request from lodger to use electric heater to dry clothes

katejo

Yesterday a man came to view the room in my house. I eventually turned him down because he wanted to bring an electric heater with him, partly to provide extra heat in his room but mainly to dry clothes after washing. My main objection (aside from the cost of using the washing machine very frequently and the cost of electricity) was safety. You would only have to accidentally leave it on one 1 occasion to cause a fire. I suspect that the insurance wouldn't pay up.
This request took me by surprise a bit. Has anyone else been asked by lodgers (or tenants) to allow this?
My house does have a good central heating system so he shouldn't need an extra heater.

princeofpounds

How do you normally dry your clothes?

lee111s

Not only that, the added condensation could cause you all sorts of problems.

donfanatico

lee111s wrote: »

Not only that, the added condensation could cause you all sorts of problems.

the question, how does OP dry their clothes still remains unanswered, however

spacey2012

Next please.....

BigAunty

I'm with you - unnecessary and a fire risk, plus potential damp and mould risk from drying clothes indoors.

I gave my lodger an electric blow heater when the boiler packed up (and gave her back the rent for the period) but then had a tussle getting it back off her when the new boiler was installed. Another lodger had a habit of using the tumble drier on a sunny day (house had a garden with a clothes line) and I started to get the impression she tumble dried her dry clothes because she couldn't be bothered to iron them. I also used to come back from holidays and long weekends away to find that the lodger had put the central heating on manual 24/7 so it was getting to the stage when I was considering a thermostat where I could lock the timing settings. Don't get me started on how filthy they all were.

I always found my energy bills soared when I had a lodger, that they were careless about consumption because they were either ignorant about how much their wasteful behaviour cost (such as operating the washing machine and dishwasher at half loads, 24/7 heating and so on) or perhaps because they didn't care, they resented paying rent and wanted their moneys worth, don't know really.

I had 3 lodgers in total, and common to all was that if the bog roll, washing up liquid, handwash or similar ran out, or the bin was full or a bulb blew (I was away from the property at least 50% of the time), then I simply came back to greasy pots, empty handwash containers, overflowing bins and dark rooms. I never really got my head round that mentality where a lodger would simply rinse their greasy pots and put them back in the cupboard rather than spend 50p on washing up liquid because it was supposed to be included in the rent, so they'd rather wait until I came back from holiday and bought new liquid.

As you can tell, I no longer have the tolerance to take in paying lodgers, sorry for going off topic for the purposes of Catharsis. I don't think I'm a misanthropist as currently I have a friend staying now at my place for free for a few months as she had the chance to escape from a bad tenancy agreement at short notice and it's bliss - she does her own washing up, is tidy, quiet, clean, empties bins.

Go with your gut instinct on the lodgers you screen - he sounds a 'mare.

DKLS

Move into the modern world and get a tumble dryer, they even work on sunny days.

CharlieRabbit01

katejo wrote: »

This request took me by surprise a bit. Has anyone else been asked by lodgers (or tenants) to allow this?
.

As a tenant I don't see what business it is of my landlord how I dry my clothes, I pay the bills.

But when I was a lodger, I did find it difficult in some places to dry my clothes, especially when it was raining. Even now I'm renting my own place i'm finding it hard to get stuff dry.

I never put the heating on outside of my live in landlords timer.

theartfullodger

Evict lodger, find better one:

It's a hard world...

katejo

princeofpounds wrote: »

How do you normally dry your clothes?

On a clothes horse. If it is dry outside, it goes there on the horse or on the clothes line. If wet I have the clothes horse inside. I only need to wash clothes once a week so it has time to dry near the radiator but not on a heater.

CharlieRabbit01

katejo wrote: »

On a clothes horse. If it is dry outside, it goes there on the horse or on the clothes line. If wet I have the clothes horse inside. I only need to wash clothes once a week so it has time to dry near the radiator but not on a heater.

If the lodger had the same idea as me, they probably stand the heater next to (not under) the clothes horse to dry them quicker.

The clothes on my horse take days to dry without any additional help.