onelime
Junior member
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« on: July 03, 2009, 02:12:24 PM » |
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Our house-to-be has no clothes dryer. I have lived without one for years at a time in the past, but only in hot Mediterranean countries. Can I really expect clothes to dry reasonably quickly on a rack when, from what I understand from the boards, there's rarely heat inside and outside can be a little wet?
(Also, the Mediterranean adventures all took place in BC - before children. Now we do A LOT of laundry.)
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genevoise
New member
Posts: 33
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« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2009, 02:16:04 PM » |
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Yes. I used to live in a house that had a clothes drying rack that was attached to the ceiling and lowered by means of a rope / pulley system. It took a day or so to dry clothes and bed linens but it did work.
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observer3
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« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2009, 02:18:30 PM » |
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If your radiators allow them, I highly recommend the dyring racks that fit on radiators. I couldn't live without them in winter. They aren't great for sheets, though!
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bacardiandlime
Ninja
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Posts: 3,144
That makes me more gangster than you
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« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2009, 02:20:23 PM » |
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A lot of places have combined washer/dryers. Check if this is what your new house has. They're not as good as having 2 separate machines, but obviously they take up less space.
I hang stuff to dry on the balcony or on a rack in the bathroom. (I don't have children, but I do have a lot of clothes that can't be tumble dried).
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YOU ARE NASTY
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onelime
Junior member
Posts: 76
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« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2009, 02:24:10 PM » |
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I meant to say, we checked, and it's not a combo.
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bacardiandlime
Ninja
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 3,144
That makes me more gangster than you
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« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2009, 02:39:18 PM » |
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Sounds like you have three options:
1. buy a dryer
2. buy a combination washer/dryer that will fit in the same spot as the washer you have
3. dry your clothes on the line outside - this does work, contrary to popular belief it is not always raining, and even when overcast, things can dry (and will dry quicker outside than hanging in the house)
4. use a laudrette
ie, there is no hidden magical solution you won't have already thought of.
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YOU ARE NASTY
Go jump in lake!
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onelime
Junior member
Posts: 76
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« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2009, 03:28:42 PM » |
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People aren't all secretly wearing wet clothes? Using hairdryers on them? Buying new ones all the time?
OK. Thanks. I'm glad to know things really do dry.
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britmom
I'm a slightly less sleep deprived, but still cranky
Senior member
Posts: 725
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« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2009, 03:31:06 PM » |
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We have a combined washer/dryer, but we rarely use it (too expensive, and loads of our clothes can't be tumble dried.) We mostly dry our clothes on the radiators. I find it harder to dry clothes during the summer when we don't have the heating on. At the moment, we're using a retractable clothes line. You don't need a lot of sun to dry clothes - a good wind can do it reasonably quickly.
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wegie
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« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2009, 08:47:32 AM » |
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If you have a line, then a dryer isn't necessary. We don't have any real outside space, and we're so close to a main road that the particulates would turn a white shirt grey in 10 minutes, so I'm in love with my washer-dryer, but I only ever had a washing machine and line in Oxford or Glasgow. And if one can cope without a dryer in Glasgow, one can cope anywhere.
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expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,564
From SC living in UK
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« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2009, 10:32:58 AM » |
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Oh, Brits don't seem to mind clothes hung all over the house to dry. When I first moved here I bought a dryer and vented it through the cat flap when I need to use it.
I HATE HATE HATE having clothes hanging all over the house. You also can't depend on using a line outside to dry them coz it will rain on them sure as heck.
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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secretweapon
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« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2009, 10:34:24 AM » |
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People aren't all secretly wearing wet clothes? Using hairdryers on them? Buying new ones all the time?
OK. Thanks. I'm glad to know things really do dry.
Living without a dryer was good for me in that I got out of the habit of hanging up stuff that could easily be line-dried, thus saving electricity and money. The small over-the-radiator racks are really handy, in addition to an outdoor line and large collapsible rack. Clothes are generally not a problem. In the winter, you probably wear more wool and other items that don't need to be washed often; in the summer, you might wear more cotton clothes, but you can hang things outside more often. The real annoyance, in my experience, is doing sheets, towels and jeans in the winter. In the warmer months you can hang these things outside, but in the winter you'll have them hanging all over your house. It's a pain, but it's not the end of the world. You might decide that it's worth doing these things in a laundromat. |
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If you want a cookie, bake a cookie.
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monkeywoman
Junior member
Posts: 56
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« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2009, 10:51:27 AM » |
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I'm really happy for this thread as the lack of a dryer has been one of my concerns about moving to the UK. I know it's a superficial concern in the larger scheme of things, but, still it's legitimate; it's a serious change to lifestyle. No one likes doing laundry!
On my last visit, I was quite surprised to learn dryers weren't standard appliances in the home and when I asked my friend (in whose house I stayed), she replied: "We aren't greedy Americans." Obviously, she was trying to be funny and it was a slam against energy use, but I couldn't help think that is was more about saving money than saving energy.
My question: What is the real aversion to dryers? Space? Money? Both? And, is is really that expensive to run a dryer? I think it would be worth it to me. I don't think I can wait days for sheets, towels and jeans to dry!
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science_expat
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« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2009, 11:08:00 AM » |
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I bought a dryer about a year and a half into living here. It's still going strong but I will replace it the minute (second?) it dies. Life's too short!
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Professor of Something Scarily Scientific Sounding
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qrypt
Qryptacular & not really a Member-Moderator
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the great vampire squid round the face of humanity
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« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2009, 11:12:35 AM » |
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It isn't that expensive to run them. We pay £26 a month for electricity, detached house with four people living here (hence the need for a dryer, huge amounts of laundry, with kids) -- and it's hard to imagine that the dryer accounts for more than £5 of that. (We don't bother with it very much in the summer.)
I think it's a question of houses not being built for them: no basements, no separate laundry rooms, no external venting, etc. Kitchens often have an undercounter space for a washing machine but no room for a dryer -- even in our reasonably large house the dryer goes in one of the outdoor sheds, there's no place indoors to put it.
Lack of venting also means that in general it's necessary to buy the condensing type instead of the vented type, and the former are a bit more expensive to run.
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science_expat
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« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2009, 11:32:50 AM » |
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I'm lucky that I have a utility room next to the kitchen where my washer and dryer live.
I don't have a vent for the dryer but I do have a small window in the room. My solution was to cut a piece of board to fit the window and install a vent in the board. When I use the dryer I put the board in window.
Works for me.
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Professor of Something Scarily Scientific Sounding
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