how do u dry your clothes?

[jenniferalan]

I have problems with drying clothes, we took the lagging jacket off the cylinder in the hot press so hot air would dry clothes but i think that it is prob just costing more because most of the heat is being lost through the air?

some people say that a good idea is to leave clothes on a clothes horse by the fire at night and they will be dry in the morning, does this work? is there a weird smell off the clothes from the fire?

how do u dry ur clothes?

[kiara]

Clothes horse by the fire works a treat, I have a drier but I think it shrinks/mishapes clothes when you dry them from wet, so I leave them on the clothes horse in front of the fire and air them in the drier in the morning (literally takes 5 minutes), Bedclothes and towels are the only things I put straight in the drier because they're bulky and would be in my way! Oh and all my clothes smell of Comfort! :)

[nanonano]

I have one of those Ikea wall uprights that you screw into the wall and it has brackets with a wire racket. If you don't need it it folds flat against the wall. It hangs close to the boiler so the clothes dry in a day.
My radiators do a good job as well although it doesn't look very neat.

[ireneo]

Hi
Wet clothes around the house and especially in or near bedrooms can cause chest infections and breathing problems especially in children. Clothes horses need to be kept away from everyday rooms.

[HappyHunter]

I have my boiler double lagged, it does not prevent heat from rising from it, but it keeps the water hot throughout the day from the few times I run the central heating during the day.

Depending on the weather I place the clothes on the airer outside in the yard for a few hours during the day. I then move the airer into the room where the wood burner is and leave it there, depending on whether I am expecting visitors or not. Because my bathroom is a wetroom, as I had the bath taken out, I place a clothes airer in there over night with clothes on it or if I have visitors and I leave the little window open a bit to help keep condensation down.

[cabinjumbel]

I use a victorian airer, u can buy them in argos. Suspended from the ceiling in the kitchen over a solid fuel stove. Clothes dry overnight when stove is lighting. I would recommend it

[misstake]

i agree with the last person i have a clothes line across the kitchen its pulled out at night its not very nice during the day but all the jeans are dry in the morning then just pull the clothes off
its a great saving and no the clothes dont smell even putting jeans in a dryer costs a fortune Ialso use it for bedclothes in the morning i hang them outside for an hour getting the best of both worlds

[MandyD]

Hahaha..this was a topic of much discussion in my house for the last month.
Our dryer gave up the ghost and refused to even allow us to plug it in. If I took a picture of my kitchen floor right now, after buying a new dryer yesterday, it would probably shock the socks off you!
about six square foot, two feet high.....is my washing pile....we have a clothes horse, but with the sheer volume of washing that goes on in this house, I hadn't a hope in hell of getting it done. I was hanging towels over doors, and small clothes on the backs of kitchen chairs, as well as covering the radiators, and the horse, and the banisters of the stairs lol...clothes explosion!
You don't mind so much in the summer, not having a dryer, but in winter...I don't know how my mother and grandmother did it!

*shakes head in wonder of the skills of generations past*

[marie065]

i throw my towels and sheets etc over the upstairs banister works a treat :)

cheers marie

[triciaL]

i put a clothes horse up in the kitchen at night and the clothes are dry the next morning, (except jeans they are still damp) i have clothes airers on the kitchen radiator (cheap in argos) i put the socks on the radiator and the underwear on the radiator airers and all are dry the next morning and that way i dont have clothes hanging all over the house only in the kitchen. Bed linen i spread over the rail at the top of the stairs and that is also dry the next morning and doesnt get creased. A friend throws her bed linen over the top of her kitchen door and it dries there. (dust top of door before you do it for the first time)

[tashad]

I refuse to buy a drier. We lived in a house for a while where there was one and it was soooo wasteful. I will hang things on the washing line if there is any hope of even the heavy wet off them and then we have a few clothes horse that we use to dry them off with.
Ok having enough clothes that you can wait too helps but a warm room and clothes dryer saves you a fortune

[jeana]

I only ever use the dryer in an emergency= kids football gear's not dry - usually clothes on radiators but not in the bedrooms and clothes horse inside the hotpress upstairs- those little clothes peg yokes for socks hanging in the hotpress is great--Also- stop buying millions of stuff in the sales is a good idea- lol - wear and wash and only buy when replacing something that you have given to charity...

[kilk]

i put a few rails in the hotpress near to the ceiling and hang all my wash on them. i also have louvre ( jt ) doors on it so the air circulates. i never have to iron shirts cos they dry perfectly on hangers!

[summersun]

Hahaha..this was a topic of much discussion in my house for the last month.
Our dryer gave up the ghost and refused to even allow us to plug it in. If I took a picture of my kitchen floor right now, after buying a new dryer yesterday, it would probably shock the socks off you!
about six square foot, two feet high.....is my washing pile....we have a clothes horse, but with the sheer volume of washing that goes on in this house, I hadn't a hope in hell of getting it done. I was hanging towels over doors, and small clothes on the backs of kitchen chairs, as well as covering the radiators, and the horse, and the banisters of the stairs lol...clothes explosion!
You don't mind so much in the summer, not having a dryer, but in winter...I don't know how my mother and grandmother did it!

*shakes head in wonder of the skills of generations past*

Hey Mandy D.... are you looking in my windows???? you could be talking about my home... My beloved washer dryer finally gave up the ghost after years of abuse and overuse (according to my husband) and owner of Flemings warned me off getting another , should never have listened to that man.... i now have no dryer.... started hanging clothes up in husbands beloved garage took a week to dry.... so started covering all the radiators in the house instead or in front of the wood burning stove (best option i think) no bad smells from doing this... but the summer sun is coming .... But i would really love to have a trusty old dryer back, all i used to dry were towels and bedding as i say drying shrinks clothes....but i miss one so much


DOES DRYING CLOTHES ON RADIATORS REALLY CAUSE CHEST INFECTIONS? NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE.

SUMMERSUN

[jeana]

My daughter has Ashma from around 4 months of age- the Doc said no carpet- no sweeping floors- wet mop and no soft toys in the bedroom and don't dry clothes on radiator- keep room aired and not too hot- that's not great either heat can dry the air too much- after all the changes she's ashma free and got 2 gold medals and a silver on sports day- she said she slowed down as she wanted to let her friend win and she already had gold so she wanted a silver- she's a little pet...
So. I'd agree with not drying clothes on radiators in bedrooms.

[wells]

in our house we have both a fireplace and a night-store heater in the lounge...i wash my clothes in the evenings and put them on the clothes horse in front of the heater and most of them are dry by the morning, or definately dry by the time i'm home from work. for thing like trousers, jeans, hoodies and shirts i hang these on hangers as they take up less room and dry faster this way, and i can hang them anywhere in the lounge at night. it's great -cheap and effective - we have one of those two in one washer-dryers which seem to take ages to dry anything and eat the electricity, i don't really use this much - just for sheets occasionally.

during the rainy summers i do the same except without the heater - i just put the clothes horse on either the kitchen table or on the spare bed (they're not in my way then) with the windows open, or hang the jeans on hangers on the curtain rail in the spare room.

very happy with this system!

[jenniferalan]

Clothes horse by the fire works a treat, I have a drier but I think it shrinks/mishapes clothes when you dry them from wet, so I leave them on the clothes horse in front of the fire and air them in the drier in the morning (literally takes 5 minutes), Bedclothes and towels are the only things I put straight in the drier because they're bulky and would be in my way! Oh and all my clothes smell of Comfort! :)


hi Kiara, i think i will do this from now on,(leaving clothes to dry in sitting room) i love the smell of Comfort and wash all my clothes with it - just didnt know whether the smell of the fire would effect the clothes lol.

[jenniferalan]

in our house we have both a fireplace and a night-store heater in the lounge...i wash my clothes in the evenings and put them on the clothes horse in front of the heater and most of them are dry by the morning, or definately dry by the time i'm home from work. for thing like trousers, jeans, hoodies and shirts i hang these on hangers as they take up less room and dry faster this way, and i can hang them anywhere in the lounge at night. it's great -cheap and effective - we have one of those two in one washer-dryers which seem to take ages to dry anything and eat the electricity, i don't really use this much - just for sheets occasionally.

during the rainy summers i do the same except without the heater - i just put the clothes horse on either the kitchen table or on the spare bed (they're not in my way then) with the windows open, or hang the jeans on hangers on the curtain rail in the spare room.

very happy with this system!


Thanks Thelma, we have no dryer so was just looking for some alternatives from the hot press. Think i will be hanging clothes downstairs at night in the same room as the fire and hopefully they will be dry by the morning!

[elbo]

Hi
Wet clothes around the house and especially in or near bedrooms can cause chest infections and breathing problems especially in children. Clothes horses need to be kept away from everyday rooms.

I second that (and I know from experience). Airing clothes on radiators is very harmful to anyone and can cause serious chest infections to young people, older people, anyone with asthma or anyone who suffers from any respitary condition.
NEVER, NEVER put clothes on radiators in rooms you sleep in or sit in.
Always ensure that the tube outlet from your dryer is not loose and that the condensation goes straight outdoors and is not escaping into the room.

[Rosrach]

Am Mum of 3 so lots of washing - 1 load every day, plus 3 more during week for bedding etc. Do have a tumble drier but try to limit use to 1 load (half contents of washing machine) every 2nd day.Have developed serious routine as big part of day but try to limit environmental impact

If weather at all good - even if cold but windy - washing line. If have outside shed can put a line inside - things do get dry and smell great.

Big things go on hangers and airers in my hot press (with lagged tank) sometimes have to go on radiator next day to ensure really dry. Do put airers in front of fire but usually in day as worried about sparks/fire. Do sometimes do at night if a lot to dry and no, they smell fine.

socks/tights on kitchen radiator and most small things in tumble drier.

Other options - iron when clothes still a bit damp - add drop of lavender oil to water in iron if concerned abot a smokey smell.

On related issue, have stared using JML Pearls to replace washing detergent and can recommend - only €10 in Tescos and work - although need to add a bit of Vanish too for v. dirty clothes but I needed that with detergent as well.

Happy drying, Rosrach

[ireneo]

My brothers daughter was born nearly 12wks early weighing 2 1/2lb. When she was leaving to go home 3mths later, you would imagine they wouldve got a list of orders for her but the only thing the doctor warned about was clothes horses in the house. He said not as much as a damp sock on a radiator, anywhere in the house. He said they can bring on asthma and all sorts of breathing problems at any age. I havent used a clothes horse since, Id rather pay the price for the use of my dryer because my kids having chest infections or suffering with asthma later in life is a bigger price to pay.

[jeana]

That's true but sometimes people may not be able to afford a dryer or the electricity to run it and you can't get blood out of a stone- but I think that using the downstairs radiators when the kids are generally upstairs playing or watching TV is o.k- Also some kids arn't suseptable to ashma or chest infections and manage fine- I suppose like everything it's a case of finding the best solution and I'd say money is the main factor and I suppose the environment too as the old fashioned methods are usually the most ecological.

[Moeby]

I put up a line across my landing upstairs, it's not visible from downstairs and I hang clothes across the upstairs banister at night. This works a treat. I don't have radiators and do have to use dryer as well with volume of washing in my house. MandyD asked how the previous generations managed, I asked my mum (89 in June and raised 8 of us) she said we didn't change our clothes as often school clothes were worn to school, old clothes were put on us after school and Sunday clothes were worn on Sunday to mass and then hung up til next Sunday. Maybe the old ways were better.

[kiara]

Hi
Wet clothes around the house and especially in or near bedrooms can cause chest infections and breathing problems especially in children. Clothes horses need to be kept away from everyday rooms.

Not everyone has the space though

[magiceight]

she said she slowed down as she wanted to let her friend win and she already had gold so she wanted a silver- she's a little pet...


That's put a big smile on my face jeana - I love it when kids do things like that... she's a little star :)

I use a clothes horse in my kitchen beside the radiator. If I'm stuck for space, I use the radiator too, and hang light stuff on hangers on the curtain pole across my bedroom window during the day with the window open.

Not a fan of dryers, both for power consumption reasons plus I don't like the way the clothes sometimes feel hard or rough when they come out.

[JulieSherris]

Well, in our house, I use my rotary washing line - either in the back garden, or up in the hayshed if it's raining.
When the washing comes in, it's popped over the airer & then left near to the nightstore heater or the radiator in the hallway.

Then it goes into my ironing basket... and waits... and waits.... I hate ironing!!

I did buy a Dri-Buddy for emergencies, but hardly ever use it, which is all the better for the environment ;)

[Bullbars]

how do you dry your clothes ?

simple, i got a dryer off a site you might of heard about, jumbletown, :)

but like most people commenting here, its a last resort, I usually give the clothes a extra spin in the washing machine and then hang them on the rads around the house, it can be time consuming in the winter, but come summer they will be out on the line.
I dont have the space for a inside line and as i'm in a bungalow , i dont have a rail or banisters to hang sheets etc on , but i might consider a "lean to" or some way of enclosing a line outside, one thing i'm not short of is space outside, but space and dry space aint quite the same. Roll on the summer

[Tootsie]

Following a high electricity bill, I decided to buy a clothes drier. I do one wash and one dry per day. I leave the clothes drier on the landing and clothes are dry by the morning. Unsightly, but I haven't used my tumble drier for almost a month!

[bustler99]

I have problems with drying clothes, we took the lagging jacket off the cylinder in the hot press so hot air would dry clothes but i think that it is prob just costing more because most of the heat is being lost through the air?

some people say that a good idea is to leave clothes on a clothes horse by the fire at night and they will be dry in the morning, does this work? is there a weird smell off the clothes from the fire?

how do u dry ur clothes?
TRY HANGING THEM OUT

[SLCB]

I've been drying clothes inside all winter (since the dog ate the outside line!). I use two clothes dryers, or clothes horse as they used to be known, we've an open fire in the sitting room and I put up the fire guard and then the dryer at night and the clothes are usually all dry in the morning. They don't smell from the fire, if anything I like the scent of the fabric sortener in the room. The electric dryer lies idle which is great cause I couldn't afford to run it,but as soon as the weather improves I'll be pestering my husband to put up a new line outside.

[Maggiebenny]

I have problems with drying clothes, we took the lagging jacket off the cylinder in the hot press so hot air would dry clothes but i think that it is prob just costing more because most of the heat is being lost through the air?

some people say that a good idea is to leave clothes on a clothes horse by the fire at night and they will be dry in the morning, does this work? is there a weird smell off the clothes from the fire?

how do u dry ur clothes?
well i think i have it down to a tee. spin to the max on your machine take out n fold n bang flat. leave for an hour hang straight on line or place on hangers on the line. dont take off lagging jacket=madness use you clotheshorse for winter or small items and get a multy hanger for smalls n socks hope that helps

[TickTock]

This is a great regular talking point - remember this thread:

http://www.jumbletown.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=72789

[Mandolin]

My sis came up with an idea I like. We've been using polythene to cover the line in the rain but it's ugly so she suggested a nice looking shower curtain - bungee or tie it to the 3 corners and it keeps the rain off. Not that we need it lately!
M.

[psj]

Can't upload the pics of what my brother in law made for me but it is about 4 foot in length and has 9 hanging bars and was welded together and painted black gloss to match my kitchen. This is screwed to the wall over the fire in the kitchen. I also have a clothes horse that we have in the sitting room in the winter (sitting room is rarely used). It is then put outside for the summer. And then for undies we have a separate thing for that. There are 4 in my house - 2 children, a girl of nearly 6 who would like to change her clothes every 5 mins and a 12 month old and come october we will have a new addition to the family! I only use the dryerin the winter for the towels as i like them soft on the kids skin! The dryer is so expensive it is difficult to condone regular usage! And like so many others my clothes smell only of comfort!

Anyway happy drying!

Psj

[kam]

I've a 12 foot long lean-to built around the side of my house, where I park my motorbike. I've strung 2 washing lines underneath the roof, which is transparent so if the weather's showery the clothes still dry out.

Best of all is when I my park my hot-engined R1150 in it: everything's dry in jig time! Since my bike has no oil leaks, the clothes are never smelly. Only use it as a fall-back during miserable weather but it works well.

[mrs pepper pot]

if we had decent weather in Ireland we wudnt be payin high cost esb bills and we would not be subjectin our children to respiratory ilnesses and such like.......but we shall dream on!! no such thing as good weather here!!

i hang my towels and bed linen across banisters and i also have 2 fold away clothes rails that i keep in a spare room with extendable poles most clothes go on that and its a great job ther 20quid in argos, id say cheaper up north

i dry all smalls in hot press, dont use heaters, expensive and a health hazard.

i am also a single mum
so i have to also think of keeping costs down with my heating bills.

1 other great option for any1 who has a walk around loft with proper insulation and a staighre for ease of access, is to put ur clothes horse up into it at night before bed, come morning there bone dry and fresh, cost ya nothing apart from havin proper insulation and floorin in ur attic but it's handy and its out of sight and a great way to save on your electric!!

[flies]

I have a clothes dryer but I prefer to hang them out side. Even in the winter. We used to hang them out all the time. It's funny taking them down in the winter they are freeze dried and real stiff.

[minku]

I hang clothes on a clothes horse in the kitchen overnight. I use a small electric dehumidifier. Very very cheap to run compared to the dryer which I didn't use at all this winter. Stops the condensation too and no more dark shadows on the walls above the radiators from drying clothes on them!

[Cfin]

This is the reason why mould in houses is rampant in Ireland and respiratory illness is almost the highest in the world. People need to prioritise never drying clothes inside. Our bill is €160 every 2 months and we dry all our clothes in a tumble dryer. We rent and can't find a house without mould (extremely bad for your health but irish people are in denial). Where do you think all the water goes? It doesn't disappear. It helps bacteria and mould grow, which you then breathe in.

Get a dryer, don't dry clothes in your house or might as well be poisoning your family. It's baffling to hear people doing this to save a few quid. It's a well know fact that it's detrimental to your health. No excuses! No "I can't afford it". Then you can't afford anything. Funny I have broadband and other expenses while poisoning yourself and family to save money. This is a serious issue in Ireland. People need to cop on a bit. It's as bad or worse than smoking in the house but it also causes mould to grow. Serious topic! This isn't my opinion. These are facts. You also can't say "I'm not prone to chest infections. That's not possible! Save up, buy a good dryer and use it. It's a basic necessity for your health, like a toilet. If you can't afford a dryer, a toilet or washing machine etc, I do feel for you, but If you have a TV, mobile smart phone, internet and car, but no clothes dryer, you are choosing to poison yourself and your family daily in a way that people did up until the 1960's. Ireland is the only country with this issue. And the diseases that are so prevalent here speak for themselves. It's my duty as a decent human being, to point this out, seeing as this shows up on all relevant google searches, as advice for people.