Drying washing outside

beemuzed

It's so much easier if you're at home. When I was working I'd leave at 7.15am - (too dark to hang out then!) and not get back before 7pm. I did try to dry washing outside at weekends, but all in all I was very grateful for the TD. Now, I can watch the forecast and generally at least start things drying outside.

Justamum

I wouldn't be without my TD even though I do try and hang things out as long as it's not raining. Even if things seem dry after being outside I'll just put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes to make sure they are bone dry.

I don't like having wet washing hanging around inside because it's just creates damp in the house. My SIL always has wet washing hanging up, and when they decorated, underneath the wallpaper it was all black mould. My nephew developed asthma (possibly from the damp?) and so did my brother who had never had asthma before in his life.

lambanana

My mum swears clothes dry faster once they've been frozen outside once! She is a bit mad (in a lovely way) though so who knows. I sometimes put mine out in the winter if it's dry but they take forever to dry inside or out and we don't have a TD nor do we have the space or the money to get one anyway.

patchwork_cat

If you don't get back until 7 then the dew will have fallen and your washing will have got wet again. Can remember taking frozen washing off the line in our first house, but only at w/e as during the week there was no point.

lilac_lady

If garden paving slabs are dry a washing will dry in the winter. I always check the slabs before I hang out anything. Most of the winter the slabs will be wet though! I use my central heating and airers to dry inside instead and keep the TD for when I feel the indoor drying really annoys me.

squiggles

lambanana wrote: »

My mum swears clothes dry faster once they've been frozen outside once! She is a bit mad (in a lovely way) though so who knows. I sometimes put mine out in the winter if it's dry but they take forever to dry inside or out and we don't have a TD nor do we have the space or the money to get one anyway.

I have read somewhere (maybe on here ?) that if you hang clothes out in winter the moisture freezes and turns to ice, bring them in from the line, give a good vigorous shake and all the ice crystals fall off leaving the clothes less wet.

Justamum

squiggles wrote: »

I have read somewhere (maybe on here ?) that if you hang clothes out in winter the moisture freezes and turns to ice, bring them in from the line, give a good vigorous shake and all the ice crystals fall off leaving the clothes less wet.

I was told years ago that people in Siberia hang their clothes out in winter, they freeze solid, then the ice is just bashed off. Don't know how true that is though!

Prudent

I work fairly long hours. In the winter I put the clothes on airers and leave them by the windows that will get the best afternoon light. When I get in I move the airers near the radiators as the heating comes on for a bit.

I find the banister at the top of the stairs is great for sheets and large towels. I put the washing out at weekends if it isn't raining because it smells so nice from the fresh air.

susyrosy

pollypenny wrote: »

... Tumble towels, though to keep them soft.

I hang my washing out as much as possible (line drying it means no ironing, esp good for the B&B sheets ...and they smell good), and for the towels, I also hang them out, but then tumble them on cool for 10-15 mins to fluff them up and air them - none of us, nor my guests, want hard crisp towels! I try to mix efficiency with economy and the environment, and I need to maintain high quality. It's been an interesting few months.

Susy

lil_lisa

I always intend to dry my clothes on the line but as i've got 2 young kids I tend to have a lot of washing (including cloth nappies). Also, if I do get the clothes out and it starts to rain i'm a bit stuck if i'm too tied up with the kids to drop everything and run outside to save it!

As a bit of a compromise we got a TD with a cool tumble setting. It's a white knight one and was the only TD on the energy efficiency website (A rated) but it means that I can get stuff dried indoors without it costing a fortune and without creating too much condensation.