The Best Way To Dry Your Laundry Indoors

1st Feb 2019

It seems living in the UK is a constant struggle of unpredictable weather. Whether it’s scorching hot summers like last summer or arctic blasts, one thing for sure, drying laundry indoors when you don't have a tumble dryer isn’t always as easy as it should be.

If bad weather, lack of space, or another problem makes it difficult for you to dry laundry indoors, we have some helpful tips and tricks you might want to take note of to make the difficulty of drying laundry indoors a thing of the past.

Use the Space That You Have

Look around - where could a clothesline or drying rack be placed without getting in the way and taking over the house? Could the shower rail be used for more hanging space? Is there space in the utility room for overhead lines and collapsible drying racks?

You might think you have no space to dry laundry indoors, or that the above ideas are impractical, but the truth of the matter is, using the space that you have, and utilising it in more than one way, is the key to the problem.

Use The Space Over The Bath

Putting a clothesline or drying rack in or over the bath, sink or other waterproof surfaces would be a prime example of making the most of what you have without compromising your space. Also, as mentioned above, your shower rail can be used for more hanging space too, simply put your clothes on a coat hanger on the rail and leave to dry.

Use A Retractable Clothes Line

Although made for outdoor use, a retractable clothesline is another great way to use the space that you have when looking to dry laundry indoors. Providing up to 40 feet of drying space when extended, this drying method allows you to stretch out the line when you need it and hide it when you don’t.

Use A Wall Mounted Dryer

Last but not least, wall-mounteddryers are a fantastic space saver when it comes to drying laundry because all you need to do is attach it to a wall and pull when required. Best suited to a utility room, if you don’t have one don’t worry, balconies and even corridors are just some of the other places this type of dryer can be used.

However, the problem here, though is that drying laundry indoors will unavoidably increase humidity in your home. Whether you currently dry your laundry on a clothesline or drying rack – or intend on using any of the above methods – the moisture contained within them will be transferred to the surrounding air creating condensation, damp, mould and unpleasant odours so make sure there is adequate or increased ventilation throughout your home.

Hang Laundry with Care

A lot of the time piles of wet washing are nothing but a burden; you fling your wet clothes on a clothesline or drying rack and cram them onto radiators in hope they dry faster where you forget about them until the next load comes. But this is where you’re going wrong.

Leaving space between each item of clothing on a clothesline, drying rack or radiator(s) will allow everything to dry as quickly as possible – especially with the help of a dehumidifier.

A dehumidifier ensures that as the clothes are drying the additional moisture in the air is extracted through the dehumidifier. But as well as combating the extra moisture, a dehumidifier will also draw wetness from the clothes themselves and help them dry quicker, especially when the “boost” button is used. And, because using a dehumidifier uses dry air rather than heat, your clothes will no longer feel rough or stiff.

And not only that, a home dehumidifier will cost around three to five pence per hour to run, that’s £30 per year compared to an A-rated tumble dryer which will cost at least £100 per year to dry the same amount of laundry.

Make sure that the dehumidifier is a reasonable distance away from walls and any direct heat source; as the dehumidifier uses a cold surface to collect moisture, direct heat will reduce its effectiveness to do so. And, as a general rule, doors should be kept ajar whenever the dehumidifier is in use to ensure proper airflow throughout the home.

Use Fast Spin Cycle

As a manufacturer of washing machines as well as dehumidifiers, the question of spin cycles is something that seems to crop up again and again. What’s their purpose? What does a fast spin achieve that a slow spin doesn't?

The short answer is it removes water. The fastest spin cycle will wring as much water out of your clothes as possible while considerably decreasing the time it takes to dry your clothes indoors. The faster the spin speed, the drier the clothes are because it releases water from the fabrics, which not only means faster speeds are useful to those with limited space in which to dry their clothes but means the dehumidifier will be on half the time it would be without a fast spin cycle.

However, different materials will benefit from different spin speeds. It’s therefore worth taking a look at your wardrobe, and seeing which items will benefit from a faster spin speed. Since faster spin speeds are moving your clothes around the machine more violently, delicate items, like silk or items with embellishments are best to be left aside. For cotton and bulky items like towels, however, this isn’t a problem.

Do Laundry More Often

If you want to achieve everything we have spoken about – or come close to it – it could be an idea to not to let your laundry pile up.

Some people like to wash once a week, others every day. The key is to decide what type of person you are and stick to a schedule. Don’t just wash for the sake of washing, make sure you have the right amount for a load and you’ll minimise the amount of hanging space that you need to get the job done.

The average load of washing can take anywhere between 24 hours to 5 hours, depending on what you’re drying. As a general rule, bulky items will take longer than cotton items because they hold less water within them.

However, with a dehumidifier clothes will dry significantly faster because they draw the wetness from the clothes themselves in as little as 3 hours. A great tip to make sure a dehumidifier is working as efficiently as possible and will dry your wet laundry quickly is to sit it in a small room with the door ajar and windows shut; this will prevent the dehumidifier working overtime and pulling in air from places it does not need to.

In Summary

Hopefully, by now we have taught you some new tips and tricks you may not have thought of when it comes to drying laundry indoors. Call us bias, but we believe a dehumidifier is an excellent addition to any home and can make a massive difference when it comes to drying laundry when bad weather, lack of space, or another problem makes it difficult to do so.

But, the proof is in the pudding, when we asked ten Mumsnetters to test an Ebac dehumidifier to dry their laundry indoors, the result was unanimous, and all ten of the testers said it dried their laundry quickly and efficiently and would recommend it to friends and family.

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