Tina C Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I had a tumble dryer once - and used it twice. Even when our girl was in cotton nappies we never used one. We always line dry when we can otherwise we use an airer in spare room, followed by a trip to the airing cupboard for the undies and socks. Was listening programme on R4 yesterday (think it was from Woman's Hour) about drying washing. There was an interesting story about how some guests were impressed with the smell of her sheets - they had been line dried and the (American) guests were not used to the smell of fresh air on their sheets Also, a friend mentioned this week that she takes her laundry to the launderette - I was But she argued that she pays about £10, does a week's washing in one go and has a nice cup of coffee with a friend at the same time. She says it actually saves her money too. Because we don't use a tumble dryer it wouldn't save us money (even if we factor in the cost of the washing machine) but maybe she has a point? And I did like the thought of doing washing communally - having been to India and watched all the ladies by the river chatting and socialising while doing chores. I know there are all sorts of social and political implications within that sentence and I wouldn't want to do my washing in the Great Ouse but hopefully you know what I mean. Great tip about the towels - I prefer 'rough' towels so we only use thin cheap ones, not big fat fluffy ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 No tumble drier, that's a deliberate policy because I feel they use so much power. Admittedly I might feel differently if I had teenagers! I have 2 teenage boys aged 16 and 19, Olly . I would have expected teenage boys to be a real challenge without a tumble drier in the house but no, not at all. I bought a gatefold wooden clothes horse a few years ago which folds flat when not in use and takes up very little room. This is terrific for drying small items of underwear like socks and pants, T-shirts, shorts etc in front of a radiator on the landing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I love my tumble dryer It is a White Knight. I use it around three times a week and it takes 60 to 80 minutes to dry all the bedlinen and towels, and they are all lovely and warm! Plus it cuts down on your ironing too! Mine is a condenser so I get some warm water from the water reservoir when it has finished which I use to wash down the sink, water plants, or flush the loo with. Plus, the tumble drier heats whichever room it is in so you save on an hour or so's heating! I raved about my tumble dryer so much during the bad weather in the past few years that my mum, a determined line dryer of many years standing, finally caved in and bought one, and she loves it for bed linen and towels, but still line drys most of her clothes. She has not had a noticible increase in her electric bill either. My gas and electric is around £48 per month so my tumble dryer costs pennies and is worth it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I have 3 males in the house, all of whom cycle or run or play rugby, football, or squash every single day of the week . On top of that, there are 3 work/school shirts a day . Rugby shirts are the worst although now they're more synthetic they dry more quickly . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I have one of those rotary washing line covers which stops the laundy getting rained on. It gets it dry to a point and then it can be finished off in the tumble drier - (I use those tumble drier balls which cuts down the drying time) or on the old fashioned hang from the ceiling jobs (can't for the life of me remember the name of it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I resisted a tumble drier for ages and still always line dry when I can, I was converted when visiting a friend and seeing how good hers was; I saved up some Christmas money and got one. My house is small and there's no where to dry things without them being right in your face as you walk in the front door. Both Rose and I do lots of sport, so there's always plenty of washing to dry. I used to have a White Knight condenser drier, which was brilliant and lasted 6 years. I now have a Hotpoint one, which isn't nearly as good It really is fantastic in the winter months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 When our boiler was working I used to hang clothes over the radiators on the special hangers you buy to go over them and give you a few rails to hang clothes off. We also had a small tumble dryer and have an airer which is attached to the ceiling at the top of the stairs for jeans and un-tumble-able clothes (ie ED school skirt which is a kilt type). Now, we have a condenser tumble dryer in our bedroom, which I use for most things like tops, underwear, socks and sometimes towels as I like my hand towels to be fluffy I still use the airer for jeans, bath towels, sheets, duvet covers and other heavy things. I also hang some things up in our bathroom on the shower rail on hangers. If I know it's going to be nice out I will hang things outdoors, but I have been known, especially at this time of year, to leave things out for a few days as I leave it a bit late in the day to get the clothes in so they get damp, or it rains Or even hanging things out in the rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 or on the old fashioned hang from the ceiling jobs (can't for the life of me remember the name of it) ***Sheila Maid*** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I think it's called a Sheila Maid..and I wish I had one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I think it's called a Sheila Maid..and I wish I had one!! That's what I've got - 2 of them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 My mother used to have one of those. I remember the parish priest coming round to visit her (she was very pious) and it collapsed and he was covered in umpteen pairs of gigantic bloomers (hers, not mine). Very embarrassing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reikiranf Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I've recently got a ruckzuck it's a wall mounted concertina type airer and it's fitted above our stairwell, it can take up to 20kg in weight It's a good place to have an airer as if the downstairs fires are on the washing dries in a few hours and it's out of sight to visitors unless nature calls! I do have a tumble dryer but only use it to finish off large things that are almost dry eg. bath sheets or duvet covers if I've got more that I need to get dry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 or on the old fashioned hang from the ceiling jobs (can't for the life of me remember the name of it) ***Sheila Maid*** That's the fella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Tumble drier (condenser), but radiators for those childrens clothes that aren't supposed to go in there. Although some find their way in when I get cheesed off. My mum has a string running the length of her garage to dry her things - no tumble drier - and it works very well. Why are so many clothes not suitable for tumbling? Why do my youngsters buy clothes without looking at washing instructions? DD came home with "dry clean only" - not in this house unless she takes it to the cleaners herself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I have a condenser tumble but often use radiators or a clothes airer in the conservatory. At the moment our radiators are festooned with bits of carpet underfelt. I do have room for a sheila maid but can I ask those who have them in the kitchen. Does your washing not smell of cooking once it's dry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I have a White Knight tumble drier which is donkeys years old. I've lost count of the times it has broken, Andy is an electrcian so keeps on fixing it. I wish it would just die as I,m not sure it is safe. It gets used for towels and bedding if I am around to keep my eye on it, everything else get put on an assortment of clothes airers. It is the last person to bed job to haul all the airers into the living room so the clothes can dry in the heat from the coal fire (now woodburner ) We have storage heaters so we can't drape clothes on them. I would like a sheila Maid when we do up the kitchen. The warmest place for it would be above the open fire, but is that an accident waiting to happen if an item of clothing falls off the sheila maid , and will eveything smell smokey There must be a limit on how much weight a sheila Maid can take Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I guess that the load would depend on whether you bolt it into a joist or not Ali. No room in my kitchen for one, nor in the utility room, which is the size of a large toilet cubicle When the tumble drier broke a few weeks back, I dried everything in front of the stove in the front room, but it meant that the room was filled with washing and it kinda hit you when you walked in the front door A conservatory would be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy chickens! Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Love my 'sheila' maid - it hangs by the tumble dryer/washing machine, in the kitchen, can take a full load of washing, is usally dry later that day, and have never noticed any cooking smells on the washing. Tumble dryer is bosch condenser for back up esp at this time of year if washing more than one load in a day - also great for warming the kitchen when the heating isn't on, and the heat also helps dry the load that I first washed, now drying above it!! Nothing beats that line dried smell of sheets though does it! Never use conditioner as don't like artificial smells or the use of the extra chemicals, made me laugh one that was advertised earlier this year that was supposed to smell of white diamonds ! Some houses are just worse ventilated than others - I lived in an upside down house once, the downstairs was actually built into the side of a hill and no matter how much windows were left open, I could never stop the mould growing. Someone once told me that it is a false economy to keep heating off as much as possible, as the walls never lose their dampness, so when you do turn your heating on, the heat is lost more quickly through the damp walls. When we all had real fires, our chimneys did a good job of ventilation. Sorry for ramble - try and squeeze in a 'sheila' if you possibly can is my advise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I haven't had a tumble drier since we moved to wet and windy Cumbria. I just positioned a load of hooks in the beams in the kitchen and office where we have the aga and a woodburner and I hang the washing up on hangers. I have a collection of hangers with clips on which I use for towels and bedding. Socks dry on the aga rail and knickers and bras go on the very fancy chicken mug rack my hubby made me a few years ago. It's now call the knicker rack. Yes, I do have to dash round and move all the washing when visitors are due! I love the fresh smell of line dried bedding too, nothing beats it. Well maybe freshly baked bread or ground coffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Thanks one and all, I feel fairly reassured that I can get the laundry dry inside over the winter without the musty smell and mould, fingers crossed! I loved the idea of getting a sheila maid and fitting it in the stairwell, but hubby was having none of it so we finally compromised on one of these. A sheila maid would have been cheaper to buy (so much for trying to save some money) but I guess you can't win them all and this should fold away out of sight when not in use. Hopefully if I leave it near a radiator with a window open a crack it should get the laundry nice and dry without any of the funny smells. Do you think giving the clothes an extra spin in the washing machine would remove any more of the water, or does a fast spin get rid of as much as it's going to first time anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I do use the spin facility on my washing machine to get the washing as dry as possible - to save a bit of money I use the quick wash then the high spin rather than using the programme that uses the high spin facility as standard as that wash is about 3 hours long The washing then goes over doors on hangers or on a clothes horse in the spare room I also use curtain rails as a poor womans version of a Sheilas Maid When we has our old house which grew mould at a rate of knots (as it had previously burned down and the walls were full of water for years afterwards from the fire hoses) we had a heated clothes horse which was absolutely amazing (its since broke but it did last ages) they run on very little power and are great We also used a dehumidifier as standard in the old house and that worked wonders but it is big and ugly so isnt an option for everyone! I would recommend them in a house prone to mould in general though, ours did a very good job of circulating the air and the house was more evenly warm as a result, it made little noise and used little power too but we did pay out for the very best and it ran constantly for 8 years (we still have it now, we dont need it in this house but it will be useful if we have a burst pipe or something) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 That's interesting Tasha.. when I moved into my house, it was very damp indoors - I don't think they ever opened any windows. I got a 2nd hand dehumidifier and ran it for a couple of months to get all the damp out of the walls. it has been fine ever since, but then I do like to have windows open a crack most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missuscluck Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I have found this thread really interesting A refection on my life I feel I have got a tumble dryer next to my washer in the garage. I have one of those concertina type wooden airers and I tend to plonk the washing on that untill nearly dry then finish it off in the dryer on a low heat. If you get stuff out quick and hang or fold it cuts out the need for ironing which I cant stand. I iron very little doing it this way. I have a problem with damp in the winter in our house. If I dry the clothes indoors on the radiators I get really wet windows. I think we suffer from what Cinnamon told us about double glazed windows with no vents. Ours dont have vents so I guess thats the problem, but I wouldnt have known that if you hadnt said so thanks for the info All the damp seems to fly to the coldest point in the house which just so happens to be our bedroom and bathroom and I get a mouldy ceiling in the corner of both. I have just bought a dehumidifyer and Im hoping that helps. Due for the grand switch on when I get home from work tonight and Im really hoping it solves my problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 It will help a bit, but you also need to sort the ventilation, just open a window or two by a crack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I have a clothes horse on the landing, I leave the landing window open when Im drying clothes, & hang most things on hangers, shirts & work trousers dont need ironing then either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
