How to Dry Clothes Without a Dryer
Do you dread laundry day because you don't have a dryer or simply want more eco-friendly ways to dry your clothes?
Worry no more!
We've got you covered with a variety of methods that will help you dry clothes without a dryer.
It's time to get those clothes to dry faster and more efficiently--without breaking the bank or harming the environment.
Short Summary
Maximise your washing machine's spin cycle for faster drying.
Get creative with indoor hanging solutions to dry clothes without a dryer.
Use fans and dehumidifiers, heated clothes airers, hanger tricks & sunny days to speed up the process!
Topics in This Article:
Maximise Your Washing Machine's Spin Cycle
You can speed up the drying process of your clothes if you use a high spin setting on your washing machine.
This technique wrings out extra water, thus, making ready to wear in no time.
To guarantee best results, try adding an extra spin cycle at the end of the wash progrem.
This expels every last bit of liquid from the fabric before hanging them on a drying rack.
If you want something done by hand, manually twist and squeeze laundry to get rid of excess moisture before airing them outdoors or using a clothesline.
Try not to overload your washer and get the laundry done at the earliest part of the day to further shorten the drying time of your wet clothes.
Optimal Locations for Drying
When drying your clothes indoors, you should take extra care when choosing the perfect spot.
It's best to hang garments near windows or radiators and in areas with plenty of ventilation for uniform dryness while avoiding mould buildup.
Optimal air circulation is an absolute necessity if allergies, mildew and molds are to be kept at bay.
Rotate items when they're being dried inside, this will ensures that each piece dries evenly.
Never forget to open up windows when drying wet clothes inside since it helps maintain healthy indoor air quality and prevents mould growth.
If possible look for places around your house that can provide warmth plus good airflow such as near opened-up windows, heaters, or generally well ventilated rooms.
It is also a good idea to use a dehumidifier if it is absolutely necessary to keep all doors and windows closed like in the event of a storm.
Creative Indoor Hanging Solutions
No outdoor area available for drying your clothes? No worries!
There are numerous inventive indoor hanging solutions that can help you swiftly and effectively dry your garments.
Doorways, a shower rod or even simply laying the items out flat on top of a towel could all be used to air-dry clothing indoors.
To make it easier and quicker, use portable drying racks and place them near radiators, heaters, or air conditioning vents.
Keep reading below to explore some of our easy and favourite methods to dry clothes without a tumble dryer at home or anywhere.
The Towel Roll Technique
If you want to quickly dry your clothes without a dryer, try the towel roll method.
This technique involves wrapping wet clothing in one or multiple dry towels to absorb water then adding paper towels on top for extra moisture extraction.
Doing this technique can help speed up the drying process significantly while saving time and effort along the way.
The Steps to Towel Roll Clothes for Drying are Easy:
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Start by taking each piece of clothing from its damp state and rolling it tightly inside one single dry towel, when using multiple garments at once make sure to separate clean linens if possible.
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Once that's done, twist both ends of the towel—ensuring that it’s tightly twisted to guarantee that it successfully squeezes excess water.
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Insert some sheets of paper towels into the creases that were created during folding-in so any additional drops get soaked away too.
Finally, inspect how effective this has been. If not, you may have squeezed too many items at once. Remove some items then repeat the steps until you achieve the desired results.
Speed Up Drying with Fans and Dehumidifiers
For those who need to dry their clothes inside the home, fans and dehumidifiers can be a saving grace when drying laundry without a tumble dryer.
If you place a fan in front of the laundry area, it aids in air circulation which speeds up the evaporation process.
Sometimes this can shorten the drying time by as much as a few hours.
If using a dehumidifier, moisture is extracted from your garments using warm, dry air quickly and efficiently while improving the indoor space air quality.
A good dehumidifier extracts moisture not only from fabrics but also from the atmosphere itself.
This leads to decreased health risks associated with indoor cloth drying such as mould formation or dampness in a sealed space due to high levels of humidity that build up over time.
If your don't have a dehumidifier, you can use your air conditioner's dry mode to eek out every bit of moisture from the air without spending on an extra appliance.
Heated Clothes Airers: A Cost-effective Alternative
Heated clothes airers provide an efficient and economical way to dry your garments indoors.
They are simple and easy-to-use and a lot cheaper to run than loud, energy-guzzling tumble dryers that require expensive maintenance or servicing throughout its lifespan.
It’s worth noting that they require only a few hours of operation in order to get the job done with very satisfactory results.
Especially during the colder months of winter, these heated airers can be considered a godsend for air drying clothes effectively.
Clever Hanger Tricks for Faster Drying
If you want your clothes to dry quickly, without creases or need for a tumble dryer, try some of these clever hanging tips!
Hanging garments on hangers in an inverted position can speed up the drying process, doing so also helps keep them from stretching or wrinkling.
Using coat hangers on a rack instead is also a smarter move if space is at a premium—this means less ironing time needed too!
Ironing Wet Clothes with a Protective Barrier
Protecting wet garments from damage while ironing can be done with the use of a damp cloth or towel.
Placing an entire towel (a thin towel works great for this) between your garment and the hot iron can prevent any fabric from burning, sticking, or melting.
Place aluminium foil underneath the cover of your ironing board (reflective/shiny side facing up), this helps reflect the heat back towards the garment and makes ironing easier.
Drying Clothes Without a Dryer: Quick Recap
It is possible to dry your clothes without a dryer by using an iron or air-drying them using a drying rack and some assistance from the air conditioner, dehumidifier, or just a fan.
This will make it easier for you to get garments dried quickly in no time at all, as long as you can manage not having access to a regular electric drying machine.
It doesn't matter if you don't have one. There are still ways to keep your clothing clean and free from excess moisture!
You can get your clothes dryer without having a tumble dryer in the house using various tricks.
One option is to use towels by absorbing water and wrapping up garments, hanging them out also helps with drying as well.
Using hair-dryers or irons will speed up this process too but those tactics use significant amounts of energy.
The 'towel trick' - rolling clothing into an absorbent cloth we shared with you might prove useful here.
Strategically positioning items so they don't touch each other when placed on hangers is another way to make sure that everything dries properly.
On sunny winter days it may be ideal to use a heated drying rack or investing in dehumidifiers.
There are so many options! Clotheslines, drying racks, portable clotheslines, dehumidifiers, etc. the sky is the limit.
If you are unsure about finding the right solution for you, take a look at our favourite clotheslines below that work great not only indoors but outdoors too if the weather permits!
Clotheslines We Recommend
If you are looking to dry clothes indoors quickly without a tumble dryer, we can recommend a few of our favourite clotheslines.
These are the ones on our storefront that have been steadily on the rise in terms of high ratings, reliability, and value for money.
Keep scrolling below to check out our top picks, we took the liberty of including portables and permanently installed models.
You know what they say: "The more, the merrier." so choose away!
Portable Clothesline Recommendations
Hills Portable 170
Made by the legendary Hills company, the Hills Portable 170 is a spacious yet space-efficient portable clothesline that's perfect for indoor clothes drying.
EcoDry Portable
100% Aussie made, brilliantly engineered and user-friendly, this ultra-durable and ergonomic clothesline can dry heaps of washing indoors, hassle free.
Sunchaser Mobile
The biggest and most rock-solid portable clothesline on the market that can dry the laundry of a huge family with plenty of room to spare. Zero compromises!
Fold Down Clothesline Recommendations
Hills Mini
Another bestseller by the legendary Hills company, the Hills Mini is a sleek, durable, and high-capacity mini fold down clothesline that does it all.
Austral Indoor Outdoor
Proudly 100% Aussie designed and made, the Austral Indoor Outdoor clothesline is great fold down clothesline that you can indoors and will last a lifetime.
ECO 120
Another "True Blue" brand that's known for quality and reliability, the ECO 120 is a fold down clothesline that works great indoors and "won't let you down".
Final Words
Ultimately, you can attain dried clothes without the use of a dryer by taking advantage of multiple methods.
To obtain your desired results without draining the budget or having hair dryer have an unfavorable effect on the environment, make good use of what options are at hand.
This can be maxing out the spin cycle of a washing machine and various hanging solutions within any indoor space.
Fans, dehumidifiers and heated clothing racks could be beneficial tools for drying garments too!
So why not try these approaches to observe how effortless it is to have access clean dry clothes minus the use of a conventional dryer?
Take our word for it, get to enjoy freshly laundered clothes without a dryer by using the tips we've given you--without spending extra and without hurting our planet.