How to Dry Laundry in Winter

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Third day of the Winter school holidays, third day of rain.

With the usual layers of winter clothing, combined with the effect of changing after an outing, the washing pile looked set to dominate the first week of the holidays and to cause pre-weekend-away panic at still wet laundry. Not to mention the smell of clothes that took too long to dry (or worse still that too-long-drying item you wear in good faith, only to find it smells after you're wearing it!)


The dryer has (guilty) been running for hours each day with towels, jeans, socks and sheets. Clothes dryers are an expensive and environmentally unfriendly option, and the condensation makes you choose between opening the window and letting the cold in, or allowing mould-inducing bacteria to grow. So what to do to get on with the holiday and weekend plans?

My paternal Grandmother had a clothes-line that hung from the ceiling in the kitchen. It was not only the warmest room in the house as the woodfire stove burned for most of the day, but also the most used, letting her multi task family, cooking and laundry. Today it's still potentially the warmest room in an unheated house if you're baking, but whether it's practical or not depends on how you feel about smelling like freshly baked biscuits.



I'm lucky enough to have a clothesline in our garage. It protects the clothes from the harsh Queensland sun and from unexpected showers. Even so, with the damp and cold byond the roller door, clothes can be smelly before they're dry, starting the cycle all over again. Hoodies - especially hoodies. Those hoods can take days to dry.

Thankfully, we have two strong, floor level fans which can be set at either end of the line and aimed at the washing. As our garage is enclosed and waterproof, they can be set them up in the morning and the washing is dry before nightfall. Even the dreaded wet hoodies.



Works a treat also with puddle-jumping wet shoes.



Cheaper and more environmentally friendly than heated appliances, with no risk of mould-related health concerns, it's a quick, simple and inexpensive fix to let's you get out and enjoy the puddles without worrying about how to manage the holiday-intruding washing, or cocoon a little and wait for the return of the sun.

#home_improvement
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