Avoid using Gas and Electricity

mrs_motivated

Hi Strawberry,

My tumble dryer broke about 3 years ago and i have managed without ever since - I am not saying it was easy (loads of wet washing hung around etc) - but the 'in between time', before its cold enough for the heating / fire is the worst. Basically I wash whenever it looks like a nice day and if there are no nice days, then when the laundry baskets are full! i hang the clothes in the utility and hubby has fixed me a washing line up in the garage, so i often use that and keep the door open. When the wood burner is lit I leave it on the airer overnight and that seems to work.

Ps I have seen these electric airers that are supposed to be cheap to run (3p / hour), but i dont know anyone who has one.

Butterfly_Brain

If you want to use a tumble dryer from scratch it is a lot cheaper to take all of your washing to the launderette. Have you thought about getting an Airer or even one of the JMl dri budi dryers
http://www.jmldirect.com/Dri-Buddi-PD2001/
that are cheaper to run than a tumble dryer.

jackieglasgow

Strawberrypud I have recently got one of those Smart meters from my supplier. According to that, my tumble dryer is costing about 33p an hour to run. You get about six minutes for 20p at the launderette, then there's the transport and the things you could be doing with your time, too. Why not buy one of those moneytins you need a tin opener to use, and put money in it everytime you do a wash? 50p per load, will help when the bill arrives. Look at reducing your energy bill in other ways, too, switching supplier or tarrif for example.

littleowl

I have never used a tumble dryer. In bad weather I use a clothes horse in front of a radiator in a room not lived in; radiators for knickers etc and hang bed llnen over the bannisters. They all are dry within a day.

Pink.

littleowl wrote: »

I have never used a tumble dryer. In bad weather I use a clothes horse in front of a radiator in a room not lived in; radiators for knickers etc and hang bed llnen over the bannisters. They all are dry within a day.

I've never had a tumble dryer either and manage with a clothes horse and radiators in winter. This thread has more ideas on drying clothes in bad weather:

Any suggestions for drying clothes indoors

Pink

seafarers_wife

Ive not got a tumble dryer and havent had one since i moved out of my parents house.

I have a clothes horse and use radiators to dry my washing. when im drying washing in the house i run a dehumidifier and that doesnt seem to add to much to my bills.

i do use a rotary dryer when i can as i prefer washing dried outside because of that fresh air smell.

EstherH

mrs_motivated wrote: »

Hi Strawberry,

My tumble dryer broke about 3 years ago and i have managed without ever since - I am not saying it was easy (loads of wet washing hung around etc) - but the 'in between time', before its cold enough for the heating / fire is the worst. Basically I wash whenever it looks like a nice day and if there are no nice days, then when the laundry baskets are full! i hang the clothes in the utility and hubby has fixed me a washing line up in the garage, so i often use that and keep the door open. When the wood burner is lit I leave it on the airer overnight and that seems to work.

Ps I have seen these electric airers that are supposed to be cheap to run (3p / hour), but i dont know anyone who has one.

I know someone who got an electric airer but said it wasn't any good and the washing dried better hung over a normal flat airer.

betterlife

hi strawberry, i do use a tumble dryer in bad weather, (i have 4 kids and hub is fisherman so gets mucky) i find there is not enough room to dry around the house, and it ends up smelly muzzy/damp if left longer than a day as i have so much. but what i do is make sure my washing machine spin cycle is set on its highest, and dont overload your tumble dryer, (it will take longer to dry and also be very creased) also if i have a load of mostly lighter things (t-shirts, babygrows etc) and just a couple of towels ,i`ll put the towels in airing cupboard on hanger and put the rest in tumble dryer on low.
also i no this sounds silly but make sure it needs washing! my boys are notourious for flinging clean clothes in basket or something they have worn once and can`t be bothered to hang up again. with little ones in the winter if your not going out or expecting visitors keep them snug in pjs saves on washing aswell, if you need to use the tumble dryer ,use it! but save money buy cutting down your wash loads, also no when its going to finish so you fold it whilst warm and crinkle free, i use to forever put it on for an extra 1/2 hour because it had gone cold and creased! hope this helps x

pollyskettle

This may sound really really daft, but something as simple as closing your doors makes a lot of difference. My storage heating only really goes on about halfway when it's bitterly cold and our house is normally very warm and toasty, much more so than our neighbours and the only difference is we close most of our internal doors (we used to have a cat living upstairs and a dog downstairs - there was WWIII if they met!!).

rowsew

Thank you to everyone who's written something here - I've been reading through the whole thread this evening, and have been inspired (again) to reduce our electricity/gas consumption further. We are a family of 4 - 2 adults, 2 very small kids, and our new dual fuel tariff is currently set on a DD of £103/month - this is a saving of £40 on our previous supply. I would like to get the bills lower as this represents almost a month's wages over the year. Last winter was a shocker, but having read some tips elsewhere on the site, we just about managed with the heating on low. Just in case it's similarly Arctic this year, I am planning ahead. We've all got hotties, extra warm duvets and additional blankets. The children are very good at switching off lights when they are not using them, and their nightlight for reading at bedtime is on a timer, as are other low level lights around the house. All our lights except 1 are now CFL, and cost a negligible amount to run. We will be installing sun-tubes next year (have to save up for them first) for the living room to brighten the room without having to use more electric lights.
The main cost of heating is the electric (film) underfloor heating in our north-facing living/dining room and kitchen. They run off individual timers and have thermostats but even with minimal use cost a lot to run. Whilst the kids are up and in the house, the floors have to be on, or it's bloody cold, and there are no radiators from the central heating in either room, so we have no alternative. Extra jumpers and socks are ok up to a point, but the house (built in 1904) gets very damp too, which makes the cold feel worse somehow.
We are considering installing solar power on the roof via the free schemes now available, but the roof to that part of the house is not quite South facing - more like Westerly. If anyone has useful tips on keeping dark, north facing rooms warm in the winter, please let me know!