, with a cover on doesn’t steam the room up.

pen50 I have a big four arm rotary and found myself in the garden, in the rain, at seven this morning hauling in yesterday's washing - which then had to go in the dryer anyway.

You asked advice.

I hate to waste time, I use my dryer; never faff around hanging and bringing in wet. I think dryers are effective to keeping humidity lower in my home. Quickly dry laundry, fluffy, no ironing if folded instantly.

I don't like rotary lines. I like my washing in a line, on the line.

I have never had a tumble dryer and for years in my previous house I used a traditional line with a pulley etc. When pulled up the clothes were about 10ft off the ground and dried in no time
In this new house the garden is quite small. I did not want a rotary line as it would take up too much room and would not dry the clothes very well in winter.
I got my son to screw coach hooks on the wooden fence panels. I bought bandolier clips to which I attached some washing line. I slip the clips on to the coach hooks and also use a prop to push the line as high as possible.
My clothes dry very well, even in winter, and I can take the washing line down in a couple of seconds when not in use.

I hang out if it’s not forecast to rain
If it’s likely to rain during the day I peg it all on a plastic concertina airer and drag it back in through the patio doors

I have a folding wall hung drying rack fixed to the wall above a radiator in a room with a small window or extractor fan. Hang the washing on the rack over the radiator and the heat helps dry the washing and the water vapour goes out of the window.

In our first house I used the baathroom. I now have utility room. Once the washing is dry I fold the rack away flat against the wall.

I check the weather on the Met Office app.
I often leave it out overnight.
I don't have a dryer.

My daughter has a car-port and hangs her laundry there.

I live in an area of the Uk that is too damp a lot of the time, to expect washing to dry outside.

One of my wash settings for most delicate, does leave things dripping wet. So they may get left outside for a while.

We use airers and a dehumidifier set on laundry mode -when I don’t peg the washing out to dry on the line/rotary -I’m always amazed at how much water is collected when I empty it after use.

I never leave washing out overnight unless it’s high summer and even then.
I look at the weather forecast and decide. I have already had 3 loads out on breezy days I’m the last few weeks but am home if it suddenly rains.

Otherwise in winter I do washing in the evening and use a hooked rail over the radiators, by morning its nearly dry,
and could then finish off on the drier but rarely use it. Much prefer the garden.

It's supposed to be bad luck to leave washing out overnight. It could be an old Chinese proverb but I do remember someone telling me that once.

In the winter I do use the tumble drier for certain items as they then don't need ironing (logic tells me it should be fairly cost-effective!) but laundry also dries well on a large rack on the landing.