Where to dry wet clothes?

I'm with you, LuckyFour. Tumble drier every time. What can't go in the drier, goes on a maiden in the conservatory which only needs a bit of sun to warm up quite quickly. Failing that, a couple of maidens huddled round the radiator in the dining room. I go swimming several times a week and the cozzie goes into a rinse and spin cycle and then goes on a hanger in the airing cupboard ready for the next day.

I use an airer and then put thick things like towels into tumble to finish them off to cupboard dry. Works for us.

How about one of those heated airers advertised by Lakeland they reckon they don't cost much to run, but I haven't done any sums!

Lol, ever an optimist Yes, the is out here again would you believe

Lol, ever an optimist, I hang it out regardless. My conservatory is heated by the sun (optimist you see) so can be cold - then I use the tumble dryer.

Kayteeb53 you must have better weather than us!

I don't care where the washing is as long as it's not in my conservatory - my haven!

Dry in the garden and air in the conservatory works for me. Tumble only if desperate!

If you have a garden, use it - even in cold weather it is the obvious way to evaporate water off clothes.
Pamish I looked outside this morning and the sun was shining and I thought if I get the washing out asap it will dry.
By the time the 1st load had finished it was raining.

Central heating does dry the air so I think occasionally having some washing drying on radiators might help prevent nasal passages drying up.

We are on a really good electricity tariff - between 10pm and 7am Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday, we pay 20% less so I have no conscience about using my tumble dryer as I save the washing for just the two of us for Saturdays and the dishwasher goes on about three or four times a week during the qualifying times. It's called EDF 20/20 but I think it has been so successful for consumers who use it like me, that they do not offer it any more !!

Just checked the tumble dryer ratings and it's not true that they use a lot of electricity. Some only cost around 13p an hour. Even if double that it's well worth it and you can save money not using your iron.
Spend your time doing what you want to do!

if the humidity in the garden is 100% not much point in hanging out the washing !I hang it out when possible , then finish it off in the spare room on a clothes horse with the radiator on (only heats when the CH is on in the rest of the house obviously ) I don't put things directly on the radiators , my dryer gave up a few years ago and not intending to replace it

There's no competition. Use your tumble dryer! I am like you, just two of us at home so only about four washes a week depending on bedding requirements. The cost is minimal compared with the trouble of any other method. I took my washing line down years ago and have never looked back.
Another plus is that most items come out of the tumble dryer without creases so hang up or fold garments straight away and you will do very little ironing. This saves money too.
Get that tumble dryer out of the box right now, make your life easy.

I just had a surveyor round, they know all about damp washing. Biggest cause of damp indoors is washing being dried without any ventilation. Old houses being sealed off from outside, chimneys closed up, double glazing, means that you're bound to get condensation if adding loads of water to the air. So open a window, especially if you run a tumble drier that doesn't vent to outside.

No idea of the stats but tumble driers probably add a good chunk to climate change - they need a lot of electricity. It's not just the cost on your bill, it's the often unnecessary use of fossil fuels. If you have a garden, use it - even in cold weather it is the obvious way to evaporate water off clothes.
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I have a sensor condenser dryer which stops when clothes are dry so no unnecessary power is used. It's also plumbed into the sink drain so all extracted water is fed outside. It's an A rated machine and costs about £1pw (app 4 loads)
People think drying clothes on radiators is free heat but it's not. Energy has to be used to convert water into water vapour so your heating isn't as efficient/house gets colder so you can end up running heating longer to compensate. All that condensation in the air can lead to mould if not addressed effectively.
I've used a dryer since parents bought us one in 1980 when ds was born. Couldn't be without it.

Many of the above ideas have surprised me.

Firstly, as many have said, I can't see what's wrong with drying your washing over radiators in the house. We used to have water containers on all radiators to prevent the air getting dry during the heating period - that was when we lived in a flat. An alternative method was to drape wet towels over them. Especially for babies and children with croup or asthma.

Nowadays we live in a house and have a wood-burning fire, which doesn't dehydrate the air so much, and hardly have the radiators on at all, anyway. I stand the washing on clothes horses in front of the fire when we go to bed, to use the remainder of the heat while the fire is dying down. Most of it is dry by the morning. (As I live in Germany, the only dryers available are the "German" sort, mentioned above)

I was also surprised to read that people are starting to dry the washing in the tumble dryer, then removing it to "finish" drying. If I did dry things in a combination of ways, then the other way round would seem the obvious way to me - hang it out first on the line, or on drying racks indoors if it's raining until only slightly damp and then finish it off in the tumble dryer to fluff it up.

Only towels, flannels and undies go in the dryer in our house, and they are dried from start to finish in there. Taking them in hand yet another time to hang them up seems too much work!

Also I consider the tumbler an alternative to ironing. In the dryer and then iron? again: too much work!

But, where possible, out in the garden is the best!

As an asthmatic I am very conscious of damp in house ( leads to growth of allergens eg mould). Thankfully I have a south facing back garden so will always try to get wash out into sun ... apart from heat of sun being good drying the UV rays kill bugs etc. Some partly dry items are ready for ironing. Other more stubborn items might go for a short blast in tumbler. I make great use of two circular peg hangers from Ikea. These take all 'smalls' and I move to utility room where they linger for another while if not fully dry.

I also run a dehumidifier in the house thru the winter. I am never too sure of the best location for same. At the moment it is sited on the half landing. It certainly keeps unheated bedroom windows free of condensation. Banisters are where we hang large bathroom towels between uses.

I have an old fashioned wooden airer hanging from beam above woodburner....perfect for drying laundry. I don't have central heating so no radiators to put wet clothes on.

I use the tumble drier for big things like duvet covers if I can't get them outside, otherwise it's airers in the spare bedroom, with a dehumidifier going. The dehumidifier is great, keeps the room from getting damp and mouldy, and really speeds up the drying. Cheaper to run than the tumble drier too!

My mum used to use the greenhouse in the winter! It worked quite well!

I used to dry out of doors until I began stumbling when raising both arms on my sloping lawn. After reading this thread I think I'll either get the lawn levelled or at least a line across the flatter bit!

This is all very useful

I usually dry our washing in the conservatory but there is no heating in there and so it's drying too slowly and ends up with a whiff of damp which defeats the object really. I will follow some of your suggestions thank you

My friend's theory is that a lot of items dried in the tumble drier don't need ironing. Not ironing saves on electricity
I dry some in the tumble drier (I prefer towels when they have been bashed around in the tumble drier). If I'm organised I put a load or two on the night before, if they go out on the line first thing and it is sunny and/or blowing then it has a good chance of drying.
If not, we have an airing rack which sits on the landing, the warm air rising upstairs dries it well.

I dry washing outside if at all possible, apart from the weekly 'sock wash'. It takes forever to hang then out, then it rains and they have to come back in again! They go in there tumble drier. Once things are ironed I put them in the conservatory on a wooden clothes horse to air before they are put away.

cherry were those not called "mangles"? We used to feed the sheets through these two tightly spaced rollers, even as little children. No health and safety rules back then, you were shown once and had to pay attention under granny's watchful eye.

I know a bit off thread but our dish washer went on fire, we were alerted by smoke alarm. Never leave any appliances on during the night.

My gran always had a pulley. It was great, often wished I had it now. As a child I would visit my grans next door neighbour a lovely lady in her 90s she always used a contraption I think it was called a wringer. Her sheets came through lovely and smooth. I used to wind the handle and thought it was great fun!

Our machine is both washer and condenser dryer, but we never use the dryer function - for several reasons. It is a bit of a pain because you have to remove half of the washing for the tumble dryer to work.

The other main reason is because they are a fire risk. Ours once caught fire - luckily it was in a utility room that was next to the house; and our next door neighbour here had hers catch fire.

Google "tumble dryers and fires."