Cost of living: Six easy ways to dry clothes indoors as searches for ‘tumble dryer cost per hour’ up 300%

With energy bills at an all-time high and Christmas fast approaching, people will be looking to save wherever they can, including on tumble dryer costs

Soaring energy costs have sparked a 300% increase in searches for ‘tumble dryer cost per hour’ in the past 90 days, according to UK search data from Google Trends. The term ‘heated airer’ also saw a huge 1,400% increase in search.

This is likely due to people looking for ways to reduce their energy bills as winter approaches. The £400 Energy Support Grant most households will be getting from the Government to help tackle the cost of living crisis won’t be enough to cover everyone’s costs, so people will be looking to pinch pennies wherever they can, especially with Christmas approaching.

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According to the Energy Saving Trust the national average price as of October 2022, per pence/kWh of electricity, is 34p. Luckily, there are plenty of easy ways to dry clothes indoors for free, using hacks such as lavender oil and hangers to avoid creasing.

Owen Whitlock, interiors expert at Beanbags.co.uk has shared his top six tips for the easiest ways to dry your clothes indoors to save money on tumble dryer costs.

Wash your clothes early to take advantage of any sunlight

With the clocks going back our evenings will be a lot darker. Instead of washing clothes in the evening, you should do your washing as early as possible to take advantage of any sunlight during the day to dry your clothes. You shouldn’t put your clothes outside on the washing line when it’s cold. Instead, place your clothes airer in a spot inside your home where natural light is projecting onto them to help your clothes dry quicker.

Always turn over your clothes when they’re hanging on the airer

Many people make the mistake of hanging their washing to dry over the airer and not moving them until they are dry.As the clothes are drying you should turn them over every couple of hours to help them dry evenly.

Dry clothes directly on hangers and reduce the need to use an iron

Leaving your clothes to dry on a hanger will result in them having fewer creases reducing the need to use the iron on them. This is a great hack for school jumpers and trousers saving you both time and money on ironing.

Put lavender oil in fabric conditioner to help combat any unwanted smells from drying clothes indoors

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Add a few drops of lavender oil to your fabric conditioner or laundry detergent, this should give your clothes a long-lasting smell to help to neutralise any damp smells that can happen when you dry your clothes indoors.

If you don’t have lavender oil, add a cup of vinegar to your washing load

If you don’t have lavender oil, you can try adding a cup of white vinegar to your laundry routine instead. Simply pour it into the fabric softener compartment - this should soak up any unwanted odours during the wash.

Wash fewer clothes per load

If your clothes airer is overcrowded the clothes will take longer to dry which can result in them smelling damp and musty. To get rid of this smell you may end up having to wash them again.

Not only this but having too many clothes in your washing load will result in the clothes being damper when they come out of the washing machine. Instead washing fewer clothes per load will allow for more space in your washing machine and your airer so they will dry quicker and avoid having a damp smell to them.

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