What is the best way to dry laundry in chilly winter?
| Published date | 18 May 2021 |
| Publication title | Ensign, The |
I needed data.
I put together a 3kg trial load of bath and tea towels, T-shirts, socks, jeans and synthetic sportswear.
I gathered scales, a power meter and a sensor that records temperature and humidity.
After being washed in my front-loading machine and spun at 1100rpm, my trial load weighed 4.2kg.
That’s 1.2litres of water I needed to remove.
My ideal method would be minimal hassle, cheap, good for the environment, and it wouldn’t leave my home damp.
I tried five different drying methods and found a clear winner: my vented clothes dryer.
It was easy to use, sent all the moisture outside, gave consistent results and, while it wasn’t free, forward planning minimised the cost to my pocket and the environment.
Whenever I can’t dry clothes outside, my dryer will shoulder the workload this winter.
Tip: Use the fastest spin your washing machine will allow and clothing can handle.
Spinning at 1100rpm instead of 800rpm removed an extra third (600ml) of moisture from my test load.
OUTSIDE ON A LINE
Best for cost, environment and home health, but weather-dependent and a hassle.
On a calm, sunny winter day, six hours on the clothesline shifted just over 40% of the moisture in my washing.
The method required me hanging my load out in the morning before I left for work, and remembering to pull it in before the sun dropped and the damp evening undid all my good work.
One day of outside hanging didn’t dry my washing, but it was quicker and used less energy to finish it off in my dryer.
On a good day, outside line drying costs nothing and has no environmental impact at all.
Tip: A breezy, overcast winter day is better at drying washing than a calm, sunny one.
INDOOR ON A RACK
No cost or environmental impact, but fills your home with moisture.
It’s easier hanging washing on a rack indoors than pegging it outside, and the method works even on filthy wet days.
It comes at zero cost to your wallet and uses no energy.
However, my trial found a drying rack was far from a perfect solution.
I set mine up in an unheated back room
Though large windows meant the rack was exposed to winter sun, there was no airflow around the wet clothes and I shifted just a third of the moisture in six hours.
However, I could leave the load on the rack all day and night to dry. The biggest down side was to the health of my home — all of the moisture from my washing ended up in my back room.
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