Getting through the washing...

Shortypie

I can't ever get around to the putting away stage - we end up with a laundry mountain next to our bed to the point where I'm not sure what's clean and what's not, the clean stuff gets all crumpled etc :mad:

I recently bought a dehumidifier, stuck it in the shut bathroom in front of the airier but the washing was still damp after 4 hours - am I expecting too much or doing it wrong?

YORKSHIRELASS

Shortypie wrote: »

am I expecting too much

Yes! A dehumidifier will help but it will take a lot longer than that to get things dry. I sometimes leave things on the airer for 12 hours with the dehumidifier going and they still need finishing off in the tumbler or on the radiators.

dragonette

4 hours might be enough in summer if they are outside, inside will take a day or so even in hot weather. Air flow can help clothes dry faster

I try to use the time waiting for a batch to dry to sort and put away the dry laundry, getting rid of things I don't use meant there was enough storage space to do so

Nonnadiluca

We are a two adult and two dog household and I do three or four loads a week for us and one doggy wash. What has made a difference to us is using hand towels instead of bath sheets. We dry ourselves then use the hand towel to wipe down the shower, which reduces the amount of moisture in the room, then put the towel into the w/m. Hand towels are much easier to dry!
I like to hang out unless the weather is really bad, I have a load out now, as at least some of the wet is removed and it smells fresh. Dog blankets and towels are fleecy and dry quickly.
I don't have an airing cupboard any more, but our bedroom has a huge window and faces south and gets really sunny and warm - at the moment the temperature in there is 33.5 in the sun so I lay out socks on the windowsill and partly dried clothes on the bed and they dry quite quickly.
If we have very wet weather for a prolonged period I go to the launderette and for £3 get two w/M loads dry. I reckon I probably spend less than £30 a year and it's worth every penny!

calleyw

Shortypie wrote: »

I
I recently bought a dehumidifier, stuck it in the shut bathroom in front of the airier but the washing was still damp after 4 hours - am I expecting too much or doing it wrong?

Would take a bit more than 4 hrs.

But then I turn the dehumidifer around so that the air that is coming out goes across the clothes on the airer that will help dry the washing even quicker.

Also as recommended by the fire brigade you should not run washing machine over night when you are in bed or when you go out. Due to the risk of catching fire.

Yours

Calley

Guineapigsqueaks

Hi
I keep it as simple as possible. This starts with having just the right amount of clothes, bedding, towels that we need, not too many, and buying easycare fabrics that don't need ironing. Keeping drawers and wardrobes tidy and organised so it's easy to put away.
Only one dirty laundry basket that only takes two loads, so it can't stack up. I have a tumble dryer and a clothes horse next to a radiator in the winter. What can go in the tumble dryer does and what can't goes on the clothes horse. Because I put a wash through regularly, I never have so much to dry in one go that it doesn't fit.
I take wet stuff out as soon as it's finished washing and dry stuff is folded and put away immediately, especially tumble drying as doing so means hardly any creases. I only hang out on the line on warm, dry days. Otherwise, I'm wasting time pegging out, fetching in, pegging out. Handle it as few times as possible, that's my ethos.
PE kits and sports strips I am forever washing, 5 a week from DS, 3 a week from DD. They get taken out of bag, washed and dried and repacked into bag ready for next time. I used to do that with swimming kits when they had weekly lessons too. No point putting it away in drawers really.
I wash my bedding one weekend, DS and DD's bedding the next. Towels weekly. We own perhaps five items that need ironing, usually bought for DS and DD by Granny! They don't get worn often ☺.
Guineapigsqueaks x

gayleygoo

Lately, the washing has been getting done in a not very efficient way at all. Not helping that the washing machine is currently out of order!

When I'm organised, I sort clothes out into the following loads:

• a load for each of us
• white stuff
• towels, facecloths etc
• tea towels and dishcloths
• cloth nappies
• bedsheets

That's at least 8-10 loads a week. Bedsheets get washed every two weeks, but having 3 beds and a cot, I change different ones each time so I don't have to make all those beds on the same day.

Having a load for each person makes it easier for me to put them away when they're done, rather than having to sort clean washing into small piles for 5 people and deliver round the various rooms. I've been using the tumble dryer a lot this winter, which means that things tend to pile up once they're clean because they haven't got taken upstairs yet but lots of stuff is dry...


Maybe if everyone had their own washing basket, that they were then responsible for taking upstairs and putting away, it would be easier? I'll have to train up the family


I'd love to be able to put a wash on at night, but my Mum's habit of making sure every switch is off at night stays with me. I couldn't just leave the washing machine or tumbledryer on at night while I sleep. Especially since we had a washing machine (less than 2 years old) go on fire last year, and if we hadn't been awake in the house at the time it could have been a disaster :eek: