Winter Laundry hacks: How to dry clothes in winter faster

Life’s busy. There’s always washing to do.

Winter weather sets in. It’s cold and rainy. Clothes pile up. Everything takes ages to dry.

Clothes horses are everywhere. You’re living in a Laundromat.

It doesn’t have to be that way. A dryer puts an end to all that.

Dryer Power

Dryers have the power to dry your washing quickly, which is a game-changer.

But before you rush out and buy any old dryer, it pays to think about cost—not just how much a dryer is, but also the impact on your future power bills.

Dryers use about 6% of a home’s electricity, and some use a lot more power than others, so it pays to factor in the price tag and the cost to power your dryer.

If you’ll only use your dryer now and then, it won’t have as much of an impact on your bills, but if you’ll do a load (or more) every day you may want to invest in a really energy efficient dryer so it won’t add too much to your power bills.

Laundry Star

The more stars a dryer has—Energy Rating Stars (and Water Rating Stars for two-in-one washer dryers) — the more of a super-star it is in terms of efficiency and bill-savings. The more stars you see on the sticker, the less power it’ll use, and the more you’ll save on bills. Energy efficient dryers with more stars are also better for the planet.

“Investing in a new and efficient clothes dryer can help you save money spent on bills, due to its power-saving technology.”

Good Energy

The star stickers will also tell you roughly how much power it’ll use a year, so you can compare different dryers’ running costs and work out which one will be best for your laundry.

Good Timing

Look for this clever dryer feature if you want to pay as little as possible to run your dryer: Delay Start. Then you can set the dryer to start running when the power switches from peak prices to off-peak prices for power-bill savings.

Careful Drying

Drying used to feel like risky business. Many dryers these days have a Sensor Setting or Delicate Program to carefully clean your fine fabrics and protect certain garments. Some dryers come with a drying rack, which means you can sit runners and plush toys (yes, we’re talking about that precious teddy hanging by a thread!) on the rack inside the dryer, and they’ll stay still during the drying process.

Which Dryer Is Best For You?

There are vented dryers, condenser dryers, sensor dryers, heat pump dryers, and combination washer dryers. The best type for you depends on your unique needs:

• How much you’re prepared to pay (now and to run it)

• How much you’ll use it (a little or a lot)

• Where you’ll use it (in a well-ventilated room or not)

• How much space you have (a combo washer dryer is a two-in-one space-saver)

• How much you care about doing your bit for the planet (this is where the stars come in!)

Super-Efficient Savings

If you have kids (or are likely to in the next few years) you’ll probably use the dryer a lot, so you might want to invest in a super-efficient heat pump dryer. Most have a six to nine star energy rating so they cost more to buy but less to run.

Top 4 Dryer Tips

1. Empty the lint filterAfter every load so your dryer works properly and you don’t waste power.

2. Do fewer, bigger loadsThis will use less power than doing smaller loads in the dryer more often.

3. Use the Delay Start optionSet the dryer to run in off-peak power times for cheaper power prices.

4. Check out ...The Dryer Buying Guide and find out more about Energy Efficient Dryers.