Drying clothes outside for dummies

pollypenny

When the weather is at all iffy, as in the winter, I wait for a dry day, put a load in at night, so I can get it on the line first thing in the morning. 

waqasahmed

Chris_Jay said:

I've seen heated indoor airers, with covers, that apparently aren't expensive to run, like slow cookers, possibly the same method used. They can usually be found in the little brochures that often come with magazines.
And the poster who colour matched her pegs to her clothes before changing pegs? Wow.

The biggy there is damp. I'd want a dehumidifier. My A+++ tumble dryer would work out cheaper than having a dehumidifier

The rotary dryer with an umbrella seems decent however 

shiraz99

Apodemus said:

Chris_Jay said:

They can usually be found in the little brochures that often come with magazines.

...along with all sorts of other useless, must-have tat that fairly quickly ends up as land-fill!

Actually, they're not that "worthless", some do a very good job. As with most things you get what you pay for and personally, I'd think you'd be better off running a dehumidifier with a laundry setting.

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/around-the-home/laundry-and-ironing/indoor-drying-and-airers/electric-dryers-and-airers

RRatchet

I have a vague recollection of an article in/on some form of scottish media about folk in Shetland that were trying to find a way of drying their clothes no matter what the weather. They ended up with a product that they were thinking of manufacturing & selling to others. After that initial article I saw/heard nothing more about it. In essence they had a tent/awning with no gable ends and multiple lines within that tent. Shetland has no shortage of wind for drying but also has plenty of rain. I'm not sure how they positioned the tent with regards to the prevailing wind, but I do remember that they were awfully concerned about things blowing away and socks. Anyway they were convinced that their contraption was a winner. My OH showed me the article and I decided that the best way for me to ensure dry clothes was to put up lines in a draughty out building rather than cluttering up my garden with the extra expense of a tent (we already had lines for good weather), that would need tending to regularly to prevent it disintegrating under the onslaught of wind and/or 4 small children.

In reply to some-one saying that dew only forms on the grass/ground & not on clothes; they may be technically/pedantically correct but it really doesn't matter: clothes do get damper when the temperature drops at night: OH is always saying it's time to get the clothes in before they get damp so we don't have to put then out again the next day for another go. The thing about leaving clothes on the line for several days/cycles of drying especially in a windy area is that the material wears a the points were the pegs attach and you can/will get holes in your clothes.

I have a very ancient and undoubtedly very inefficient dryer that was second hand when I got it over 15 years ago. I used to use it only for emergencies & smalls (what a bloomin faff it is to peg out a gazillion socks) but the kids as they have got older began to use it more & more regularly to a point that it was the default choice. Fine when electricity prices were more reasonable. BUT now I have BANNED it's use for anything other than emergencies under pain of "I will remove the bloomin plug and shove it somewhere else", if I catch you using it because you weren't organised. The threat seems to be working although it has made more work for myself they work away and we work from home so end up doing the pegging in/out.

To the OP, it can be done, just work out a way that works best for you; just try and get over that it it will not be as convenient, there's been a number of good suggestions posted.

Mickyh-s

I hang clothes on curtain poles, over doors, back of doors, in airing cupboard, on shower pole and in spare room. Sometimes, I put the airers in the garage or in the house. We have a log burner so the airers sit by the burner if on. Even if you start it off outside for a few hours. I'm also looking at a heated clothes airer. They are cheap to run and I have some vouchers I could use too.

retired19

freeisgood said:

Well I’m going to have to break off my Love Affair with my tumble dryer. 

Today is the first day I have hung out clothes for years. I’ve put into action every single air dryer and taken 45 minutes to hang everything out. It’s now spitting so I found a big plastic bag to cover the dryers.
 I have no idea what I’m doing.
If the clothes are still half wet and damp this evening what am I supposed to do? 

Am I supposed to bring everything back in and then put out again I’m worried about the dew soaking everything. 

This is really exhausting and I haven’t even got past lunchtime yet. Only cause I’ve got a day off work I can do this I’m normally out of the house from 8 am to 6 pm so what do people normally do with their wet clothes? I can never use my tumble again 😭
Any advice on what to do when drying clothes outside. Thank you

Why does anyone need a dryer? We had 4 kids and used towelling nappies. There's no better sight than a line of white nappies fresh washed. The UV rays of sunshine also helps sterilise your washing. If any items need to be ironed then a little damp helps by making the task easier (think what your steam iron does).  Nowadays I still use air drying either in the garden or if raining in the conservatory. I use economy programs on the washer at 30degrees for most things. (I had a twin tub years ago but switched when the children arrived, have recently thought about going back to it though now they've grown and flown). 
P. S. I rarely iron anything anymore 2 shirts since March is all.

busybee100

I would love a twin tub again. Getting it all done in one sitting rather than waiting for enough darks or whites. 

I find line drying much faster than a rotary airer and only need an hour between showers to get them well on their way. I use a line off eBay with a D hook, a cup hook and a cleat and a £6 prop from Dunelm. 

I also use a weather app called Ventusky which has video forecast. Filters top right. Video bottom left. Enjoy.

lynns24

Seriously, it's not rocket science,  if it looks like rain don't put it out, put it on a clothes maiden, or if you have one on your house, bedding can go over your landing bannister. If you leave washing out overnight it will get bugs on it and won't smell too good either, then you'll need to wash it again, if your washing gets caught in  the rain, put it on a rinse and spin programme in your machine usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes then put it on the maiden, I Hope this helps 

Chloe_G

I work full time and leave early in the morning so I do the pre-peg routine!  Do the washing in the evening, bring the basket into the lounge and put pegs on whilst watching TV.  I have a rotary line so stack the washing in the basket in the order I'm going to hang it out: larger items at the bottom and socks etc on the top which will be hung towards the inside of the line.  Get up in the morning, grab the basket and go.  I find this cuts down my hanging out time when I'm in a rush!

SadieO

busybee100 said:

I would love a twin tub again. Getting it all done in one sitting rather than waiting for enough darks or whites. 

We wear more dark clothes than light and it used to take ages to get enough lights to fill a load, and I hated the thought of dirty things festering in the washing basket for ages. So during lockdown I threw caution to the wind and chucked everything in together. And... nothing bad happened! I do a hot wash for towels, bedding and underwear and a cooler one for everthing else (regarless of what colour everything is). Washing is much more efficient now. Nothing we own is particularly fancy, delicate or new, and it all has been washed numerous times so I knew nothing was likely to run.