Hanging out clothes on the line in the winter.

While I am a great believer in line-drying, I don't do it in winter even in the US. We have a gas tumble dryer but I only use that for towels and things I am sure will not shrink. I have a drying rack next to the furnace (toasty) for tops and things, trousers get clipped to a hanger and hung from pipes in the basement.  In the UK, we now have a condenser dryer (in the kitchen  ) It somehow sucks the water out so you have to empty it out after drying. Reluctant to hang things outside as we have had things pinched off the line, so stuck with the inevitable clothes draped all over. Hoping to get the airing cupboard rigged up.

I have this contraption: http://www.jmldirect.com/invt/d04db10100000001?gclid=CLzig7bpl7UCFePHtAodQAMA3A

but I don't think it works very well.  Takes HOURS and HOURS.

Oh I want the heated airing rack! DH has no dryer, no room for a dryer, so laundry is out on the line if its a decent day or on the airing rack in the spare room for a couple of days with me saying is it dry yet? Is it dry yet???
I will miss my big washer and dryer so very much when I move over there 

I have nowhere to hang clothes out - outside. So I have an airer up and also an airer hanging from the door frame.  Luckily, my flat is a newish build (2006ish?) and clothes dry quickly and I, thank goodness, don't have damp issues in this flat (unlike the last hell-hole I lived in)

I got a new washing/dryer combo machine a few weeks ago, after the last one died in December, but I have yet to try it out, because I'm quite content with my airer. 

We usually use a clothing drying rack and put it in the spare room and open the windows for a bit each day to let the moisture out. When it was very cold here a few weeks ago, I was getting so frustrated that our clothes were taking 4-5 days to dry. Recently we bought a dri-buddy from Argos, and while its not amazing, it does dry clothing within 2-3 hours, which is better than nothing. Even in the summer we don't have a clothing line outside because we live in a flat. Though clothes dry within a day in the summer, so I can't wait for summer 

I have this contraption: http://www.jmldirect.com/invt/d04db10100000001?gclid=CLzig7bpl7UCFePHtAodQAMA3A

but I don't think it works very well.  Takes HOURS and HOURS.

haha, just read your post after I posted mine. We just got one too. It's good for light clothing, like sheer tops, camisoles, t shirts, ect but for big sweatshirts and towels, it takes forever :/

Ok, to the people who have tumble dryers - have you ever thought about making some extra cash at home by running a phone business? I was thinking that us dryerless expats could call up (.99p per minute) and you could put the phone to the dryer then occasionally tell us how quickly jeans and sweaters are drying! Sounds very exciting to me!  I'd pay to hear about some sweaters drying within the hour!

I too don't like the look of clothes draped over everything while drying.  By the time they dry more clothes are put on.  It's never ending.  Place always looks like a wreck.  I used to feel really self concious if hubby's friends would come over last minute and my undies would be hanging out in the dining room on the radiator, but now, I just don't care. I think I've seen all his friend's undies by now during visits to their house.   

Woadgrrl you cracked me up with this! Thankfully no one smokes here, but clothes always smell like cooking which is one of my pet peeves. 

Aside from looking like poverty, I'd rather my clean clothes didn't end up smelling of cigarettes and bacon. 

and you could put the phone to the dryer then occasionally tell us how quickly jeans and sweaters are drying!

Jeans and jumpers are two things which never go in our tumble dryer. Sorry to disappoint! 

Having never lived where I could line dry in the UK, I cannot comment but I must have really thin clothes because my things are always dry within 24 hours. 

This is the fourth flat I have lived in so I don't think it's the space itself but I am very consistent about running a second spin cycle after the regular cycle is done. This really helps in removing that extra bit of water and helps things dry faster.

I do have a dryer, but only use it for sheets and towels.

I don't even use the dryer that much at all because hubby doesn't believe it is "necessary", but also because the hole to the dryer is so small, that clothes have to be balled up and smooshed into it, and they get wrinkled.

I bought a regular rack/dryer and put it in the tub (which we don't use) and hang our unmentionables on it. Small and medium hand towels are hung on the radiators in the dining room and sometimes the living room, as the towels look more tidy if company comes. Other clothing gets hung on radiators on the top two floors. My little system seems to work for me and it looks at least a *bit* more organized than all manner of clothes hanging all over the place.  I still don't like hanging things all over the house, but it's so normal here that I've gotten used to it.

I had a clothes horse I used all year long, as my flat didn't have garden space or allow drying outside.  I also hung stuff from the doorways on hangers and draped over the radiators. 

I hated not having a tumble dryer.  HATED it.  Towels and jeans were the worst. 

running a second spin cycle

Spinning is key! I don't do a second cycle, but I did buy my washing machine based on how much it could spin and I always have it on the highest setting. It makes all the difference.

There are so many good reasons for avoiding using a tumble dryer - economic, environmental, etc., not to mention you can't get that lovely outdoor fresh scent unless you dry on a line. And the sunlight helps keep your whites white, something you don't get in a dryer. So I try to avoid it whenever possible.

However ... I'm now off to shove a second load of sheets into the tumble dryer. 

I've also heard that drying clothes on the radiator is a no-no as well, because it increases condensation damp leading to mould in the household which a lot of us also struggle with. And in that sense, using a tumble dryer is the recommended option. Sigh - there's no way to win!  

I do it all - line dry if I can, but this is often not feasible in the winter. I hang clothes (usually heavier, bulky items) on the radiators to get them dry quicker. I use an airing rack which is set up pretty much all the time in a corner of the kitchen - but as long as we have the central heating on, clothes usually dry within a day or so, unless it's overloaded with too many clothes or something like jeans. And I have a combi washer/dryer machine - which, most of the time, I only use the drying function for towels and sometimes jeans or bedding.

ETA - I don't find any of these things to be an annoyance in particular (except for maybe problems with condensation damp/mould) - just part of my lifestyle here. Having laundry hanging up around the house is no big deal to me & if seeing my laundry hanging up is a big deal to someone else, they need not come over! 

Seconding the second spin cycle! We have a small room/cupboard (maybe 4 feet by 3 feet) where we hang our wet clothes, either on hangers over spring-rails, or on drying racks arranged inside. In the summer, we leave the porthole open and everything dries in a day or two on its own. In winter, we close the porthole and turn on the dehumidifier in there instead. Because it's a small room, the clothes are dry in under a day (sometimes overnight), and it means we don't have laundry hanging everywhere in our day-to-day living areas. The dehumidifier uses a negligible amount of electricity (way less than a tumble dryer), and we can transport it to other areas of the boat when needed, too.

I'm in central London, and we're actually not allowed to hang ANY laundry outside, as it violates our planning permission or something. I guess the multimillion pound flat dwellers think we look like "floating gypsies" or something if we have laundry out (their words, not mine!).

The first time I came to the UK, I was living in what was basically a bed-sit with a gas fire. I hated dragging out to the launderette but that was the only choice. I had some orlon pullovers and decided to wash one by hand and dry it in the flat. I found a wooden drawing board and laid a large towel over it, spread out the sweater and put the whole thing across the bath. Three days later it was still sodden and beginning to smell mouldy!!  So it was back to the launderette.