Dry wet washing inside with a 49p hack that’s better than a tumble dryer & you WON’T need to iron your kids’ uniforms

AS winter nears, drying laundry is a challenge. And with tumble dryers costing an average £200 a year (75p per hour) to run, it can be costly.

We asked mum-of-three Emma Lazenby to test out different types of drying appliances and rate them out of five.

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She says: “When testing each dryer, I hung two loads of washing – a total of 7kg of damp clothes – then timed how long it took for them to dry completely.

“Each load contained a mixture of school uniforms, kids’ sportswear, pyjamas, men’s and women’s shirts, T-shirts, light jumpers, trousers and underwear.”

TELESCOPIC RADIATOR AIRER, Dunelm, £12

Running cost: £0 (not including radiator heating costs)

Drying time: Two days

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I WANTED to include a non-electrical airer here to compare drying times.

This one hooks over your radiator, but is a bit fancier than those little metal hanging rails we’ve all used.

It cleverly extends and adapts to your radiator width, has four rails and a handy clipping section for pants and socks.

I currently have our heating on for two hours in the morning and two in the evening, so I hung my washing on it at 7am. Two days later, it was just about dry, but the freshly-washed smell was long gone.

I could only fit a third of a load on there, so you’d probably need three of them to hang a full round of washing.

While it is a brilliantly budget-friendly airer, it is not great if you are low on time and patience.

But having said that, it would be quicker if you have the heating on more than me.

It is also worth noting that it is trickier to hook these over the traditional-style column radiators and those that sit very low beneath windows.

Rating: 3/5.

JML DRIBUDDI, Wilko, £76

Running cost: 40p per hour

Drying time: 2hrs 45m

Drying cost: £1.10

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WHILE not as energy efficient as some of the other dryers, there was still plenty to be happy about.

It is similar to the Hang ’n’ Dry, in that you pop your washing on hangers inside and leave it to dry in a pod of hot air.

It is also pretty compact and fits nicely into the corner of a room, so it is great as a permanent feature if you want something you don’t need to collapse after each use.

But I did find it a little fiddly when fitting my hangers through the allocated holes in the rails.

And my peg hanger that I normally use for pants and socks would have taken up too much space.

That means drying underwear in this one is a problem.

I couldn’t quite fit two loads in there – it was probably more like one-and-a half.

However, it was pretty speedy on the drying front.

The price point is good and it is perfect for drying longer garments like dresses.

But for me, it does fall short on capacity and could be a little cheaper to run.

Rating: 3.5/5.

HANG ’N’ DRY, Robert Dyas, £64.99

Running cost: 22p per hour

Drying time: 2 hrs 15 min

Drying cost: 49.5p

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I HAVE so many good things to say about this dryer, despite it not being the cheapest of the bunch to run.

It is technically a wardrobe that zips up, with a hot air pump at the bottom.

So it is perfect if you are an anti-ironer and have lots of school uniforms to wash.

You pop your wet clothes on hangers in the dryer and the best bit is, you can then put them straight in your wardrobe when they are dry.

I must admit I loved this, as it streamlined the “putting away” process.

But you do need a separate peg hanger in there for your pants and socks.

I used my faithful “octopus-style” Ikea Pressa hanging dryer, which costs just £3 and did the job perfectly.

The timer was really handy and I love how lightweight the Hang ’n’ Dry is.

It is easy to wheel around and collapses so you can tidy it away.

It also looks quite sleek for a dryer, which is a bonus if you can’t be bothered with the faff of collapsing then re-erecting these things every day.

Rating: 4/5.

MEACO DD8l JUNIOR DESICCANT DEHUMIDIFIER, Currys, £179

Running cost: 16p per hour (on laundry mode)

Drying time: 3.5 hrs

Drying cost: 56p

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WHAT a revelation. There’s a lot of praise for dehumidifiers right now.
They’re energy efficient and can heat your room, along with reducing condensation.

But I didn’t realise that some come with a “laundry” setting and can more than halve your laundry drying time.

You need to make sure you have a window slightly open and use the dehumidifier in your smallest room, with the door closed, for extra drying speed. I used the bathroom for this test.

A similar load of washing I’d hung up to dry in the same place, without the dehumidifier, remained slightly damp after it had been there for ten hours.

With the dehumidifier, it took just 3.5 hours. It really did speed up drying time.

The initial cost is steep, but I think it could be worth it in the long run.

I couldn’t believe how much it heated the room, too. And the damp that hangs in the air was completely gone.

At a fifth of the cost of tumble-drying, I’m sold.

Rating: 4.5/5.

DRY:SOON TRI:MODE 3-TIER HEATED HUB Lakeland, £349.99

Running cost: 9p per hour

Drying time: 4.5 hrs

Drying cost: 40.5p

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I WAS so excited about this one. With its sky-high cost and “versatile drying options”, I thought it would change my laundry life.

It is a heavy piece of kit and I found it really clunky to manoeuvre into its various drying positions.

It also takes up way more space than I imagined.

But, now for the positives.

It is almost futuristic in its superb energy efficiency, costing incredibly little – just NINE PENCE per hour to run.

It is a good-looking appliance, too, and is super sturdy, with handy laundry baskets that sit beneath the rails.

However, it claims it can hold 30kg of washing and I just couldn’t see how that was possible.

It would be too crowded, especially as the instructions urge you to space out your laundry items.

Luckily, it took 7kg (two of my standard loads) perfectly.

It was pretty quick on the drying front, but not as speedy as I hoped.
I have read some great reviews of the Dry:Soon but, for me, its hefty price tag is not justified.

Rating: 3/5.