Seven Ways To Dry Clothes WITHOUT A Dryer & How Long It Should ...

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DRYING clothes when your home is absent of a tumble dryer is one of the most tedious household tasks.

Particularly in winter, this can be a difficult chore. However, we have seven tips on how to quickly dry your clothes indoors and guidelines on how long it should take.

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High spin settings will result in speedy drying

Before you even begin washing, ensure that you choose a setting that will wring the clothes out before you begin the drying process.

The best way to do this is to choose the highest speed setting on your washing machine, and you can also wring the clothes by hand if there is still a lot of excess water after the wash is done.

Be creative when hanging out the clothes

If you are renting or living in an apartment, you may not be allowed to hang clothes outside to dry, so you will need to make the most of your indoor living space.

Clothes drying rails and heated versions can be a great investment, but make sure you get one that you can fold up and store away easily.

If you don’t have a clothing rail, we suggest getting creative and hanging things on the shower rod or by laying clothes flat on a towel.

Drying clothes outside, or near a window that provides a breeze and sunlight should take an average of 2-4 hours, depending on the material.

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Indoor drying can take up to 24 hours.

Help from the hairdryer

For those of us who are in a hurry to dry our clothes, the handheld hairdryer can be a great option.

After wringing out your clothes as much as possible, lay them flat and blast them with hot or warm air from the hairdryer, while rotating them frequently.

Be careful to turn clothes inside out, and not to point the hairdryer too long at the one spot to prevent damage.

This is how we roll

Rolling your clothes into a towel is an easy way to absorb water. Lay the garment flat on a fluffy towel and roll it up like sushi.

If you want to speed up this process, you can slot some paper towels between the towel and the garment.

Iron and towel combo

Whilst we would never recommend using an iron on wet fabric, as it could damage the garment, adding a towel to the mix can speed up the drying process.

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Simply place the towel on the ironing board and put the towel over it. Iron the outside of the towel to help moisture absorption.

Have a strategy

If you learn how to dry your clothes strategically you can avoid having to re-wash and dry them again when you can’t shake the damp smell out of them (or your home).

When drying clothes on a rack, shake them out and dry them flat. This can help them dry quicker, and avoid wrinkles in them.

Your oven can be used to dry clothes – with caution

Probably the most surprising of these tips but yes, small garments can be dried in the oven.

Little items like socks and undies can take up to an hour to dry, and the oven should be preheated but turned off when you put in the clothes.

After preheating the oven at no higher than 100 degrees, turn off the oven and place a baking sheet with your small garments laid flat on it inside.

These tips should give you lots of alternatives to using a dryer if you don’t have one, or want to reduce using the one in your home.

If interested in household hacks, check out this video on how to clean a rug with a saucepan lid.

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