Any suggestions for drying washing indoors

lostinrates

As a matter of interest, in the past when there was a ''set'' laundry day and the weather wasn't helpful where did people dry washing?

jcr16

i use a combo of clothes on rad and airers and tumbly. but if it a windy drying day then i will put on the line.

i hate dryign clothes in door's so i must say although i try not to use it all the time i do use the tumbly. but if is gonna make my life easier as a housewife then fantastic.

anguk

lostinrates wrote: »

As a matter of interest, in the past when there was a ''set'' laundry day and the weather wasn't helpful where did people dry washing?

My grandma had a set washing day (Monday if I remember rightly) and if it was raining clothes were put on airers in front of the fire and she also had one of those big old wooden ceiling airers in the kitchen. She still used the ceiling airer right up until she had to go in a nursing home 2 years ago, it was about 10ft long and could dry loads of clothes & bedding.

She also had a lovely big airing cupboard, a small cast iron stove and an old fashioned pantry in her kitchen. Not that I'm jealous or anything.

mrsr

it's a lovely sunny day here ,the washing has been out .Finished off sweat shirts from yesterday by hanging in bedroom windows .opened top one slighty to hook hanger over then draw the curtains to keep heat in,as soon as the sun goes in i will move to airing cupboard overnight just make sure there proberly dry

lutzi1

If you point an electric fan at your washing while it's on the stand/airer, it will dry quicker and not use a lot of energy.

Primrose

lostinrates wrote: »

As a matter of interest, in the past when there was a ''set'' laundry day and the weather wasn't helpful where did people dry washing?

When I was a tiny child (admittedly this was World War 2 and in the austerity years afterwards) Washing Day was always Monday because the boiler in the kitchen was only lit once a week on Sunday to provide enough hot water for Bath Night.(There was only enough coke ration for once a week). So Monday was always wash day to take advantage of any hot water that was left in the hot water tank,, otherwise it involved boiling up kettles to wash laundry in the sink. If it was wet, laundry was hung on a line over the bath until it had finished dropping and then it was draped on a clothes horse in front of a coal fire in the living room - the only form on heating in the house. So the living room in winter was normally like a steam room with condensation everywhere until all the washing had dried out. (There was no heating in any other room so washing wouldn't dry elsewhere). I don't know how my mother coped but I DO know we certainly didn't change our clothes every day like one does now. Any grubby spot would simply be sponged off and the shirt hung up to dry. I can remember my mum just scrubbed shirt collars and under arms with a small nail brush on some occasions, to keep a shirt or blouse wearable for another couple of days in bad drying weather. In any case, in those days of rationing, all clothing was on coupons, so nobody had a large wardobe with a huge amount of clean clothes to fall back on.

fuddle

Food for thought there about the rationing.

I already know my family of four go through far too many clothes. Somethings are literally worn for a couple of hours then tossed in the wash pile. Well no more because I just can't get them all dry! More fool me I say, should have clamped down long ago.

[Deleted User]

I have lived here for 5 months so drying is still trial and error. I do try and dry my washing naturally outside and have a wonderful rotary airer but the sun only gets down to that area by lunchtime at this time of year and only to part of it. Our garden is surrounded by high walls which retain fields and is a great suntrap but now the sun is low, shadows are also longer. The whole of the back of the house is bathed in sunlight all day long. I decided to get a minky dual extendable washing line, which can be fastened to one of the posts holding the verandah up and I`ll ask dh to put a couple of good hooks in different areas of the garden so I`ll pretty well have long lines which will be more efficient at this time of year. I just sent my dh out to get the hooks and a prop so I`ll be up and running on the next dry day. Proof of the pudding will be if I can get our flannel sheets dried in one day. It will probably be possible as I can drape them over the verandah to finish off

Primrose, I well remember those washing days. My mother used to wash for 9 of us and it all started with soaking the washing in a bath full of cold water the night before. As the eldest daughter, my hands used to get frozen, helping to ring out the washing from the water before it was lugged downstairs. I remember the upright washing machine, using the same sudsy water to wash load after load and then rinsing time and again in the sink and then mangling. One dress used to last days. I remember blue bags and scrubbing clothes and rubbing soap on collars. Stiff as a board washing at the end of a freezing day and also being in a sauna (because of washing drying on a pulley rack,) which was also our living room with the one fire in the house. I don`t know how on earth she did it but all 7 children were beautifully turned out

lostinrates

well, that's my four loads (terrible!) dried outside, the odd damp item (a pair of jeans, a couple of pairs of tracksuit trousers and a sweat shirt, the heavier items from the last load) are not perfectly dry so I've left them over the airer in the utility room. A day like this is SUCH a blessing for getting stuff cleared

fuddle

reading stories like that and looking into things historically makes me feel like a right pretend housewife. I mean really, what have I got to grumble about compared to that. "Oh my tumble drier has broke" So what eh? Get off your back side and hang them on the airer or the line!

I'm serious though, I am not getting the satisfaction out of being a home maker like I should be. I literally have too much time on my hands. Don't know whether that should be seen as progress but does nothing for the 'working class' in me. Am I really saying I want to hark back to the tough days, maybe a case of rose tinted specticles but still, I don't feel like i'm pulling my weight sometimes.