Warm & Dry: How to Dry Clothes Without a Tumble Dryer

Last month we shared some money-saving tips to help you do your laundry for less. From cold washes to DIY detergent, there are tonnes of ways to make washing day more cost-effective – including avoiding using the tumble dryer. We’ve taken a little break from sharing the best bingo sites this week to help you save money on tumble drying…

Tumble dryers are huge guzzlers of gas and electricity. If you can air dry your clothes, you’ll save a packet on your energy bills. In summer, this is nice and easy, but once cold and rainy winter comes around, drying out your laundry gets a little trickier. Here are some top tips to help you dry your laundry inside quickly, without that funny musty smell this winter!

1. Choose a high spin setting

There’s no avoiding using the washing machine. Fortunately, using the high spin setting is nothing compared to the energy that tumble dryers use up. To give your clothes a head start, wash with a high spin to get as much moisture out of them as possible before you start to air dry.

2. Give them space

The more room you give your damp clothes, the more air will get to them. This will help them dry faster. Never overload your washing line or clothes horse, this will stop all of your clothes from drying quickly. Instead, hang each item individually with enough “room to breathe”. If you want an item to dry faster, hang it over more than one rung to increase its surface area and get more air to it.

3. Find the perfect spot

By the boiler, next to the radiator, in the warmest room of the house, in the airing cupboard – the warmer and dryer the location, the faster your clothing will dry. (Pro tip: This is probably where your cat hangs out the most!)

4. Try the towel trick

Wrap particularly damp, absorbent items in a towel, then twist both sides of the towel to squeeze as much moisture out of the soggy garment as possible before hanging it up to dry.

5. Iron dry

In emergencies, try placing your damp garment on your ironing board, then covering it with a thin towel. Iron over the top on a high heat to help get your favorite dress dry faster. Remember, if you want to save money don’t use this trick on all your clothes. If you have to get a big batch dry fast, it’s probably more energy efficient to use the tumble dryer. For one off emergency items, however, this iron trick works a treat!

Do you have any clever tips or tricks to help our readers get their washing dry inside this winter? Share them below of tweet our team today at  @TwoLittleFleas.