Any suggestions for drying washing indoors

looktothefuture

I've always had the same problem in winter - loads of clothes hanging around in each room trying to dry! It does make the house look untidy and eventually the house becomes more and more damp with each passing day.

So after taking the advice of a few ppl on this forum and my wise elderly neighbour, I took the plunge and started hanging my washing out during the day (when it was light) and I've so far managed sucessfully! I kee a watch on the moisture % on the weather channel online and if it's any higher than 10% or there is a chance of rain, sleet or snow the washing doesn't get hung up outside!

One way of ensuring that what you wash is always up to date is keep a rota of the days you are going to wash bedding/towel, colours, darks and jumpers. That way your washing is always up to date... I wash towels or bedding on alternative weekend days as well as all jumpers every saturday. Darks are washed Tuesday, colours are washed Thursday.

I do also use the double spin method and it does help to dry clothes quicker! What I also do if the weather looks decidedly dodgy, is use a clothes drier in the kitchen and bathroom with a normal fan blowing onto it - overnight it will dry and you won't notice the cold! I also use the bathroom overnight to airdry clothes by leaving the window wide open and the door closed!

I dab-wipe any clothes that aren't flilthy with mud/paint etc, give them a spray with ironing water (homemade, drops of essential oils in a spray bottle) and chuck into the tumble for 5 mins on high with a scented sheet (also homemade, essential oil on an old flannel!) - or if I'm watching pennies, hang them on hangers in the bathroom on a rail while I shower or my son baths and then put away immediatly.

I hope this helps!

YORKSHIRELASS

I also hate washing hanging around the house so can sympathise. When my DS was little he wet the bed every night and I just had to use the tumble dryer in winter. If the weather is bad I put a load over the airer in the evening, then when I get up in the morning it usually just needs 15 minutes in the tumble dryer to finish it off. That way its not cluttering the house up during the day.

I also advise getting the washing hung outside whenever you can. We have got snow on the ground but my washing has been out today for a few hours. I suppose I am lucky because I am home a lot so you can nip in and out with the laundry but its surprising how much it does dry outside, even in winter.

So long as the kids dont go out sledging and have 3 changes of clothes in the day (bah humbug) then I usually manage fairly well.

blueberrypie

JodyBPM wrote: »

I did want to get an old fashioned ceiling airer, but DH isn't keen, and thinks that it would look obtrusive in our small rooms (and I suspect he doesn't want the hassle of having to fit one) so that is out.

We used to live in a tiny house - there were six of us, including babies in cloth nappies, in a three-bedroom house (and the third room was very small). We also had a tiny bathroom.

Remember that you can still hang laundry outdoors even if it's cold - as long as the weather is dry, the washing will get there. It's just not very nice standing out there in the cold hanging it!

We did put a ceiling airer up, and it made a big difference. We put it over the bath - which also had the shower over it, so I would load it up after everyone had showered in the morning, pull it back up to the ceiling and leave it there, and the bath was still available in the evening for little ones to have their baths.

They're much more space-saving than floor-standing airers, and they don't look as obtrusive as you'd think. It might be worth trying to convince your DH (or suggesting that he hung the laundry outside if he couldn't come up with a better solution!)

I'm with others on the trying to minimise how much you wash too. Can you sort the laundry and do a load or two of stuff that you can tumble-dry and take it to the laundromat?

tiff

Could you do 1 load a day rather than having to do 4 or 5 in a day?

bubbs

wish i coulld do some washing at home lol, washing machine is frozen, so took it laundrette and washed and dried, now to top it off had no water since about 4pm :mad::mad::mad::mad: its very precious and you dont realise till you have none

debtmess

i used to be very like you x i have now cut our washing down by half, i used to wash everything even towels after being used once

undies and socks are changed daily by all (ds3 still in nappies) every thing else i go by how it looks, i hang my head in shame that i have sent mine to school with an odd mark on something as like you i have lack of drying space

jeans i rotate a few pairs until i decide to wash them, they are not dirty or smelly and get aired i try for 3 wears before washing the 3 pairs together

drying wise i hang mine then finish off in tumble dryer, i have a old one given to me its the 3kg size a good 15 years old but was better than my old condenser type i had in my last house

allybee101

I would recommend a spin dryer. I don't have the volume of laundry that you have (just me to wash for!) but I have very little space for driers and no outdoor space to dry clothes in winter. I haven't the space for a tumble dryer, and it would cost way too much.
This evening I did a load of washing and then spun it - there was half a litre of water in the bowl (measured it to give you an idea of the extra water squeezed out)! It makes such a difference, and doesn't take up that much space (quite portable so it lives in the under-stairs cupboard when not in use.
The washing will be dry by morning, and as Battie said- some stuff comes out dry enough to iron straight away!

LMCD

I put jeans and duvets and sheets over the doors over night...that way with the heating on and in the morning its normally dry and we don't have to look at it...I have a family of five and mucky kids but I only do washing every other day ...the kitchen is small but like i say hang it up at night shut the door.. i find my central heating pipes heat up the kitchen making the drying quicker and have a airer from argos - and it is excellent!!! try puttin just socks on the radiator and underwear....that way more heating will circulate from it... and I also put shirts and light stuff hanging from the bedroom curtain rails... http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8501075/Trail/searchtext%3EMINKY+AIRER.htm

rhiwfield

I'm with those who dont like to dry lots of clothes indoors due to condensation. So if line drying isnt feasible (cold and still outdoors or showery) I'll use the tumble dryer, sometimes first running the washer's spin cycle again at 1400 rpm to get the clothes extra dry. Try to time washes to coincide with solar pv production so that it costs maybe 10p to dry a washload.

But like heating the house, it helps to reduce demand if possible. While underclothes are changed daily, outerclothes can last several days and spot cleaning helps.

tracy2008_2

no laudrettes round here allow drying only, i couldnt live without my dryer, generally do 2 loads a day more at weekends. i even use mine in summer if its raining for days at a time