I moved into my home in 2020 and there is no tumble drier, or any space for one either. We did have a washer-dryer installed, but it really wasn’t great for drying anything – so, for the longest time I would rely on traditional clothes horses and the radiators on full to dry my laundry.
However, in the winter, this is of course less than ideal. Many wet items didn’t dry quickly enough so ended up needing to be re-washed, and having the heating on full is not really a very cost effect way to dry stuff. Making washing the bedding and towels in the winter a bit of a nightmare.
For a while I weighed up the Lakeland Dry-Soon heated dryer, and eventually did order this (you can read a full specific review for it here). This was pretty game-changing, I love it. You can load it up with a washload, cover it and forget about it for a day or so.
It was that winter though that we started having issues with condensation forming on our front bay windows, and generally high humidity throughout our old house – so, I purchased a Meaco dehumidifier – and this is what REALLY changed my life, as dramatic as that sounds.
I bought the dehumidifier purely to take the moisture out of the house, however, when researching them I realised the model I bought also had a ‘dry clothes’ mode, too. Which you can put in the same room as a clothes horse or dry clothes and it’ll help them get drier quicker.
So, now, I combine BOTH the dry-soon heated rack with my meaco dehumidifier and LOVE it. I can wash my super king-size bedding in the morning and have it dried and back on the bed for bedtime. The house smells lovely, it’s nice and tidy whilst it’s drying and the dehumidifier has a dual purpose too (it has really removed any of the issues I had with condensation and humidity in the home).
I know the upfront cost of both items is quite steep – however, they both have a low run-cost, and over the years it’s more than worth it, if you can afford it I’d invest sooner rather than later.
I also love how gentle this method is on my clothes, the tumble drier I used to have in my previous home was certainly much harsher on my clothes over time.
And, using the dry-soon means you can do a washload, hang it – and unload it at your own leisure, no need to worry about creases etc. This is handy if I make last-minute plans to leave the house for a few days but have done a wash load recently.
I bought my dry-soon directly from Lakeland (click here for the model I have). And the Meaco directly from their site too (link here) as it was mostly sold out elsewhere and they offer great direct customer service should anything happen to the unit.
