Drying washing in the winter indoors

mother_noah

I have a condenser dryer but only use it for towels and bedding . I dry clothes on an airer with a dehumidifier in the room . Mine is also the Argos value 10 litre model
I live in a new build flat with serious condensation issues and the dehumidifier was bought to deal with that. The clothes drying quicker was an added bonus

CharlieRabbit01

mother_noah wrote: »

I have a condenser dryer but only use it for towels and bedding . I dry clothes on an airer with a dehumidifier in the room . Mine is also the Argos value 10 litre model
I live in a new build flat with serious condensation issues and the dehumidifier was bought to deal with that. The clothes drying quicker was an added bonus

I'll check that one out thanks. Roll on the warm weather so I can stick it outside again.

i find bedcsheets the hardest to dry being so cumbersome so as I don't have a laundrete near me only a Johnsons so I enquired about getting by bed sheets washed (1set) they wanted to charge me £21.50!

Calleja

Thanks for posting CharlieRabbit01 et al - very useful information.

I'm gate crashing to ask a related question - is it safe to leave a dehumidifier on when you are not around/overnight? My washing is usually drying during the day when I am at work and I'm a little bit paranoid about these type of things.

Thanks in advance!

ariba10

Calleja wrote: »

Thanks for posting CharlieRabbit01 et al - very useful information.

I'm gate crashing to ask a related question - is it safe to leave a dehumidifier on when you are not around/overnight? My washing is usually drying during the day when I am at work and I'm a little bit paranoid about these type of things.

Thanks in advance!

If you are happy to leave your fridge on, why not.

The principle is the same.

lstar337

Calleja wrote: »

Thanks for posting CharlieRabbit01 et al - very useful information.

I'm gate crashing to ask a related question - is it safe to leave a dehumidifier on when you are not around/overnight? My washing is usually drying during the day when I am at work and I'm a little bit paranoid about these type of things.

Thanks in advance!

I leave mine on all night. It has many safety features which I assume most of the brands have.

Tank full cut-out
Over tilt cut-out
Over heat cut-out
Humidistat

CharlieRabbit01

ariba10 wrote: »

If you are happy to leave your fridge on, why not.

The principle is the same.

I think its a reasonable question to ask, we have an electric heater which I wouldn't leave on unattended.

Even though it has various safety features.

CharlieRabbit01

Calleja wrote: »

Thanks for posting CharlieRabbit01 et al - very useful information.

I'm gate crashing to ask a related question - is it safe to leave a dehumidifier on when you are not around/overnight? My washing is usually drying during the day when I am at work and I'm a little bit paranoid about these type of things.

Thanks in advance!

I hadn't thought about asking this question, but i would have automatically turned it off at night and if i was out.

andygb

ariba10 wrote: »

The water has to go somewhere as the clothes dry and a dehumidifier is the only way if you have not got adequate ventilation.

The "I have terrible condensation brigade" will be posting on here shortly with problems due to inadequate ventilation and no dehumidifier.

Always the same this time of year.

Whatever I say to my OH, she will not stop drying some of her clothes in the bedroom, just hanging them there damp, and we have really bad problems with condensation - but she refuses point blank to see a link between the two things:mad:

She does it with the more delicate items like bras and blouses, even though I have told her that she can use special programmes on the dryer to get most of the water/damp out.

So frustrating.

societys_child

CharlieRabbit01 wrote: »

I hadn't thought about asking this question, but i would have automatically turned it off at night and if i was out.

I've had an Ebac for years. Apart from the removable tank which once full would cause the machine to switch off, it's possible to attach a hose pipe which is then run out of the door or to a drain. The idea being that the thing can be left running unattended for weeks if necessary and the humistat would switch on and off as required.

Only time I've done this was when a friend had re-plastered an entire house, we left it running for over a week.

I never leave it overnight, 'cos it does make a bit of a hum.

As mentioned earlier it's just a small fridge (with a fan to drag the air through) I don't know anyone who switches their fridge on and off . . . it does it all by its self:)

GolfBravo

IMHO dehumidifiers do not cure the problem, they treat symptoms. You really have to "produce" less condensation, and I would suggest a condenser tumble dryer. And then step 2 would be to get a good dehumidifier.

We had serious condensation problems at our place for years, mainly because of 2 young children = loads of washing and drying on radiators.

A couple of years ago we bought a condenser tumble dryer (around £150, at the end of the cycle you just empty a water container). Yes it's noisy, but an average wash takes only about 40 minutes to fully dry, and costs around 15-20p. The condensation throughout the house disappeared almost instantly.

Condensation gets quite tricky in winter, as warm air (from radiators) can hold significantly more moisture (see this humidistat chart and info), which then spreads all over your house and ends up on your colder walls, windows, etc. And eventually this leads to black mould.

Another solution would be to improve your house ventilation, even with passive dehumidifiers, or some extra vents.