DRYING your clothes in the autumn can be a pain as the colder weather means it can take much longer.
It can leave your clothes, and your home, with an unappealing musty smell.
1
Of course, whacking your heating on can help your clothes to dry faster.
But many of us will be trying to avoid having the heating on too often in the colder months – especially as the energy price cap is rising once again next month.
It means millions of households are to see their energy bills hiked by 2% to £1,755.
There are some things you can do if you want to help your clothes dry quicker – and some won’t even cost you a penny.
Reduce the washing load – free
It can be tempting to try to fit as much laundry as you can into your washing machine.
But if you try to put too many clothes in, that can leave them damper and more creased at the end of the cycle.
That means you’ll spend longer ironing them and they’ll take longer to dry too.
Buy a heated clothes airer – £31.99
Heated clothes airers can be on the pricier side but there are a few options on sale currently.
Plus, they are worth the investment as they speed up the drying process dramatically.
They also work out more cost-effective than putting the heating on as they cost just pennies to run.
A cheap option currently is the Groundlevel Freestanding Heated Clothes Airer And Towel Rail at Robert Dyas.
It’s usually £82.99 but it’s now on sale for £31.99.
It comes with eight heated bars and four metres of hanging space.
Spread out your clothes – free
The more you can spread your clothes out on your airer, the quicker they will dry.
That’s because you’re increasing the air flow in between them.
Plus, hanging each piece out properly will help stop your laundry from getting creased.
Make sure you check for items that have made their way inside other items such as duvets and pillowcases.
Use a dehumidifier – £25
If there’s too much moisture in the air, your clothes will struggle to dry properly.
That’s when you can end up with a musty smell in your home.
You can get around it by buying a dehumidifier, which can help to draw excess moisture from the air.
They also have the bonus of helping to prevent damp and mould in your home.
They can be pricey but Dunelm currently has a 1L version for £25.
It’s more suitable for smaller rooms but it has an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars from reviewers.
Put your clothes on an extra spin cycle – 20p
You could put your washing machine on another spin cycle to get rid of any excess moisture.
This means your clothes will come out much drier.
If you do this you may want to adjust your machine to a lower spin setting.
The average washing machine cycle uses 0.793 kWh of electricity per cycle, while the average electricity cost is currently 25.73p per kWh.
That means the average cycle costs you about 20p.
Use a desktop fan – £10
Some people swear by putting a desk fan next to their clothes airer and opening a window.
The fan will help to circulate the air and help your clothes dry faster.
You may have one already after all the heatwaves this year, but if you don’t they’re fairly cheap to buy.
Currently you can get the 7 Inch Challenge White Desk Fan for £10 from Argos.
It comes with two speed settings and has an adjustable tilt.
Use hangers – free
You can also speed up the drying process by hanging some of your clothes on hangers.
Most airers have holes for hangers on the corners, but if not you can hang your clothes off the rungs.
Doing this helps to increase airflow between your clothes.
Buy dryer eggs or balls – £8
Dryer eggs (or balls, as they’re sometimes called) can be chucked in with your clothes to speed up the drying process.
They’re designed to be reused over and over again, and they can reduce drying times by about 25%.
They work by stopping clothes sticking together, which lets the warm air circulate better.
You can buy a pack of two Ecoegg Dryer Eggs from Ocado for £8.
Towel-dry your clothes before hanging – free
Another way of drying your clothes more quickly for free is giving them a quick towel-dry first.
Fold your towel lengthways and place your clothes along the top edge.
Then you can roll the towel up tightly into a sausage shape.
It will help to get rid of excess moisture so they take less time to dry when you hang them up.
