It can be frustrating when you hang your laundry to dry inside only for it to take several days for it to dry completely. But there is a simple hack that can help you avoid this
Households are being encouraged to add one item into the rooms where they air their laundry, as it could potentially double the drying speed during the cold winter months.
It’s always frustrating when you hang your washing to dry indoors only for it to take several days to fully dry. This not only delays your next load of laundry but can also result in your clothes developing an unpleasant damp odour. The reason laundry takes longer to dry during the colder, winter months is due to the reduced energy available in the chilly air for evaporation, and winter air tends to be more humid. Warm air can retain more moisture than cold air, so as the temperature falls, the air’s capacity to absorb water from clothes diminishes, slowing down the drying process.
So, how can you tackle this and prevent your clothes from taking days to dry? The team at Which? have revealed their top tip for getting laundry to dry twice as quickly this winter by adding one small thing in the room where you plan to dry your clothes.
“This hack will help you dry clothes nearly twice as fast,” they announced at the beginning of their TikTok video.
They proceeded to explain that you simply hang up your damp laundry indoors on a clothes rack, before positioning a dehumidifier underneath or adjacent to the clothing rack.
They continued to explain that they’d put this hack to the test, by creating two identical loads of washing before hanging them to dry, once with the dehumidifier on and once without it.
“And the verdict? Using a dehumidifier cut drying time by nearly half,” they revealed in the video.
They continued to disclose that the dehumidifier had sucked up around two litres of water from the air, which also aids in preventing mould growth in your home. However, it does come with an additional cost.
Using the dehumidifier to assist in drying the clothes had added £1.50 to their energy bills, which is more expensive than what it would have cost to run a tumble dryer for one cycle to dry the clothes.
“So, if you have a tumble dryer, it’s likely to be the cheaper option,” they explained.
Several individuals quickly took to the comment section to share their thoughts, with many praising the simple hack of using a dehumidifier to help dry their laundry.
“Been using my dehumidifier for 8 years now, couldn’t be without it…,” one person said, while another wrote: ” I may be really sad but the amount of excitement I get from checking my washing that dried so quick and emptying the chamber is unreal.”
A third person shared: “My dryer can do a 9kg load in 50 mins and costs 50p.”
However, not everyone was impressed by the hack, claiming it was unnecessary.
“Or just let it air dry and save energy,” someone said. But to this, another viewer replied: “This is why so many people smell like damp, because they didn’t dry their clothes quick enough.”
