As the chill of winter sets in and the struggle to dry laundry intensifies, an expert has highlighted a common mistake that could be inviting damp and mould into our homes. With the cold weather making it increasingly difficult to air-dry clothes outside, many of us are turning to indoor solutions.
This often results in homes cluttered with clothes horses laden with damp garments or radiators draped with laundry in an attempt to hasten the drying process. Searches for ‘how to dry clothes in winter’ have surged by 226% over the past month, prompting specialists at Shark Clean to offer advice on indoor drying during the colder months – and they’re warning against the use of radiators for this purpose.
Drying clothes on radiators might seem like a clever use of your heating system, but it can actually lead to higher moisture levels in the air, which in turn can cause dampness and mould growth. It’s not just your home’s health at stake; this method can also hit your wallet by increasing energy bills, as the heat is absorbed by the wet clothes instead of warming the room, potentially requiring the heating to run longer to achieve the desired warmth.
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The recommended approach is to hang laundry on a clothes horse in a room with good airflow, taking care not to overload the airer to ensure efficient drying. On the popular Reddit forum AskUK, one user sparked discussion by asking: “Do you dry washed clothes by putting them on the radiators? My family never did this, but my wife’s does as standard.”
“Now in my wife and my house, it’s standard practice. We don’t have a dryer yet and after one day with normal radiators on their schedule the clothes are generally dry. But my parents always said it’s bad, but no real reason.”, reports the Mirror.
This sparked a lively debate in the comments section. One person suggested: “Hang them near a radiator on a clothes rack, they’ll get a waft of warm air which will dry them better… The main issue though is the humidity – all that water is getting released into your house and unless it’s well ventilated, you’ll get mould spots in the corners of rooms.”
Another agreed, recommending it’s “better to get those little airers that hang off” radiators instead.
A third chimed in: “Always on a clothes horse near a radiator, not on it. You can damage the radiator, walls and your clothes. It’s not great for anyone in the house with asthma for example. It can cause excess moisture which settles on the walls and furniture and becomes mould.”
And another added: “We do. Even the mum-in-law who is a cleanliness fanatic does. There is no other way in winter, [in my humble opinion]. BUT, as others are saying, be careful about the condensation, open a window or something to ensure the water vapour can escape.”