AMID the cost-of-living crisis, the tumble dryer seems to be the first electrical appliance we are casting to the side in a bid to keep energy bills down, which is leading to a new burning topic of conversation for all - how exactly are you drying your laundry?
To use or not to use?
Debating over using one’s tumble dryer may seem like a bit of a first world problem, and perhaps it is, but the cost-of-living crisis is hitting all households and if you have a tumble dryer already that - whether rightly or wrongly in this climate conscious world - you have relied upon, you will no doubt have either simply stopped using it or reduced use as we all try to save money on utility bills.
Which leaves us with…
…the problem of how to dry clothes in the bleak, wet, chilly weather of winter. It’s a hot topic of conversation in real life and online, with householders and cleaning experts sharing their tips and tricks as to how to get the job done when hanging it on the washing line is fairly pointless.
The problem?
As one poster on Mumsnet states: “Nothing gets dry! We have a dehumidifier, we have a tumble dryer (which I will only use as a last resort) and already the laundry is piling up everywhere. We don't overdo it with laundry either - bedding every 2 weeks, bath towels once a week, tops usually do two wears, jeans and trousers probably six or seven wears. There's three of us living here. It's horrible when your bath towel isn't properly dry from yesterday when you get out of the shower. The hand towel in the kitchen doesn't get dry.”
So what are the tips?
Mumsnet is full of tips, including buying heated clothes dryers and microfibre towels, as well as “double spinning”, with one user saying: “Spin your washing twice. It makes SUCH a difference. I wash mine, spin it twice, then hang it to dry.” Many more use dehumidifiers. Another user writes: “I have a fan heater with a timer and a dehumidifier setting in the spare room. I do two loads at a time, hang on the clothes horse, hangers on hooks etc and set the heater with dehumidifier setting for an hour and have the window on vent so the moisture can escape and door shut.”
What else?
The topic is trending on TikTok. Cleaning guru Ann Russell, known as ‘TikTok Auntie’, posted a video - garnering hundreds of thousands of views - with her advice to dry clothes on an indoor drying rack, where “everything is folded neatly” and spaced out, and then using a fan pointed up from the ground to blast the laundry and “evaporate the water off”. “Clean with Jen” on TikTok suggests putting the clothes horse next to a radiator and using “a large king size sheet and loop it over and tuck it in to make a little drying tent…the hot air from the radiator gets trapped by the sheet and will dry your clothes quicker.”
What is the cost?
It depends on what type of machine you use, but on average, Uswitch estimates a tumble dryer uses around 4.5 kWh of energy per cycle and if each kWh of energy costs 14.37p, it could be from 67p per cycle or more. For three loads of washing a week, that could translate to £104.52 a year spent on tumble drying clothes.
However?
Some advice online is blunt. One Mumsnet user, calling herself Queen Camilla, although undoubtedly this is not a regal problem, states: “Just use your tumble dryer for figs sake!”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel