Drying clothes indoors

dearg lady

So I have nowhere outside to dry clothes, and I hate drying them in the sitting room/kitchen, they end up stinking of food and smoke. So I've taken to putting them in the dryer for 20-25 minutes and then hanging them in my bedroom. But I'm concerned drying clothes in my bedroom might not be good for my health. What do yis reckon? Or any suggestions how else to dry them?

Penny Dreadful

dearg lady wrote: »

So I have nowhere outside to dry clothes, and I hate drying them in the sitting room/kitchen, they end up stinking of food and smoke. So I've taken to putting them in the dryer for 20-25 minutes and then hanging them in my bedroom. But I'm concerned drying clothes in my bedroom might not be good for my health. What do yis reckon? Or any suggestions how else to dry them?

Let them dry in the kitchen when you're out at work during the day. If no food is being cooked then they won't smell of it. Remove them from the room before you start to cook.
Re: smoke, if the smoke you refer to is caused by cigarettes then you could a) stop smoking and reap the rewards or b) not smoke in the same room at the clothes are drying.

dearg lady

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Let them dry in the kitchen when you're out at work during the day. If no food is being cooked then they won't smell of it. Remove them from the room before you start to cook.
Re: smoke, if the smoke you refer to is caused by cigarettes then you could a) stop smoking and reap the rewards or b) not smoke in the same room at the clothes are drying.

My housemate works evenings, so she is off and around the flat during the day. As such the sitting room is in use throughout the whole day.

ElleEm

What about leaving them hanging in your bedroom with the window open while you're not in there, then moving them out into the sitting room at night?
Open the windows to let the smell of food out, or use an extractor fan.
The dampness in the bedroom could cause coughs and colds and stuff, so air your room out (more open windows) before you go to sleep in it.

dearg lady

ElleEm wrote: »

What about leaving them hanging in your bedroom with the window open while you're not in there, then moving them out into the sitting room at night?
Open the windows to let the smell of food out, or use an extractor fan.
The dampness in the bedroom could cause coughs and colds and stuff, so air your room out (more open windows) before you go to sleep in it.

Good point, I will make sure to open the windows when I'm around the flat, but can't leave them open when I'm out unfortunately. There is an extractor fan which I use, but that food smell seems to hang around! The joys of apartment living

Solair

If you've enough cash, get a proper condenser dryer (preferably a heat pump one if you've enough money).

A simple condenser dryer will remove the moisture from the clothes by using an air-to-air heat exchanger. Basically, it will heat your room (without generating steam) and dry your clothes too.

In an apartment they're more cost effective than you'd think because the waste heat is actually heating the apartment itself too.

The other (more expensive) alternative is a heat pump dryer. These work a bit like an air conditioner connected in a loop.

The heat pump basically is like a fridge / air conditioner. The warm moist air from the dryer is sucked through the cold side of the heat pump (water condenses out) and the energy taken from the air is used to heat it back up on the way back into the dryer.

These machines are really efficient. Again, any extra heat generated will be returned to the air in your apartment, but it will produce *much* less heat than a regular condenser.

These kinds of machines are becoming a lot cheaper as new companies enter the market e.g. BEKO now has one.

While traditional condenser dryers are widely available from almost every manufacturer.

Usually landlords only provide a crappy washer-dryer which while OK as a washing machine is typically almost totally useless as a dryer.

When we were renting, we had our own Electrolux condenser dryer which we moved from apartment to apartment over the years. It was absolutely definitely worth it! We never had any issue with wet clothes and the waste heat was pretty much just helping heat the apartment.

If you get a fairly good one, there'll be almost zero steam lost from the dryer and they operate pretty quietly.

Some of the lower end machines can produce a bit of steam though and can also be quite noisy to run, so maybe read online reviews if you're buying one!

dearg lady

Yeah, we have a fairly crappy washer/dryer. And my clothes feel crap out of it! Think I'll juts have to figure out a way to dry stuff in the sitting room. I feel like it's affecting me in the bedroom

Penny Dreadful

dearg lady wrote: »

My housemate works evenings, so she is off and around the flat during the day. As such the sitting room is in use throughout the whole day.

Does she smoke? If so could you ask her not to smoke in the apartment? If this is agreeable then you could leave your clothes there during the day to dry and shouldn't smell.

dearg lady wrote: »

Good point, I will make sure to open the windows when I'm around the flat, but can't leave them open when I'm out unfortunately. There is an extractor fan which I use, but that food smell seems to hang around! The joys of apartment living

The food smell does linger all right, possibly try some Febreeze? Its a pain I know but maybe better than nothing if there are no other options left.

dearg lady wrote: »

Yeah, we have a fairly crappy washer/dryer. And my clothes feel crap out of it! Think I'll juts have to figure out a way to dry stuff in the sitting room. I feel like it's affecting me in the bedroom

I used to have a washer dryer in my first house and it was worse than useless. I ended up using a clothes horse during the winter instead of using the dryer.
Is leaving the clothes in the bathroom an option?

Rasmus

How does your housemate dry her clothes?

dearg lady

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Does she smoke? If so could you ask her not to smoke in the apartment? If this is agreeable then you could leave your clothes there during the day to dry and shouldn't smell.

She smokes yeah, but she also would be cooking during the day

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

The food smell does linger all right, possibly try some Febreeze? Its a pain I know but maybe better than nothing if there are no other options left.

Good idea, might try that out. As you say, not ideal, but these are the things ya have to do!

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

I used to have a washer dryer in my first house and it was worse than useless. I ended up using a clothes horse during the winter instead of using the dryer.
Is leaving the clothes in the bathroom an option?

Bathroom is tiny, but might be able to squeeze in a small clothes horse.

Thanks guys!

dearg lady

Rasmus wrote: »

How does your housemate dry her clothes?

In the dryer. I've been doing same for last few months, but it leaves my clothes crumpled, and they feel funny, so trying other options

Rasmus

dearg lady wrote: »

In the dryer. I've been doing same for last few months, but it leaves my clothes crumpled, and they feel funny, so trying other options

I think what you have been doing is fine. Semi-drying then hanging works fine (and is better for the clothes) yet it won't affect your chest. I would hang them on a horse in your room and if you can leave your door open, even better.

dearg lady

Rasmus wrote: »

I think what you have been doing is fine. Semi-drying then hanging works fine (and is better for the clothes) yet it won't affect your chest. I would hang them on a horse in your room and if you can leave your door open, even better.

I have had a bit of a chesty cough the last few days and I wasn't sure if it was coincidence or not, hard to tell!

Rasmus

dearg lady wrote: »

I have had a bit of a chesty cough the last few days and I wasn't sure if it was coincidence or not, hard to tell!

Well I wouldn't sleep with the damp clothes in the room - if they are still damp when you go to bed, could you move the horse to the hall?

dearg lady

Rasmus wrote: »

Well I wouldn't sleep with the damp clothes in the room - if they are still damp when you go to bed, could you move the horse to the hall?

Yeah, they were still a bit damp the other night, i think I'll move them elsewhere at night. Appreciate the input from everyone. Apartment living in ireland can be such a pain!

Ray Palmer

You are currently inviting mould and damp problems in the appartment. If you own it that is your choice if not the LL may be none to happy about what you are doing.
You are pumping water into everything in any room you dry the clothes in.

dearg lady

Ray Palmer wrote: »

You are currently inviting mould and damp problems in the appartment. If you own it that is your choice if not the LL may be none to happy about what you are doing.
You are pumping water into everything in any room you dry the clothes in.

So what is your suggestion? I put the heat and fan on in the room while I have clothes in there

Rasmus

Ray Palmer wrote: »

You are currently inviting mould and damp problems in the appartment. If you own it that is your choice if not the LL may be none to happy about what you are doing.
You are pumping water into everything in any room you dry the clothes in.

Not if they are semi-dry and she has a window open. Even better, when the clothes are semi-dried and ironed.

Sittingpretty

If your clothes are crumpled coming out of the dryer then you are putting too big a load in. Try smaller loads. Unfortunately this will mean more expense.

It's more than a little ironic though that you are worrying about ill effects from sleeping in a room with damp clothes when you share with someone who smokes in your space. The damp clothes are a secondary concern in comparison.

Maybe time to ask your flat mate to smoke outside?

Ray Palmer

dearg lady wrote: »

So what is your suggestion? I put the heat and fan on in the room while I have clothes in there

I suggest you don't dry the clothes in the appartment. If you think it effects your health then it is effecting all the soft furnishings in the property.

You should use a dryer and if you don't like the current one buy another. You don't want to be adding moisture into the appartment. Heat will just make the water condese some where in the property.

djimi

Unfortunately Ray in the real world the cost of using a dryer exclusively to dry clothes is prohibitive to a lot of people.

If you dry clothes indoors with adequate ventilation (ie open the windows) then damp should not be an issue.

loyatemu

something like this?
http://www.woodiesdiy.com/Product/Dimplex-Airdryer/17483/3.12.0

dearg lady

Sittingpretty wrote: »

If your clothes are crumpled coming out of the dryer then you are putting too big a load in. Try smaller loads. Unfortunately this will mean more expense.

It's more than a little ironic though that you are worrying about ill effects from sleeping in a room with damp clothes when you share with someone who smokes in your space. The damp clothes are a secondary concern in comparison.

Maybe time to ask your flat mate to smoke outside?

I don't sleep in the sitting room so it doesn't bother me. I haven't noticed any ill effects, however I do notice ill effects if I'm around damp.
Thanks for the suggestion re smaller loads, will try that

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I suggest you don't dry the clothes in the appartment. If you think it effects your health then it is effecting all the soft furnishings in the property.

You should use a dryer and if you don't like the current one buy another. You don't want to be adding moisture into the appartment. Heat will just make the water condese some where in the property.

I have neither the funds or space in the apartment to purchase a new dryer. I'm being as careful as possible. believe me, I don't want to live in a damp flat either

Chris_5339762

Buy a dehumidifier. Cheap enough to run, will dry clothes in 12 hours while drying the room and spitting out a bit of heat. Everyone renting should have one.

Grolschevik

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Buy a dehumidifier. Cheap enough to run, will dry clothes in 12 hours while drying the room and spitting out a bit of heat. Everyone renting should have one.

I've seen this mentioned a lot: I've a dehumidifier, and it succeeds in extracting water from the atmosphere. But it doesn't in any way contribute to warming the room; if anything, the air it pumps out is cooler than the ambient temperature... Discuss.

athtrasna

loyatemu wrote: »

something like this?
http://www.woodiesdiy.com/Product/Dimplex-Airdryer/17483/3.12.0

Save your money. We have one. It's not quite useless but pretty close.

Solair

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Buy a dehumidifier. Cheap enough to run, will dry clothes in 12 hours while drying the room and spitting out a bit of heat. Everyone renting should have one.

That's basically the principle behind those new ultra-efficient heatpump dryers btw only it'll do it in >2h for a load of towels.

It's a bit like a dehumidifier crossed with a condenser dryer.

Hopefully when the price of them comes down as more manufacturers start producing them, it'll mean people will be able to dry clothes without running up the ESB bill.


I think though even with a normal condenser dryer in use, you have to factor in that it will heat the apartment. If it's an open-plan kitchen setup, the energy the dryer is using to dry the clothes is all heating your apartment while it's capturing the water.

It basically uses the air in your apartment as a heat sink. So, you end up with a really nice warm kitchen/living room area while it's drying your clothes and absolutely no steam/condensation at all.

Obviously, in summer that's a bit pointless though. But in winter, just consider it a heater that also drys your laundry without steaming the place up.

A traditional vented dryer (i.e. with a steam duct out the window/wall) will actually waste huge amounts of energy by sucking in air from your apartment, heating it, and blowing it out the window/hole in the wall. You might as well just put a 3kW fan heater on the balcony !

Washer-dryers are even worse. They use water from the mains to cool their condenser so basically you're wasting cold water (which will be expensive when it's eventually metered) and pumping warm water down the drain!

You might as well boil a few kettles of water and pour them straight down the sink as use one of those.

Chris_5339762

Grolschevik wrote: »

I've seen this mentioned a lot: I've a dehumidifier, and it succeeds in extracting water from the atmosphere. But it doesn't in any way contribute to warming the room; if anything, the air it pumps out is cooler than the ambient temperature... Discuss.

Probably me, I'm always on about it It may not increase the temperature in the room, but because the air it spits out is drier, it may FEEL warmer.

Solair

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Probably me, I'm always on about it It may not increase the temperature in the room, but because the air it spits out is drier, it may FEEL warmer.

Well, a dehumidifier is basically a heatpump / fridge. Some heat will be generated by the motor running and that will heat the room very slightly. However, yeah the drier air will feel a bit warmer too.

The net impact of a dehumidifier on a room though is to slightly increase the temperature. The thermal energy wasted by the motor's operation etc has to go somewhere.

About 20-30% of the energy going into that dehumidifier as electricity is being 'wasted' as heat. The motor's probably 80-90% efficient, the compressor less so. So add it all up and there's significant heat generated.

100% of the energy you put in comes out somewhere. A % will be lost as heat, lost noise / vibrations, light, electromagnetic fields etc. so you end up with maybe 70% of it actually doing useful work.

It all has to go somewhere. So far, we can't turn energy into mass Although, if you'd a nuclear dryer you could turn mass into energy but, you'd need a rather heavily lead-shielded house and your neighbors would be very upset. It's probably a breech of most leases too *lol*

Grolschevik

Solair wrote: »

Well, a dehumidifier is basically a heatpump / fridge. Some heat will be generated by the motor running and that will heat the room very slightly. However, yeah the drier air will feel a bit warmer too.

The net impact of a dehumidifier on a room though is to slightly increase the temperature. The thermal energy wasted by the motor's operation etc has to go somewhere.

About 20-30% of the energy going into that dehumidifier as electricity is being 'wasted' as heat. The motor's probably 80-90% efficient, the compressor less so. So add it all up and there's significant heat generated.

Is mine broken or **** then?


Because there's no heat generated by mine. At all. Nope; none.

Solair

Grolschevik wrote: »

Is mine broken or **** then?


Because there's no heat generated by mine. At all. Nope; none.

Yours is just super-efficient and uses almost all the energy to do actual work

The one that produces a lot of heat's probably just badly designed.