5 Ways to Dry Clothes in Winter Without a Tumble Dryer

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We can have a good run of weather here up to the end of October but, once November kicks in, colder weather certainly makes its presence known.

In my life, this means one thing. Less clothes drying opportunities.

I hate winter. When you have children-babies and young children especially, the amount of washing you have is a matter if epic proportions. Add to that a muddy farm and you can see my predicament.

In the summer, I have three massive clothes lines hooked up between trees and there are days that all three lines are full. I love them.

I once had a washer dryer but they are not as good a drying as stand alone tumble dryers and I never used it.

Many people also see them as an expensive luxury and, they can  create more creasing and who wants to add to their ironing pile?

I therefore thought I would share my top five six* tips for drying clothes in the colder months.

1.Invest in those things that you can hang on radiators. Clothes dry so quickly on these things and it is great for baby and children’s clothes.

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2. If your interior doors open the right way, get a dryer that fits onto the back of a door. We had one on the bathroom door in our old house and it was brilliant when Boo was a baby. Unfortunately the doors at the farm open the wrong way so we can’t have then here.

3. Choose a room where you will do most of your clothes drying in and have the radiator on full and keep the door closed. It used to be our spare room until G came along. We now use the bathroom. With the door closed, a load of washing on a clothes horse is dry in just over a day and, if you hang it on hangers, minimal ironing is required.

4. My auntie has given us an electric clothes maiden with a hood. Perfect for when you need things drying quickly.

5. If you do choose to tumble dry, pick out the most important things-like sleep suits, vests and socks or if you’re down to the last pair of maternity leggings-you know, emergencies.


6. I recently found this old-fashioned, ceiling mounted dryer from Lakeland and it has been fantastic. In our upstairs lounge/playroom/place to dry washing, we have a very high ceiling so I feel like I am totally utilising the space.

I have managed three newborns without a tumble dryer and I am not about to get one now. I think you just have to be creative.

How do you get clothing dry at your home in winter?

*I will be adding tips as I find them. Hopefully we will get to ten so if you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.

8 Comments

  1. I’m not keen on tumble driers, I think they’re a bit unnecessary. We just end up with clothes hanging all over the house in winter, the urgent things go in the airing cupboard!
    Nat.x

  2. We have a lounge full of ariers and the radiators turned up. I have a small dryer and often pop things in to finish them off especialy the cloth nappies that take 2 days to dry at this time of year. That way i save energy and have less ironing too!

  3. I need one of those things for the radiator in my life. I’m still optimistically hanging washing on the line and despairing when it’s still wet at the end of the day! Xx

  4. If I can’t line dry in the winter, I use the tumble dryer for underwear, sheets and towels etc. Clothes go on a couple of airers over the cellar radiator. I’ve got a humidity extractor fan down there too which gets rid of the excess water in the atmosphere.

    If we have the log burner going, then all my airers get filled and go in front of the fire in the evening and overnight. That way I can get a couple of loads dry in one go and all the excess water in the air goes up the chimney..

    I don’t dry clothes in the house over radiators as it’s the quickest way to get black mould.

  5. I live in Florida, I own a wonderful washing machine but did not want a dryer ,I could have financially and physically but said if like to try without. And I know you’re thinking oh everything must dry fast there. Well yes, except for the humid days ,if the clothes don’t dry fast and humidity. Is high the clothes get musty . So,,, I wash only one load at a time ( kills me sometimes) and then I hang all on 3 wooden racks on my screened lanai . I have one supersized wooden rack probably for beach towels its amazing ( a $15 goodwill find) and sometimes I just place my bath towels over the mesh fence 2 hours tops ! I could put up a,line or 4. But this works !
    Cheers !

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