For starters, you may want to purchase an indoor clothes-drying rack. These usually fold down when not in use, so they store very easily and discreetly, helping keep your laundry room organized. Other places to drape your clothes to air-dry include a towel rack or shower curtain rod.
Make the most of the bathroom
Once the morning rush is over, the bathroom is often an under-used space during the day, compared to other rooms in the house, so it's the perfect place to tuck laundry out of sight. Hanging a pulley-style airer above a bath is also a practical way to catch stray drops of water.
Hang your clothes to dry
Try investing in a drying rack that folds up or hangs on a wall for easy storage. Otherwise, you can get creative and hang your clothes on things around your home like a shower rod, door frame or lay them flat on a towel.
Another cheap option is to use a traditional clothes airer. The trick is to space your clothes out, so they dry evenly. Instead of placing them by a radiator, you could put them next to a warm oven after cooking to make use of the excess heat (just don't put them too close!).
How do you dry clothes in a small apartment? If you have access to outdoor space the best way is to hang it outdoors. Otherwise, you can use a compact dryer with a low noise level or a window-mounted drying rack.
Studies have shown that up to 30 percent of moisture in our homes can be caused by drying laundry indoors – that's the equivalent of nine pints of water! Without adequate ventilation, this excess moisture has nowhere to escape and can cause health and structural problems if left unresolved.
Air drying laundry inside tends to take more time, potentially leaving dried items with a musty smell, Karpova says. Try to place drying racks around sources of air flow, she says. You can increase air circulation indoors by opening windows, provided it's not also humid outside, or turning on fans.
It is never normal for clothing to smell bad after being air-dried. The most common reasons for odours include laundry mistakes, high humidity or air-drying fabrics that do not respond well to the method.
Another common cause of damp clothes is drying them in a small poorly ventilated room. Nicky explained: “Whether you are using a clotheshorse or a heated airer, it is important that the room has good ventilation. If there is too much moisture in the air, it gives your clothes a musty smell.”
Damp clothing and dirty clothing that is packed together without proper airflow are breeding grounds for nasty-smelling bacteria, mildew or mold —all of which can contribute to bad odors that linger after the wash. To combat this, make sure your dirty clothes are dry before tossing them in a basket.
For a load of laundry that was spun in a washing machine, and hung indoors in average conditions, the "easy" items will be dry in about 5 hours, and the "difficult" items will finish in about 9 hours. Also see our Air Dry All Types of Clothing article for tips on each different clothing type.
It can really help to place it near a source of heat, such as direct sunlight (though first make sure the fabrics aren't partial to fading in the sun) or a radiator. If your radiators are big enough, you can hang clothes straight on them – just make sure you take them off once they are dry so as not to waste the heat.
Ventilation is key.
Open plenty of windows and doors, and set a fan up near your wet clothes to move the air about. Use a dehumidifier with a specialised laundry setting to extract moisture from the air. Clean mould away as soon as possible. Use an extractor fan if you have one.
Dry air inside your home is often caused by central heating and poor insulation isn't just a minor inconvenience. It can lead to mild to serious health effects you want to avoid for yourself and for your family.
If you need to dry clothes overnight but don't want to leave them outside, you might decide to hang them on a clothes horse indoors. However, repeatedly letting clothes dry inside can lead to dampness and mould in your home, according to Dr Nick Osbourne, a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Health.
Laurence warned: “Avoid drying laundry in the bathroom as it's already a damp space and you don't want to add more humidity to the air. Plus, clothes will take longer to dry in an already-damp room. “If you have a dedicated laundry room, a spare room or garage, this is the best place to dry your clothes.
Place Clothes Near a Window
If you live in an area where winter temperatures can be bitterly cold, it is possible to air dry your clothes inside your home.
Put a large soft towel down and lay the piece of clothing on top. Then roll up the towel into a sausage (garment inside) and twist it tightly, starting at one end, working your way along, until the entire towel is twisted. This squeezes excess water out of your clothes and into the towel, making your apparel semi-dry.
Clothes can stay in the washer for 8 to 12 hours before they begin to smell. When wet clothes sit in the washing machine for 12 hours or more, they will start to develop bacteria and mildew, which comes with a bad scent.