Getting Clothes dry in Winter

Tae laidir

We still use our trusty Clothes Line in the back garden. And being the 'Weather Person', it falls upon me to schedule the household laundry. But alas, all too often, damp clothes flutter limply from our clothes line for days on end, or else almost dry clothes get soaked by sudden showers.
I know from experience that good drying weather depends on Temperature, Humidity, Wind & Precipitation.
But what is the correct mixture, and how can I forecast it?

dexter647

A tumble dryer is a must in this country...

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dexter647 wrote: »

A tumble dryer is a must in this country...

We bought the in-laws one a few years ago. They hang the clothes in the attic and with -20 or so outside they take an age to dry.

Do you think they use it ? No.... electricity is too expensive. They have the heat on in the house 24/7 for 6 months.

highdef

Have to say, just get a tumble dryer.....the savings in time for ironing and the transport of clothes to and from the washing line versus bunging everything into the tumble dryer is well worth it - most stuff can be tumble dried

Jellybaby1

I tried for decades to be eco-friendly. Have to admit the Irish weather won the battle, I caved and bought a dryer. Now with an empty nest I don't need to use it too often but it is definitely a godsend in the winter. Clothes lines are for summer.

Lyle Lanley

Tumble dryer is expensive, not just in electricity costs but in wear to clothes. My solution was to move to the Carribbean. My clothes dry fast but the sun and salt destroy them anyway. There's just no winning.

the_pen_turner

build a roof over the line.
we did and its great.

my poor tortured hands

Use a dessicant dehumidifier and a clothes horse.

The dessicant dehumidifers will take in damp air and blow out dry warm air. Very good for the clothes compared to using a tumble dryer. I have one which cost about 150 euro and it fans the warm air back and forth so clothes on a horse a few feet away dry nicely and reliably. Sheets from the bed can be washed and dryed in a single day. The water collects into a tank which holds 3 liters and it might fill in half a day.

Dessicant dehumidifiers are different to refridgerent dehumidifiers. The dessicant ones work much better at low temperatures, like <15 deg C.

K.Flyer

A few weeks after we bought our first tumble dryer the outside clothes line got taken down.
Clothes and sheets are now washed, dried, folded and put away all within in a few hours.
A full load in our condensing tumble dryer only costs a couple of euro, time saved, no spiders or bird sh!t, no damp or mould from giving up on them drying outdoors and then trying to dry them on radiators.

the_pen_turner

the_pen_turner wrote: »

build a roof over the line.
we did and its great.

Serious question does it work in very wet humid conditions or do you just leave the clothes out until they eventually dry.

LushiousLips

Do people put heavy clothes like jeans from machine straight to dryer? They must take an age to dry.
I use a clothes horse in the kitchen, near the rad. After 2 days on the horse finish them off in the dryer for 15ish mins.

Tazio

my poor tortured hands wrote: »

Use a dessicant dehumidifier and a clothes horse.

The dessicant dehumidifers will take in damp air and blow out dry warm air. Very good for the clothes compared to using a tumble dryer. I have one which cost about 150 euro and it fans the warm air back and forth so clothes on a horse a few feet away dry nicely and reliably. Sheets from the bed can be washed and dryed in a single day. The water collects into a tank which holds 3 liters and it might fill in half a day.

Dessicant dehumidifiers are different to refridgerent dehumidifiers. The dessicant ones work much better at low temperatures, like <15 deg C.

+1 for the dehumidifier. Can get 2 load done in a day.

K.Flyer

LushiousLips wrote: »

Do people put heavy clothes like jeans from machine straight to dryer? They must take an age to dry.
I use a clothes horse in the kitchen, near the rad. After 2 days on the horse finish them off in the dryer for 15ish mins.

With heavy wet items like jeans and bath towels the trick is to give them a second run through the spin cycle. Then straight into the dryer and all dry and folded within a couple of hours.
The days of waiting for a day or two for clothes to dry are long gone for us and there is no difference in wear and tear.

my poor tortured hands

Jeans don't really need to be washed. I am serious about that and some manufacturers would agree with me. Perhaps after about ten to fifteen wears. I'm talking about jeans worn by adults here.

Towels are used to dry yourself after you have cleaned yourself. So the towels only get damp, not dirty. They do need to be washed occassionally but not after every use, or even after every three uses. After a shower I put my towels on a clothes horse where they dry off and I re-use them. I use several big towels each time so none of them get very wet.


Tumble dryers are very heavy users of electricity. Dehumidifiers are better for the clothes, and for the environment and they warm and dry your house nicely when you use one. No more condensation problems either in unheated bedrooms.

highdef

You can't beat super soft towels out of the tumble drier (and everything else really), versus the hard rough towels when you hang the stuff outside.

When I wash the bedsheets, I take them off in the morning, bung them in the wash. When done, bung them in the tumble. They come out so soft and crease free so no ironing required (this goes for virtually everything that gets tumble dried so this means no need to use an iron except the odd time and we all know that irons are also very heavy on electricity consumption) and then fresh, clean, soft, crease free sheets can be back on the bed by lunchtime or thereabouts.

Amirani

People's attitude to the cost of running a tumble dryer is bizarre. It's not that expensive, and many of the same people would have no problem running heating 24/7 trying to get clothes dry.

K.Flyer

my poor tortured hands wrote: »

Jeans don't really need to be washed. I am serious about that and some manufacturers would agree with me. Perhaps after about ten to fifteen wears. I'm talking about jeans worn by adults here.

I would agree to a point on this, typical denim jeans should go several wears, at least a week or more, without the need to wash them unless they get covered in mud or food.

Towels are used to dry yourself after you have cleaned yourself. So the towels only get damp, not dirty. They do need to be washed occassionally but not after every use, or even after every three uses.

This again I agree to a point, a bath towel should last a week, showering each day. Hotels try to encourage people to not throw towels into laundry after one use, but to hang them up and get several uses from them.

Tumble dryers are very heavy users of electricity.

We differ here, we have one of those smart meters that show consumption etc, and indications show it only costs us a couple of euro to dry a full load.

Jellybaby1

Ditto for the soft towels in the dryer. Didn't think of a dehumidifier, will check it out. Not sure I'd go along with towels being clean after you dry after a shower, mainly because you are leaving particles of skin on the towels. Use a towel for several days and it will start to smell.

heldel00

my poor tortured hands wrote: »

Use a dessicant dehumidifier and a clothes horse.

The dessicant dehumidifers will take in damp air and blow out dry warm air. Very good for the clothes compared to using a tumble dryer. I have one which cost about 150 euro and it fans the warm air back and forth so clothes on a horse a few feet away dry nicely and reliably. Sheets from the bed can be washed and dryed in a single day. The water collects into a tank which holds 3 liters and it might fill in half a day.

Dessicant dehumidifiers are different to refridgerent dehumidifiers. The dessicant ones work much better at low temperatures, like <15 deg C.

What make of dehumidifier have you? There are so many to choose from and prices vary massively. I'd be very inyerested in getting one.

h3000

Another vote for a dehumidifier. We find it brilliant.

Dial Hard

I hate tumble dryers, always have. There was one in our house when we moved in and I think we used it once. The element went in it about two years ago and we haven't bothered to replace it. We dry on the line in the summer and on the clothes horse in a well-ventilated spare room in the winter. No issues with mould or damp and we most certainly do not have the heating on 24/7 to dry the clothes *rolly eyes*

I will allow that there are only two of us, though, so we're not trying to get through several loads a week.

Seriously, though, are there actually people out there who wash jeans and towels after every use???

the_pen_turner

Deleted User wrote: »

the_pen_turner wrote: »

build a roof over the line.
we did and its great.

Serious question does it work in very wet humid conditions or do you just leave the clothes out until they eventually dry.

. It does work. A lot slower when wet.
There is often drying between the showers

Mousewar

I don't have a dryer but I've started doing 3 loads of washing in the machine and then taking it all to the local garage with they have one of those industrial driers. It takes the whole lot and dries it in about 45 mins for 8 euro. My kid will also sit there happily watching it for the whole time so it doubles up as an outing for him

Floki

A small clear polytunnel for the clothesline and few flowers or whatever.
Problem solved.

axe2grind

House has mechanical heat recovery ventilation (MHRV). Clothes rack on pullies over washing machine takes a full load and most clothes dry overnight. Dry quicker in winter as humidity in house is lower.

ronnie3585

Invest in a heat pump tumble dryer. They take longer to dry than the older types of tumble dryer, however they're massively more energy efficient (especially on a night rate tariff) and they're much easier on your clothes.

We got one recently and it's made life so much easier. We stick a load on overnight and it's done in the morning, nice dry clothes. Was so glad to put away the clothes horse for good!

They are expensive but you will see a return on your investment if you use it regularly.

shaunr68

the_pen_turner wrote: »

build a roof over the line.
we did and its great.

Similar setup here, clothes lines hanging under a hay shed. Even in damp weather the clothes dry in a few days flapping in the wind. I don't want moisture in the house and am not going to run a tumble dryer when the breeze will do the job for free.

Been meaning to build a clothes pulley system so I can winch the washing up under the shed roof out of the way.

highdef

Oh, I should have added that I have cheap night rate electricity as I have an electric car so running costs for me are likely to be lower than a lot of people as the tumble drier is only used at night. It's quite a new machine too and it is A rated for effeciency

Cee-Jay-Cee

We have a large walk in hotpress and put the clothes on a clothes horse in it, we also have a back boiler and so the heat in the hotpress is usally intense. Everything is bone dry in less than a day.

We also have a condenser tumble drier (as I didn't want to have to put a large vent hole in the cavity wall which would be needed with a vented drier.

I seen a mobile clothes drying canopy type thing on the net recently, basically a moveable shed like structure with corrugated sides and openings which the wind can blow through but the rain cant get at the clothes.

Afollower

LushiousLips wrote: »

Do people put heavy clothes like jeans from machine straight to dryer? They must take an age to dry.
I use a clothes horse in the kitchen, near the rad. After 2 days on the horse finish them off in the dryer for 15ish mins.

I put a dry clean bath towel in with every load and it speeds up the drying time because the towel absorbs the moisture from the wet clothes quickly resulting in a faster drying time.

Sunny Dayz

We splashed out on a tumble drier last winter. IMO it was well worth the spend and electricity. Before then I was struggling to get clothes washed and dried in the winter, towels were taking an age to dry either inside or outside. I'm normally at home for my lunch hour and I just couldn't trust the weather - I could hang out a load in the morning and they could get soaked while I'm in work. Or I'd be looking out the window for some good drying weather. It always felt like trying to get the laundry done was hanging over me. I also was restricted in how many loads I could do as we only had room for one clothes horse and it felt like it was a permanent fixture in the house all winter.


Now I can have a load in the wash machine, another load in the drier and any delicates, quick drying materials and sports clothes go on the clothes horse. - and I get through the laundry far quicker! In the summer I made a point not to use the drier and stuck to it.