Laundry drying dilemmas

[Badger]

Although family help with laundry when they visit, they are not always available and I need to work out how best to dry clothes (shirts especially) without shrinking or a damp smell. I have a small utility room with a washing machine and dryer at the back of the house. There's a stool on wheels for me to sit while handling clothes. Also there is a basic rack for hanging. It's a South facing room with a window that gets a lot to sun in the afternoons when it's hot, but doesn't seem warm enough for air drying.

For the most part I've put clothes on a half hour wash and then it's all been emptied into the dryer and run on low heat for an hour before checking. It's mostly underwear, some shirts and maybe a couple of towels. If they feel damp I run the dryer for another half hour then check again. The idea is to gradually dry the clothes and avoid shrinking.

It seems most of my shirts say not suitable for tumble dryer on the label. I've shrunk some before and have had to buy larger sizes since putting a couple of stone during lockdown. A handful of the new shirts went in the dryer today and I'm hoping I got away with it but am not comfortable taking chances.

If there was a simple routine I could manage if there's no one to help, or even one that gets good results when they are available. The back garden is a mess so clothes line drying is not possible.

From what I've read tonight, the advice seems to be wash on high spin cycle to help remove water, spread out on the rack and open a window for air flow. Have a feeling there still needs to be some heat. There are heated racks or pods but I'm not sure if it's okay for clothes with a do not tumble dry label? It would be great if my shirts would last longer after spending so much.

 

[sunkacola]

Don't know what your solution will be. I hang all of my clothes outside to dry and greatly prefer that to how they would come out of a dryer. Clothes last longer that way as well. All that dryer lint is actually bits of the fabric that come out of the cloth in the dryer, making the clothes wear out faster.
Is there any chance of getting your back garden tidied up enough for a clothes line?

Or maybe you can rig up a clothes line in your house?

 

[Badger]

I've been waiting for my brother to garden for me, local gardeners are expensive and hard to get hold of. He's done the front garden for me but it's finding the time. Upsetting not being able to do it myself, I used to decorate and garden. Cleaning the back room this afternoon but I'm wiped out. Hoping to chip away at what I can do through the weeks to keep mobile and will ask for help with the rest.

As a test I tried some old shirts on a mixed wash setting I found with 1400rpm spin, the one I had been using was 800rpm. Pleasantly surprised by how little moisture was in the clothes. Opened a window and left them on the rack overnight. It was a relief to find this morning that there was no damp smell and the clothes felt only a bit damp. We've had at least a bit of sun this afternoon, so that should help a bit. I'll check again and perhaps they'll be ready to keep by tomorrow.

I see what you mean about the lint and will would rather avoid using the dryer as much in future, it's expensive to run anyway. My brother reckons it's fine using it to finish off and uses his to remove creases. Otherwise he always uses the washing line, especially on tops which have lasted well.

I've seen indoor clothing lines but may just get a different rack, one that allows you to hang shirts with their hangers would be interesting.

 

[Jemima]

I always dry shirts on hangers - indoors or out depending on the season. Hooking them onto the frame of an open doorway overnight can help when the weather is damp, as there tends to be a through-flow of air between rooms. I hope you find a solution that suits your body and your budget!

 

[Badger]

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely be running the wash on high in future, it made a big difference in last night's laundry, their still on the rack with no smell so far.

 

[Marvis]

You can also try the wool dryer balls. They absorb some of the water, so you don’t need to put them in the dryer as long. They also help soften the clothes.

 

[Badger]

That sounds handy thanks, I've ordered a small dehumidifier to test. Apparently switching it on nearby the clothes rack with the laundry room window and door closed will draw moisture to speed up drying.

 

[JukeGen]

I use a heated clothes airer. I was very reluctant at first (can't remember why, probably the cost) but now it's a lifesaver. Never have the damp smell anymore and it sits in the room I read in so I don't need to put the heating on as much. I just get the heat from the airer definitely reduced my gas bill and hasn't made much of a difference to my electric bill so I would say its definitely worth the investment

 

[Badger]

I almost bought a heated airer but recently bought a dehumidifier with a laundry mode and a curtain rail to replace my rack as the utility room is quite small. The dehumidifier has been used twice and clothes were ready to keep after a day, possibly less, compared to a couple of days with the window open. They were a little hard to the touch but the machine wasn't quite half full. Unless it's a bigger load I'll have to try less liquid from the bottle instead of a wash pod.

Some heat would have been handy now it's getting colder as the utility room is next to my backroom which I use an evenings. I do still have a small radiator on wheels though which could be used in the backroom with the door closed, save running the heating for the whole house. It's a shame prices are going up so much

 

[JayCS]

We dry clothes outside or in the cellar, but on a similar vein, now it's getting colder: water is condensing on the windows in my bedroom, due to its general humidity from plants & perhaps 'me' (often 65-70%, to prevent mould, 60%'d be max.). Checking what I can do on wikihow and heating sites & doing it successfully reminded me of how I used to get humidity down when drying clothes indoors:
Window(s) wide open there, door(s) too, and window(s) wide open in a room opposite, to get a strong draught for 5-10', with heating off, then closing & heating on again until it's warm (which is quick as the warmth is retained in the floor and furniture) and repeat this till the humidity is down.
It is working, no wet windows, and I'm now aiming to get the humidity down to 60% this way...
(For water on the windows a squeegee & cloth, squeezing out & drying the cloth - in a dryer room of course...)

 

[Badger]

We dry clothes outside or in the cellar, but on a similar vein, now it's getting colder: water is condensing on the windows in my bedroom, due to its general humidity from plants & perhaps 'me' (often 65-70%, to prevent mould, 60%'d be max.). Checking what I can do on wikihow and heating sites & doing it successfully reminded me of how I used to get humidity down when drying clothes indoors:
Window(s) wide open there, door(s) too, and window(s) wide open in a room opposite, to get a strong draught for 5-10', with heating off, then closing & heating on again until it's warm (which is quick as the warmth is retained in the floor and furniture) and repeat this till the humidity is down.
It is working, no wet windows, and I'm now aiming to get the humidity down to 60% this way...
(For water on the windows a squeegee & cloth, squeezing out & drying the cloth - in a dryer room of course...)

That's very interesting, I'll take a look at the wiki myself to bookmark, it could be another option for me.

 

[JayCS]

I forgot to write the relevance to my symptoms at night:
Added to stuffy nostrils at night they are starting to clot more, despite the humidity, another trigger. Short sharp cold shocks at night free the stuffiness, and I'm hoping the fresh air'll stop clots.
Also seems to 'reset' me similarly to cold showers/cryotherapy, but quicker: hot flashes/flushes, pains & thoughts gets sobering "cold water" thrown on them, and the effect of immediately going back into the warm sheets after 3-10 minutes was great tonight. (I'm not in the draught of course.)