5 Tips on Drying Clothes Without Turning Your Home Into a Chinese Laundry!

1. Utilise your Home's Heating

It most cases when you are needing to get your clothes and washing dry, its cold and wet, so most homes tend to have some sort of heating operating to keep the house warm and cosy.

This is the ideal time and place to take advantage of your homes heating and not have to add more costs such as using the tumble dryer or heated drying racks.

The closer you can get your washing to a heat source e.g. log fire, heat pump or reverse cycle air conditioner, the quicker they dry.

Handy Tip - Use a portable clothesline or clothes airer to position your washing in the best drying spot in your home.

2. Get the Air Moving

Having air flowing around your clothes is another secret to getting them dry fast, both indoors and outdoors(think hot, windy days for the absolute best drying conditions)

Moving your clothes to a position in your home where there maybe some breeze or setting up a fan to try and help speed up the process.

If you are in a hurry to get something dry, even the common hair dryer is the perfect solution as it heats and blows all at once(I would recommend using only in cases of emergency)

Handy Tip - Getting the ventilation right will reduce clothes drying times significantly so finding the best position is worth the effort

3. Use the Clothes Dryer Wisely

The common electric clothes dryer or tumble dryer uses alot of energy and power so if you can limit its use you really are doing your back pocket and the environment a favour.

There are a number of ways to help keep the costs of the dryer down and these include things like checking the the lint filter is clear before using the dryer and adding a clean colourfast towel to the load as this helps absorb moisture.

Dont overload the clothes dryer either as this makes the dryer work harder and use more power than it needs to.

Handy Tip - Add a tennis ball in with the clothes in the dryer as this aids in lifting clothes so the air can circulate faster and items dry quicker

4. Allowing Enough Time

Time is of the essence when it comes to drying clothes and the longer you have the easier the job is.

There are many appliances at our disposal such as electric clothes dryers and heat pumps to help speed up the process.

If you have time on your side you do have further options available, that are free or low cost.

If you have ever travelled to Europe, airing cupboards are common place and are an out of sight way to get your washing and clothes dry indoors. Cupboards can also be built around your water heater so you enjoy the warmth of the heater to dry your clothes for free.

The key thing to consider with this though is to get your clothes washed and on to some type of drying device or rack as soon as possible, so they have the longest period of time to get dry overnight or during the day.

Putting the washing on as soon as you get home from work is ideal during the week as by the time you get it out and drying, in most cases the washing will be dry by morning.

Handy Tip - Using a ceiling mounted clothes airer is a great way to dry your clothes and have them out of the way in a warm spot up by your ceiling.

5. Dry Outdoors If Possible

If at all possible you still want to try and get your clothes dry outside so if you have a covered patio or deck, this is an ideal area to setup your portable clothesline, clothes airer or drying rack.

As we discussed in the points above its warmth and air flow that makes clothes dry, so if you have an area the gets a nice breeze, but is covered from the elements this is the best spot to start with.

Another option is to get a waterproof cover for you rotary clothesline or foldown line as these protect you clothes and washing from the elements, bird poo and the rain.

Handy Tip - Checkout the range of waterproof covers available for rotary clotheslines as these do work amazing well.