Clothes can dry indoors in winter, but it can affect air quality, humidity and lead to mould. Try avoiding drying laundry in the rooms where you spend the most time e.g., your living room and bedroom. Instead, place the drying rack in the bathroom, the kitchen or hallway where you spend less time.
It's fine, as long as you let the air circulate out. If the humidity in your house is low, it might even help a little!
Drying wet clothes inside actually creates the perfect environment for mould to grow and spread. Nicole Bijlsma, Principal of Australian College of Environmental Studies, explained why this happens during a chat with Today Extra's David Campbell and Belinda Russell.
Most surfaces in your bathroom are waterproof, so that's a good place to start air-drying clothes. Here are additional tips for drying clothes indoors: Air-dry clothes on a rod or lay them flat on a drying rack when air-drying garments inside the home. Keep garments separated to allow air circulation and faster drying.
Your best option would be a drying rack, but you could hang items on a clothes hanger or drape over the back of chairs. Try to keep as much air flow as possible, open a window, turn on a fan. If they are drying flat on a hard surface, flip them over periodically.
When you're drying clothes indoors, try to position your washing near an open window or somewhere with good airflow. Avoid layering too many clothes on top of one another as this can delay the drying process.
If your clothes are hanging outside (or indoors near an open window on a breezy day) they should be dry in a few hours, depending on their materials. Heavy blue jeans may take a full day but a lightweight t-shirt could be dry in two hours.
The laundry should also dry in a warm place and not, for example, in a cold bedroom. Because only warm air absorbs enough moisture. You can then move the moisture outside by ventilating the room several times. Meanwhile, you should briefly turn off the heating while drying your laundry.
Put a dehumidifier next to your clothes airer
Dehumidifiers work by drawing in air, removing the moisture, then blowing drier air back out into the room – so positioning one next to your drying rack can help to remove dampness from the air as your clothes or sheets dry out.
“It's a shorter dry time for the smaller amount of clothing,” she says, adding that you're likely still saving energy and emissions as well as preserving fabrics by exposing them to less time in the dryer. Your laundry sheds tiny polluting plastic fibers.
"Given the fact that wet laundry encourages mould growth, dampness and potential health issues it would be better to keep it out of a room you spend a lot of time in.” Bedrooms may not be as well ventilated either, since many don't have extractor fans and homeowners won't be keeping windows open in winter.
Air drying clothes indoors can lead to several health risks like raised humidity levels that lead to mold or mildew growth. This can irritate asthma or allergies, and cause several breathing issues.
Ideally your laundry should be placed in the hallway, flowing directly to the back door of the house, where you can easily access the outdoor clothesline. Try to be away from bedrooms and living areas if possible, so that it doesn't interfere with these areas when your washing machine is in use.
Drying your clothes inside out helps to prevent damage to the garment as a whole.
Q: Is it OK to leave clothes out overnight? A: Yes! Nothing bad will happen to your washing if you leave it out overnight, other than it will get a little damp from any dew. In the height of summer you don't even need to worry about dew.
The key to successfully drying laundry indoors is to ensure good air circulation in the space. Open windows to allow fresh air to circulate and help moisture escape. If it's too cold or impractical to open windows, consider using fans to promote air movement.
Circulate the Air
If you want to improve the steps for “how to air dry clothes indoor”, then make sure to hang items in such a way that air has enough room to pass through and hang them individually to let it dry quickly. Also, you can put a fan around the drying area or even open windows to increase airflow.
The answer lies in three main culprits: trapped moisture, poor ventilation, and mould growth. Trapped moisture occurs when clothes are not dried properly, leaving excess moisture that gives rise to that damp smell.
Experts have found that clothes put on drying frames or draped over warm radiators raise moisture levels in our homes by up to 30 per cent, creating ideal breeding conditions for mould spores – and one in particular called aspergillus fumigatus, which can cause potentially fatal lung infections.
Aircons ensure a steady airflow, which is essential for accelerating the drying process. Positioning your clothes near the aircon vent allows cool, dry air to pass over them, enhancing evaporation. This airflow prevents moisture from lingering and reduces the chances of musty odors.
It's really the airflow that works to evaporate moisture from strands rather than the temperature of the air – that's why cold air can still dry hair thoroughly and effectively.
To dry clothes indoors without them smelling, make sure to remove any excess water before hanging them up to dry. Also, avoid leaving clothes in the machine for too long after washing and use a fabric conditioner, like Lenor Outdoorables, to keep clothes smelling fresh.
Air needs to circulate around items to whisk away moisture and ensure a quality, even dry. Leave an inch between garments to allow faster drying. Indoors, place clothes near an air vent, extractor fan, heat source or dehumidifier to speed up the process.
Depending on the weather and the thickness of your bedding drying time can take anywhere between 30 minutes to a few hours. You can fold your sheet over the line and attach with clothes pins to hold it in place or form a sack by folding it in half and pinning each corner to a spot on the line much like a pouch.