7 tips for drying clothes indoors

During the cold and blustery autumn and winter months, drying clothes outside becomes much more difficult. If you have a tumble dryer, clothes drying is less of a hassle, with the exception that most of your clothes can actually go in the dryer. However if you don’t own a tumble dryer, drying clothes indoors on racks and radiators is your only option. Take a look at our tips for drying clothes indoors.

Choose a sunny spot
When using a clothes airer try and place it in either the warmest or the sunniest part of your home. However make sure it isn’t a bedroom or living room due to exposure to mould spores. The kitchen is ideal but try not to place your clothes airer in the kitchen if you are cooking food with strong odours, as your freshly washed clothes will also start to smell!

Invest in a dehumidifier

Drying clothes indoors increases the moisture in your home, creating excess condensation, which increases the risk of mould and damp developing. A dehumidifier can combat humidity levels in the home and if placed next to a clothes rack, can speed up drying time. Dehumidifiers also help to create a healthier indoor environment.

Do an extra washing machine spin

Give clothes an extra spin in your washing machine, especially for heavier items like jeans and towels, to help speed up the drying process. Choosing a high spin cycle helps to remove excess water. It’s also important to shake wet laundry and rotate it when drying to avoid stiffening.

Ventilate rooms when possible

To combat the effects of increased moisture from your wet clothes in the home, it’s important to increase air flow by opening windows when possible. This can be difficult due to the colder weather but opening them even for a short period of time is better than no ventilation, as you allow fresh air into the home.

Buy a heated clothes airer

Although expensive, heated airers are beneficial in that they help dry clothes quicker than unheated airers and have more space to dry clothes on than radiators. They are also meant to cost less than 5p per hour to run and are convenient for busy times, when you have a lot of laundry loads to get through.

Don’t overfill your washing machine
It’s tempting to overfill your washing machine to get as much washing done as possible in one load. However you run the risk of clothes not being washed properly and they will also come out more damp, with more creases. Fill laundry loads to a reasonable capacity so clothes can move around the drum with ease and save on drying time!

Use hangers

Most clothes airers now come with areas that flip out, to hang your clothes on hangers. Using hangers for shirts, blouses and other items like cardigans and jackets when drying, will stop creases setting in and make ironing them less of a chore too. Don’t put jumpers on hangers as they will stretch and lose shape.

Once your clothes are dry, ironing is a whole other task that most of us could rather do without, to make it less time-consuming find out more in our Ironing tips to help it become less of a chore blog.