Is it dry?
At this time of year, washing generally cannot be hung out to dry. If it is, it freezes on the line, drips all day, or achieves a measure of dryness only to be rained on – something we call ‘an extra rinse.’ Thus, we resort to an airer and/or the tumble dryer.
Laundry in the tumble dryer is warm and can give the impression of dryness. When it cools it sometimes becomes apparent that it is still damp.
The dryness, or otherwise, of laundry has become, if not a bone of contention, at least a subject for discussion. Barry has resorted to using a ‘wood dampness’ monitor. The washing thereafter passed ‘satisfactory’ is presented to me for sorting and folding. All too often it is still, to my senses, damp. It is then returned to the tumble dryer or draped around the fireguard in front of the stove.
Occasionally, I decide to ignore my adjudication, reasoning that ‘it must surely be dry by now’ only to regret that decision when the mustiness of a garment proves that I was right all along and it has to be washed again.
I really should not be feeling guilty because I don’t agree with the dampness monitor!
I hate laundry and the dampness when the dryer says it's dry is just one reason!
ReplyDeleteI don't like laundry piling up.
DeleteMy tumble dryer doesn't have a sensor and works only on the amount of time I dial it to, it has a warm/hot setting so I can choose less heat for delicate things which I don't seem to have any of and I know heavier things like giant towels and denim shorts, fleecy tracksuits etc take longer to dry, so I do the lighterweight things first for an hour then the heavier stuff for an hour and a half. Sometimes I will drape things over an airing rack which I call my indoor clothesline, and leave them overnight then finish them off in the tumble dryer next day. In summer I put the airing rack in the back porch and everything dries in a couple of hours. I don't think I could cope at all if I lived in snow and ice countries.
ReplyDeleteI love it when I can hang the washing out and it comes in fresh and dry and smelling so good.
DeleteIs it old and not functioning well?
ReplyDeleteIt's quite new and its filters have to be regularly cleaned otherwise it refuses to work.
DeleteThe lint that collects in those filters is highly flammable which is why it needs to be cleared out after every use.
DeleteOur dryer is not necessary for 6-8 warm months of the year, except when it is raining. Hanging up wettish clothes on the clothes line in summer is easy (and cheap).
ReplyDeleteI like the smell and feel of line-dried washing.
DeleteWe drape ours over a thingy like a tree in the spare bed
ReplyDelete-room
DeleteWe put our airer in the conservatory. When the sun shines, it gets quite hot in there.
DeleteI haven't used our dryer for many years. It's currently being used to store my old towels that I use for mopping up!
ReplyDeleteWe bought a dehumidifier and put that in the utility room with the laundry hanging on a rail and the airer. Works a treat. Perfectly dry clothes in a couple of hours or so. And cheaper to run!
Dehumidifiers are a boon.
DeleteWe use our airer in our spare room for items which can't go in tumble drier, we have a fan sat on top of our radiator to move the air around, it works for us, as we can close the door until they are dry.
ReplyDeleteWe are, that is, he is doing a deep dive into our machine to discover yet more things that might need to be 'cleaned.'
DeleteMy Mum used to hold things that seemed a bit damp to a mirror and if they left a mark they weren't put away but put in the airing cupboard. Seems odd now I think about it.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of that. So interesting. I shall have to try it.
DeleteMy mother used to put things to her face to check the dryness and I do the same.
I have never owned a drier and don't want one, as they consume a lot of energy that I rather spend doing things I like, such as playing on the computer :-D
ReplyDeleteSince I have no outdoors area for hanging up the washing, all my washing has to dry on a clothes horse in my bedroom. The room faces south, and on a warm day with the clothes horse right underneath/in front of the wide open window, everything dries as quickly and nicely as if it were outside. On colder or wet days, it still makes a difference to open the window for a while and let the damp air escape. Sometimes I do the washing on Friday afternoon, and by the time I come back from my weekend at O.K.'s on Monday morning, it's bone dry and can safely be folded and stowed away.
Your system sounds perfect.
DeleteThank goodness we have so much sunshine in the winter. But we do have a dehumidifier too.
ReplyDeleteSunshine in winter is always welcome. It's rather fleeting here.
DeleteI thought a "dampness monitor" was a trusted primary school scholar whose daily job was to check younger pupils' bottoms after tedious assemblies.
ReplyDeleteTedious assemblies? Never!
DeleteHi Janice - oh my goodness ... Barry is techie mad isn't he - a wood dampness monitor ... I'd be doing my nut - then he'd find out that wasn't dry either!!! I've had ceiling drying racks - pulley mounted ... now I just cope ... thanks for the good dining out tale!! cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteLiving with a techie makes life interesting - and cluttered!
DeleteI told the story ... and got 'told' that they use theirs for checking logs!! - still I got a laugh....
DeleteOh my goodness, I know what it’s like to have differences of opinion on laundry dampness! I now use a small humidifier - the laundry gets draped on airers in a small room ( all windows and door closed ) humidifier switched on, and a fan going too to emulate a breezy day 😀 it needs a few hours but is much more cost effective than a tumble dryer and avoids that musty smell.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Thank goodness I'm not alone! 😳😀Actually, we've discovered it's a common problem.
ReplyDeleteWe have fans and dehumidifiers and air purifiers up the ying yang, but nothing beats a lovely sunny day.
A trick here is that you throw a large thick DRY bath towel in with your wet clothes. Try it and give me your opinion!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting - we will try it. Thank you, Debby.
DeleteI think my dryer tends to over do things but at least I don't have to worry about a musty smelling sweater or other item.
ReplyDeleteWashing can never be too dry!
DeleteOne advantage of doing my washing in a common laundry room (~once a week) is that trhere is also both a tumble dryer and a hot air drying cabinet (and also a mangle, which saves me from having to iron items like bed linen and kitchen towels) So I usually get everything dried in one go, except a few items that I prefer to let air dry (then usually in my bathroom). And if some bigger item still feels a bit moist when I take it out of the drying cabinet, I just wait until the next day to put it back in the wardrobe.
ReplyDeleteI can remember drying things on an airer over the bath.
DeleteWe have a Lakeland heated dryer thing which works perfectly. Anything that might be still damp goes on the Aga. But the house is airy enough from the basement.
ReplyDeleteI've seen those heated airers advertised - a much cheaper alternative to a tumble dryer.
DeleteWhich is why I love drying machine. Everything comes out all warm and fluffy. But I remember the days of clothes lines. We lived in an apartment building so space was always scare but it was in a hot country so thing dries fast and were always stiff.
ReplyDeleteI still like line drying in the summer.
Deletelol...been there. Laundry is not one of my favorite things to do.
ReplyDeleteMy life seems to have been dominated by laundry!
DeleteI hate it when I think they're dry, and they aren't. I keep a line in my basement to toss those heavier items on.
ReplyDelete'Are they damp or just cold?' I ask myself . . .
DeleteWe have a laundry room for the apartment complex but it's one washer and one dryer for 88 apartments. So I wash my clothes in our tiny washer we have in our apartment that holds 3 shirts and let things air dry on a hanger in the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteOne between 88 doesn't sound very well thought out. Perhaps everyone does what you do.😊
DeleteMine is draped over a clothes horse/airer thingy, but humidifiers are very helpful.
ReplyDeleteMind you, you can't beat washing being dried on a line in the sunshine - when the weather allows of course!
All the best Jan
It would be a lot simpler if we didn't have to wear clothes . . .😳
DeleteJust yesterday I did the battle of "is it dry or not?" And it wasn't. I have a feeling that the moisture monitor in my dryer is trying to tell me something.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun, isn't it?
DeleteBefore the existence of dryers, women hung the freshly washed laundry outside in all weather. They'd bring in the frozen solid laundry during the winter. I have no idea how they ever got it dry since their houses only got up to about 40° F during the day, if they were fortunate.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I had a neighbour who always hung her washing out, regardless of the weather. In fact, it sometimes came in wetter than when it went out!
DeleteI tend to only dry socks, underwear and sheets in the clothes dryer. It's a two in one washer/dryer. I don't know how the dryer works but it isn't like a normal electric tumble dryer. I take the clothes out that have been in for whatever time I've set, and they still feel a little damp. I put them to sit for a while before dealing with them and say fifteen minutes later, they feel perfectly dry. Yours on the other hand, seem to be the opposite.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if I am unable to differentiate between cold and damp.
ReplyDeleteWe just purchased a new washer and dryer and found that it really doesn't dry completely like it does on the line either. We're luckier here in Hawaii since we can hang our wash out unless it rains.
ReplyDelete