How to quickly dry your clothes without a dryer
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Cold weather in winter is not the ideal time to dry your clothing outside. It’s usually too cold for clothes to be dried outside, even if it isn’t raining. There are times that there is no other choice but to dry clothes inside.
Let’s look at some of the best ways of drying clothes indoors quickly.Preparation for drying clothes indoors
Before you even consider drying your clothes inside, make sure you’re doing the preparation work right. Reduce the load of your washing machine to begin with. It’s tempting to cram as much as you can into your machine, especially if you have a huge pile of laundry. Think about it:
Putting too many clothes in a washing machine can make them wetter, which will cause the laundry to take longer time to dry. You’re drying them inside, remember?
Secondly, turn your washing machine on a higher spin cycle. This will reduce the amount of moisture in your load and make drying much faster. There are many ways to dry wet clothes indoors. However, there are some “dos” and “don’ts”, so that you can do it quickly and without damaging your clothes.
Let’s consider some of these options for your new frugal living lifestyle.
Heated drying rack
Best picks
1. Concise home portable electric clothes dryer 1,000W
This clothes dryer is compact and uses less energy. Because of the way clothes are hung, you won’t have to iron them as often (if ever).
Clothes will dry in just two hours and can warm the room in which you are using them, so there is no need to turn on radiators.
2. The 18 bars winged electric heated clothes airer dryer can be folded and extended to accommodate larger loads. The dryer can hold up to 10kg. It has low energy consumption.
Heated drying racks speed up the process of drying your clothes much quicker. These are more energy-efficient than tumble dryers.
Adding a heated cover can reduce the drying time to just a few hours. This one works perfectly with the winged dryer above.
Dehumidifier
Best picks:
1. You get five specially designed tubs to remove moisture and dampness from your home. Each one lasts 4 to 6 weeks.
2. UniBond AERO 360o moisture absorber
We use one in our bathroom as there are no windows. It has worked wonders to remove excess moisture and neutralise bad smells. It’s for rooms of up to 20m2. It is necessary to purchase replacement refills every few months.
3. Pro Breeze Dehumidifier 500ml Compact and Portable Mini Air Dehumidifier
This budget electric model costs around 1p per hour (with October 2022 energy prices). It can remove as much as 250ml per day. It’s lightweight, compact and ultra-quiet.
The risk of dampness when you dry clothes indoors is concerning, and musty-smelling clothes are unpleasant. It’s easy to use a dehumidifier in your home, provided you keep it in the same room.
Dehumidifiers are pretty expensive, so shop around for the best deal you can find.
Drying rack
Your old faithful drying rack was always going to be a valuable household acquisition, and every winter, you’re reminded why.
It might seem like a simple and affordable solution, and, make no mistake, it is, but where you position your drying rack in your house is very important.
Wet clothes have a horrible habit of causing mould if they’re damp for too long, so drying clothes efficiently inside means you should identify the best rooms in your house to stand your drying rack or a heated clothes airer if you have one.
In damp weather, find the least humid room in your house to carry out the drying process, as wet clothes release damp into the air. You need enough space on the floor to place your drying rack. It could be your laundry room, garage, spare room, or dining room. But it must have plenty of space and sunlight. Open the windows and doors to encourage airflow. When space is at a premium, use coat hangers for delicate and fragile items such as shirts or blouses.
Even if there’s space on your drying rack, it’s an idea to use hangers as they’ll prevent any snagging of items and encourage faster drying times and less ironing.
Often you’ll be able to move clothes on hangers directly from the doorway or window ledge where they’re hanging straight to the wardrobe too!
An open doorway is perfect for hanging clothes hangers when you dry clothes inside because the position encourages airflow.
Spread out clothes
Perhaps you don’t have enough drying rack space to hang clothes. There are other ways to dry clothes inside, and sometimes, this means spreading them out in your laundry room or spare room.
Spreading wet laundry flat on any hard, dry surface, like an even dining room table, for example, can be a solution if your rack is full, but don’t put wet laundry on material surfaces like couches for apparent reasons. Keep your clothes flat to dry faster and iron them easier. As the clothes dry, turn them over to speed up the process more.
Further points to consider when you dry your clothes indoors
Some further tips to consider when you dry clothes indoors, some of which are very important.
Don’t air dry garments for too long
If you’ve been drying your clothes inside for a full day and they’re still damp, you’ll have to rinse them again as they will have started to smell musty and make you unpleasant to be around when you wear them. Wet clothes in your living room and bedroom can be harmful to your health. The moisture from drying clothes can cause extra humidity which can result in chest problems for some people. Showering and bathing constantly releases hot air that condenses on walls, ceilings, and tiles.
Spending time in the bathroom is necessary, but from a health perspective, you want to spend as little time as possible there.
Compounding health risks by leaving drying clothes in this space makes little sense.
What about a tumble dryer?
If you have a tumble dryer, your problem is solved. It’s impossible to dry clothes with one of these little power guzzlers. The excess moisture will cause your clothes to take forever to dry, and you’ll cry when you get your utility bill. The excess moisture will cause your clothes to take forever to dry, and you’ll cry when you get your utility bill.
But, with all these tips, there are plenty of other ways to get your laundry dry that won’t take days, and you can save on your energy bills too.
FAQs
How do you dry clothes fast inside?
Keep garments apart for better circulation of air and faster drying. If you have an airer and the weather is cold, it may feel like it takes a long time to dry your clothes. The iron and towel trick is to place your wet clothing on your ironing surface and then cover it with a clean and dry towel. Heat your iron to maximum heat and iron the towel, which transfers the iron’s heat into the towel, which will then absorb moisture from your clothing.
Can I dry my clothes in the microwave?
Drying your clothing, especially large items like bed sheets, jeans and shirts, in the microwave could cause electrical fires and is certainly not advisable!
Conclusion
When you dry clothes outdoors, there’s no fuss, apart from hanging them in the morning and taking them off in the afternoon. It is convenient and easy. It will always be necessary to dry your clothes at home. The trick is to make the process as simple and convenient for you as possible. Naomi has learned how to save money and live on a very limited budget. She is a specialist in saving money at the supermarket and side hustles. She is an expert on saving money at the supermarket and side hustles.
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