Drying washing - heating vs tumble dryer?

rachangua

Hi

Does anyone know what would be more economical for drying my washing - using the tumble dryer (where possible) or putting my heating on more often. I used to put heating on but with the ever increasing credit crunch I need to be sure I am doing the right thing, I can always put more layers on!

Thanks

Rach

Hawthorn

Dryers are VERY expensive. If you don't want to put all of the heating on, what I do is turn one radiator on, and put my clothes horses in front of it.
Doing this daily is a bit of a chore, but there are six of us and we manage

rachangua

Thanks, I was leaning towards that - it will save me buying extra warm clothes as well!

cheers

rach

Stephb1986_2

We use our dryer or peg out if its ok weather, if you dry on the radiator it makes it harder to get the creases out of clothes, I know that coz I help my mum with her ironing service and loads of people are drying on radiators at the moment.

Steph xx

MrsTinks

Hang it outdoors if it's not actually raining - the wind will dry it Actually most of the time it dries as quick as on a scorching day

horsechestnut

Don't put washing directly on the radiator as it makes the heating work harder to compensate. But as suggested it's O.K. to put on an airer in the room where the heating is on. Much cheaper than running a dryer.

manda1205

We dont have radiators, so i put all my washing on clothes horse and stand in the living room over night (where we have our coal fire) its dry in the morning then I put it in the airing cupboard for the day just to make sure they're dry. If not its on the washing line anytime its nice weather! Like^ it is a bit of a chore, but as I have no room or could afford a tumbler its just habbit to do it.
Im sure standing in front of a radiator over night would have same effect!

Hawthorn

Manda I have a dryer. It's horrendous avoiding temptation..those things are so easy and convenient. I'm going to have to get DH to shift it out of the house, so I can't even be tempted. It's not been used for a long time, but still, it calls my name daily LOL.

michelefauk

our tumble drier is not working at the mo so we have been going to the launderette, not as bad as it sounds to be honest! I chuck about 5 loads of washing in at one go (the driers are HUGE) and it costs about £2.00 max for all that, I keep stopping it and pulling out and folding things as they dry. Especially for towels, jeans etc, I dont think you can beat it. Plus you get to sit in the warm launderette and read the paper for half an hour, bonus! In the launderette I am using, the machines take 20p pieces, one 20p lasts about 6 minutes which doesnt sound much but the driers are very very hot, much higher than a domestic drier I think.

Worth considering, I definately am a convert!

daveyjp

We use the tumble dryer all year round 5 or 6 loads over a weekend each load taking less than an hour. Our last electricy bill was only £47 for the quarter so it can't cost that much to run.

belfastgirl23

I usually line dry then pop stuff into the tumble dryer to finish off (it rarely dries completely on the line these days!)

the thing about putting things over the radiators is that it increases moisture in the house which may or may not be a problem for you depending on the age and condition of your house. But it also blocks the heat from coming out.

I find that stuff hung over the clothes horse gets smelly very fast but other people have very different experiences of this...