How to dry your clothes indoors in winter

Throughout winter, many of us will be relying on tumble dryers for drying clothes indoors. From school uniforms to towels and bedding, having a tumble dryer in the colder months is beginning to feel like more of a necessity than a luxury — but has it come at a bad time?

The energy crisis is presenting households with rising bills so you might think the added cost of running a dryer is one that should be cut back. But with the right tumble dryer tips, you can save a little on your energy bills.

Here’s all you need to know about using your tumble dryer more efficiently this winter.

Let’s start with some old wives’ tales and word-of-mouth wisdom about drying clothes with a tumble dryer.

But it’s not as simple as that. Add too much and clothing becomes easily tangled, taking multiple cycles to dry a single load. Put in too little and you’ll end up having to do more than one load to dry your laundry, wasting money and energy.

Dryers work by circulating heat so there needs to be enough space for hot air to move around inside the drum.

Check your dryer’s manual, then apply a little trial and error as every machine is slightly different. A good rule of thumb is to keep your tumble dryer no more than two-thirds full.

In the UK, the garage is used for more than just keeping your car in at night. A lot of people keep their tumble dryer there simply because they don’t have enough room in the house (and they don’t need to listen to it).

However, tumble dryers don’t work as effectively in cold rooms, or in small spaces with poor air circulation — the conditions you generally find in a garage in winter. By keeping your dryer in a well-insulated room, as opposed to a cold garage, less energy is needed to warm up the air that circulates inside the dryer, saving you a little on your energy bills.

These tips will help you keep the costs of running a dryer down, without losing any of the benefits that come with using it.

If you really want to get yourself organised, plan to do your different loads of laundry on the same day. Not only will this help you to dry loads of similar fabrics at the same time, but your second or third load can take advantage of the residual heat that’s already built up in the dryer.

There are certain times of day when running your washing machine or tumble dryer can hike your energy bill. Energy prices are at their lowest between 10pm and 5am. Just make sure you follow fire safety guidance and never put a load in before you head to bed for the night.

Then you can tick the washing and drying all off in one day. The ironing on the other hand…

While the benefits of having a tumble dryer are clear, for many, owning one isn’t a practical option. For those people, a heated clothes airer might be the solution. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal situation.

If you know that you’re going to be doing lots of drying on a daily/weekly basis, and you know you need your items dried quickly, then a tumble dryer is for you. 

A heated airer wouldn’t be as suitable in this case because you’d be limited to how much laundry you could dry at once, and items would dry much slower too. 

On the other hand, if you don’t have the space for a tumble dryer in your home, and you need a dryer that’s more compact and can be stored away, then consider buying a heated airer.

Clothes need air and ventilation to dry, so hanging your clothes neatly and spread out on your heated airer will reduce the drying time.

Wet clothes can increase the damp in your property. By increasing the moisture levels in your home you’ll be adding to the chance of damp, creating the perfect environment for black mould.

Opening a window in the room where you’re drying your clothes is the easiest thing you can do to let out the extra moisture. The natural ventilation from the fresh air will do its job.

You can also consider buying a dehumidifier to draw the water droplets from the air or install extractor fans.